St. Vincent Praises Olivia Rodrigo While Presenting at Variety Hitmakers Ceremony: “Tough as Nails and Cool as Hell”

Olivia Rodrigo was recently honored with the Storyteller of the Year award at the Variety Hitmakers Ceremony, and St. Vincent—who presented her with the award—had some glowing words for the young songwriter.

“In order to be a good storyteller, one must—to quote Olivia herself — pay attention to things most people ignore,” St. Vincent began at the ceremony. “Olivia sees the cracks and contradictions in herself and others and makes the ineffable understandable and transformational for her listeners.”

She continued, “[Rodrigo’s] honest songs about the impossible task of growing up have liberated so many young people fighting and fumbling their ways through the same experiences. But it’s not merely paying attention that matters to the craft of songwriting. It’s also how you observe and how you listen.”

[RELATED: Olivia Rodrigo Gets Candid on Challenges of Writing ‘GUTS’ Album: “Tested My Confidence and Patience”]

An important aspect of Olivia Rodrigo’s image, one that her fans have latched onto and praised her for, is her authenticity and devotion to her own self. “Her authenticity — not an affect, not a brand — allows her listeners to step inside her songs as their complete selves: struggling, searching, celebrating, just living. Just being,” said St. Vincent, echoing the thoughts of Rodrigo’s fanbase. “Olivia’s songs pull off the magic trick of sounding like all of us at once, but also uniquely just like her. I call that a sly generosity, which is a beautiful thing to witness and to hear, and it’s one of the reasons I’ve so enjoyed getting to know Olivia over the past few years.”

Rodrigo is still young—an indie-pop star at only 20—but she resonates with her fans like she’s been a headliner for decades. St. Vincent described her as a “precious baby angel muffin … but if a precious baby angel muffin was tough as nails and cool as hell and f–in’ loved the Breeders.”

St. Vincent concluded with more praise of Olivia Rodrigo. “She is shockingly talented, whip smart, and to me, the most important combination, curious and kind,” she said. “These attributes make her great and will make her a great storyteller for years to come. Olivia’s listening, she’s asking, she’s interrogating the cracks in herself and in humanity. But because of her empathy, what she brings to the surface in her songs are the small frailties and the slivers of joy — those threads that make up our every single day. She pays attention to the things most people ignore, and makes them not just seen, but makes them shine. So I’m happy to call her a friend.”

Photo by David Livingston/WireImage