Olivia Rodrigo on Chappell Roan, the “GUTS” concert film and the election

A week after completing dates for her GUTS tour in 2024, Olivia Rodrigo has brought the global tour to television around the world Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World TourThe pop superstar's debut concert film, commemorating her first arena headlining performance (in support of her album of the same name), was unveiled on Netflix on Tuesday (October 29).

In conversation with billboard The day before the special's release, Rodrigo explained that the GUTS tour — which reached four continents (South America will be the fifth next March) and grossed $186.6 million, according to Billboard Boxscore — represented a moment she had in the Wanted to preserve the form of a concert film.

“I think I was just so proud of the show – it felt special,” says Rodrigo. “It happened at the right time for me and my career and I wanted to capture it. I'm really excited to have a kind of time capsule – like I can show my kids, 'Hey, when your mom was 21, she did this every night!' I think that'll be pretty fun.”

Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour depicts the entire experience of the show, with elaborate set pieces, plenty of footage of Rodrigo rocking out with her band, close-ups of screaming superfans, and (of course) hits like “Drivers License,” “Vampire,” and “Good.” 4 U.” Rodrigo says she came up with the idea for the concert film in the middle of the arena run, which began in February and ended for the year on October 22.

“I made sure I had a lot of shows to practice because I was pretty nervous before filming,” she explains. “I think we always intended to make a concert film. I would travel to all of these cities and love to have breakfast before I go to the show. I met all these people in different states and they said, “Oh, I just wish I could have gotten tickets, I couldn't,” and that made me sad. So I’m really excited that maybe people who wanted to go, who couldn’t get a seat, can now watch it on Netflix from the comfort of their own home.”

The special was filmed over two nights at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles in August and Rodrigo says she's “so happy we filmed it in my hometown.” At one point in the film, Rodrigo greets In-N-Out Burger as a nod to the local chain and is greeted with cheers from the LA crowd. “We almost cut it out,” she says of the line in the film. “They said, 'People who don't live in California won't get it!' I say, 'No. Keep it to yourself. It's part of me!'”

Filming in Los Angeles also allowed Rodrigo to present Chappell Roan, who opened the first leg of the GUTS tour at the start of her own whirlwind breakout year. Roan returned to the August 20 show as a surprise guest to perform her hit song “Hot to Go!” Next to Rodrigo, the pop stars hug each other and dance ecstatically on stage in the middle of the film.

“I've heard a lot of really loud screams in my life and at the various shows I've done, but I really don't think I've ever heard a scream as energetic as the scream when I announced that Chappell was on the stage would come,” says Rodrigo. “It was just electric and people were so excited. It felt like a very special moment and that's why I'm really glad we get to see it on film forever.

“And on a more personal level,” Rodrigo continues, “Chappell was a really big part of the GUTS world tour – she opened the first leg and helped me a lot with that.” I've known her for a while and she's a really wonderful friend of me, and that's why I'm glad she could be included (in the film).”

Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour is released a week before a US presidential election in which women's rights have become a hot topic. Rodrigo's work with Fund 4 Good, the nonprofit component of the GUTS Tour that works with local organizations to advocate for girls' education and support of reproductive rights, will continue beyond the arena run and become a central part of her future career . And while “Fund 4 Good” isn’t an explicit part of the concert film, Rodrigo’s work encouraging young women on and off stage is demonstrated throughout its running time.

“I started Fund 4 Good earlier this year, which was linked to the tour – I wanted to do something that would help or make a difference, and this year it felt particularly fitting,” explains Rodrigo. “We've raised a lot of money for abortion funds in America, through grassroots organizations that raise money to provide hotels or airfare or cover medical bills for women who can't have an abortion for financial reasons or whatever reason they live in. “

Ultimately, Rodrigo says, Fund 4 Good feels like “the most important part” of the entire GUTS tour. “I really hope that people get out there and vote,” she says, “and that we don’t have to have so many abortion funds next year.”