Could one of the biggest pop shows of the year be heading for Aotearoa? (Image: Getty)

Pop CultureApril 23, 2024

Is Olivia Rodrigo about to announce a New Zealand show? An investigation

The Bulletin editor

Could one of the biggest pop shows of the year be heading for Aotearoa? (Image: Getty)

The ‘Vampire’ singer has never visited our part of the world, but that might all be about to change. We assess the evidence.

Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour is pulling in massive crowds as it whips around the US and Europe, even helping to catapult regular supporting act Chappell Roan to abrupt stardom. But so far, there has been no suggestion the Grammy Award winner will ever make it to New Zealand.

That may all be about to change. The Spinoff has received information (seen a TikTok, then done some Googling) that the ‘Driver’s License’ singer could finally be winging her way to the Southern Hemisphere. If true, New Zealand audiences would be able to see the concert that has been clogging up many a TikTok feed since February.

An appearance by Rodrigo on our shores would undoubtedly be one of the hottest tickets of the year. Sza recently sold out three Spark Arena shows, while Coldplay and Pink have taken over Eden Park. The Taylor Swift phenomenon injected millions into the Australian economy, while draining hundreds from fans’ (including mine) bank accounts, when her Eras Tour landed in Melbourne and Sydney two months ago.

Back to Sza, days before Live Nation announced her tour, an article appeared in print by the NZ Herald announcing the tour. The article wasn’t published online (strange and unusual) and at the time, there was no evidence of a Sza visit to NZ. Was it a case of accidentally breaking an embargo? Probably. But then a tour was announced shortly after. Perhaps it was a deliberate leak to stir up attention. Maybe this little investigation is just repeating the cycle.

But why do we believe Rodrigo is about to drop New Zealand dates? Let’s assess what we know.

The evidence

This TikTok video. A TikTok user shows what happened when they Googled “Olivia Rodrigo NZ”. It brings up a link to Live Nation’s New Zealand website advertising a Guts World Tour date for October 19 at Spark Arena. “Was this always here or am I tripping?” asks the TikTok user. I firmly believe they are not tripping.

The Live Nation website. When I Googled the same, I did not see a date displayed. However, the link was still the top result. It now takes you to a 404 error page. But if you look in the URL, it contains the crucial information: “auckland/2024-10-19”.How do Americans, of which Rodrigo is one, write their dates? With the month first, then the date. October 19, 2024.

There is a waitlist. At 7am, the top result on Google was still a page for the Guts World Tour. Now, it’s a Live Nation waitlist asking: “Do you want to be the first to know when Olivia Rodrigo is touring New Zealand?” Waitlists can be just a way to farm email addresses. But it could also be a sign that something is coming.

The tour name. The tour is called the Guts “World Tour”. The world, famously, includes New Zealand (even if many maps do not acknowledge this “fact”).

WAIT WHAT IS THIS TIKTOK SHOWING ME THAT OLIVIA RODRIGO IS COMING TO NZ?????

— j (@gameovermydude) April 22, 2024

Rodrigo promised she’d come to Australia this year. Rodrigo was set to visit Australia for a promotional visit last year. That was cancelled, but fans of the singer were told that she’d be heading down “in 2024”. It is now “2024” and Australia is very close to New Zealand.

Rodrigo really loves Glassons. In 2021, Stuff reported that Rodrigo had been snapped wearing a corset from Glassons. The New Zealand brand has begun to extend itself into other markets, including the US, catching the singer’s attention. If Rodrigo visits New Zealand this year, she could pop out to Westfield St Luke’s (walking distance from Eden Park) and visit a Glassons store.

Olivia Rodrigo transposed over a photo of Glassons — Artist’s interpretation of Olivia Rodrigo at Glassons (Image: Getty/Glassons)

Taylor Swift’s album dropped last week. There are rumours that Rodrigo and Swift are in some sort of celebrity feud. What better way to take attention away from the world’s biggest pop star than to announce your own concerts in New Zealand? Then there is the connection between one of Rodrigo’s biggest hits ‘Get Him Back’ and Swift’s new B-side ‘I’mgonnagetyouback’. Perhaps Rodrigo wants to Get Her Back by touring in a country that was snubbed by Swift?

The Guts “World Tour” is currently set to end in August. August is two months before October, meaning there’s a big wide gap in her schedule that coincides with the rumoured dates. That would give the singer time to relax, recover and then pop down under. It is well-established that pop stars like about two months in between tour legs.

What do the tour promoters say?

The Spinoff asked Live Nation for comment earlier this morning. We haven’t yet heard back. That in itself is suspicious. If this wasn’t true, would they not instantly dismiss it in order to prevent us from publishing our dossier of evidence (see: above)? Or have we fallen into their free publicity trap as obvious as Taylor Swift on an e-scooter?

Keep going!

Pop CultureApril 23, 2024

TrueBliss react to their most iconic Y2K Popstars looks

Alex Casey

Senior writer

Popstars wasn’t just a reality television revolution, it was also a huge moment for Y2K fashion.

It’s 25 years since girl group TrueBliss was formed on New Zealand national television, breaking new ground for both the reality television industry and the shiny clothing industry. With the first episode on NZ On Screen and the rest on YouTube, to return to Popstars is a chance to return to chunky platform sneakers, shell necklaces and spaghetti straps. Bask in the thin eyebrows, frosted tips, baggy cargos and whatever Keri is cooking up here on her enormous computer:

Armed with a clear-file full of blurry Popstars screenshots, I sat down with Erika Takacs (then 21) and Megan Alatini (then 22) to go back to 1999 and get their thoughts on the style of the moment.

The ‘Number One’ music video

Megan and Erika in unison: THIS. IS. COVID.

Megan: We were so ahead of the times, we were already wearing PPE. This was our producers and management deciding that it was time for us to do a futuristic sci-fi look.

Erika: For the record, I hated this video concept so much. I know we all look amazing, but I truly did not understand a single part of it.

Megan: It was bizarre, it was blue men, it was Avatar.

Megan: I had to get up at three o’clock in the morning to drive to my cousin’s house – because I’ve naturally got very curly hair – and she had to blow-dry my hair so the makeup artists and hair stylists would be able to deal with it. I loved it, though, because I got wear these gorgeous long hair extensions. Erika, unfortunately, looked like a hedgehog.

Erika: I did. I’ve accepted that.

Megan: This video was also a massive point of contention between you and I, Erika, because they zoomed in really close on me and got me in a close-up singing a line, but it was actually your line. We didn’t realise that until we watched the finished product.

Erika: No! That wasn’t even me! That was Carly!

Megan: Anyway, I just remember someone saying, “that’s not your line bitch,” and me saying, “but look how cute I look.”

The ‘Tonight’ music video

Megan: This particular part was shot at about midnight at someone’s house. We were poolside – not a heated pool – and it was us in bikinis with feathers and hula hoops and hula skirts. What that has to do with “tonight’s the night”? I have no idea.

Erika: It looked super tropical but it was actually freezing. We didn’t have a lot of say in what was going on there.

Megan: There would be outfits that we would want to wear, but what the stylist had in mind was very different, so there was often some conflict there. To be honest, when I look back now I realise just how awesome the stylist was, we should have just let the professionals do their thing. In saying that, god we made some huge fashion mistakes.

Erika: But that wasn’t through their guidance, that was all us on our own.

Truebliss ‘Dream’ tour outfits

Erika: Oh, that PVC.

Megan: It is not forgiving, we sweated like pigs some days.

Erika: There was so much talcum powder backstage, it wasn’t even funny.

Megan: We had so many different outfit changes. Buttons would be popping off left right and centre. We were so brave to wear this stuff. What you can’t see is that behind the camera would have been hundreds of young people cheering and singing and crying, it was all so surreal.

Erika: Have you still got your PVC pants? I think I’ve still got mine in the garage. It’s frightening though, I was at Megan’s daughter’s 18th birthday party on the weekend and there were boys in dungarees with one strap undone and white t-shirts with the sleeves rolled up and trainers. Similar with the girls, they were all dressed super 90s and I just had no idea.

Megan: I can tell it’s coming back around because my kids are delving into my old costume boxes now and putting all this stuff on for a night out. You have to remember though, Popstars was such a big part of my oldest girl’s life that the style probably soaked in subliminally.

Megan meets the band

Megan: Oh my gosh. I know this exact moment.

Erika: I can still hear your scream.

Megan: This was the first time I saw the rest of TrueBliss. I had parked my car around the corner, and I literally walked over and yelled “IT’S YOU! AND YOU! AND YOU!”

Erika: Were you late, Megan?

Megan: Not this time. They had timed it so we were all 10 minutes apart, and I must have been the last to arrive. Basically, this was the moment I met the band. This is the genuine moment. We didn’t know each other super well because prior to this we had only had the experience of auditioning in these big groups. When I saw the girls, I was just so elated that they had been picked and they were going to be my bandmates. That moment is as genuine as it comes.

The Popstars opening credits

Megan: This is such a reminiscent moment, a really important image. This is what we would see every Tuesday night, and even now it brings up those contrasting feelings of absolute anxiety and absolute exhilaration. Shortly after this screen, the episode would air and we would have no idea what was actually about to be displayed.

Erika: I actually think Carly wore that blue dress in the ‘Tonight’ video. It’s funny, as soon as I see this I hear the theme music. We recorded the title song so that’s all this reminds me of, the really high-pitched “haaaaaaaahhhh” at the start.

Megan: You know what though, this actually makes me super proud. We recorded that song and it’s still so recognisable. That was Popstars. That was the show. Awesome memories.

An earlier version of this article was published on The Spinoff in 2021.