St. Vincent Praises Olivia Rodrigo as a 'Precious Baby Angel Muffin' at Variety's Hitmakers Event
The rock star presented the pop star with the storyteller of the year award at Variety's Hitmakers brunch on Saturday
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
St. Vincent and Olivia RodrigoOlivia Rodrigo may sneer that she’s “a perfect all-American bitch” on the opener of her album GUTS, but St. Vincent has only the sweetest words to describe her.
The indie star, 41, presented Rodrigo, 20, with the storyteller of the year award at Variety’s Hitmakers brunch on Saturday and honored her with a touching speech. In addition to praising her songwriting, the Masseducation artist shared that the best way she could describe Rodrigo was as “a precious baby angel muffin.”
“Olivia is — how should I say it — a precious baby angel muffin,” the singer/guitarist (real name Annie Clark) said at one point during her speech. “But also if a precious baby angel muffin were also tough as nails, cool as hell and also f---ing loves The Breeders.”
Related: Olivia Rodrigo Says She Gets 'Depressed' When She's Not Writing Songs
Throughout her tribute, the Grammy winner pointed to the “vampire” singer’s empathy and attention to detail. “In order to be a good storyteller, one must — to quote Olivia herself — ‘pay attention to things that most people ignore.’ Olivia sees the cracks and contradictions in herself and others and makes the ineffable understandable and transformational for her listeners,” she said. “Her honest songs about the impossible task of growing up have liberated so many young people fighting and fumbling their ways through the same experiences.”
The Daddy’s Home artist continued, “But it’s not merely paying attention to the craft of songwriting, it’s also how you observe and how you listen. And that’s what’s special about Olivia. And why her fans consider her songs their personal rallying cry is that she bears witness from a place of openness and compassion.”
Matt Winkelmeyer/Variety via Getty
Olivia Rodrigo and St. Vincent at Variety's Hitmakers brunchRelated: Olivia Rodrigo Says It’s ‘Insane’ to Get 6 Grammy Nominations: ‘Such An Honor’ (Exclusive)
The rock star continued to sing praises of the Grammy winner’s ability to connect with listeners by vulnerably writing about her own experiences and added, “She’s shockingly talented, whip smart, and, to me, the most important combination, curious and kind. These attributes make her great and will make her a great storyteller for decades to come.”
She concluded, “Olivia is 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 slivers of joy, those threads that make up our every single day. She ‘pays attention to things that most people ignore’ and makes them not just seen, but makes them shine. So I’m happy to call her a friend. Congratulations Olivia.”
In her speech, St. Vincent shared that she’s “so enjoyed getting to know Olivia over the past few years” — and it’s actually not the first time she’s spoken highly of the pop star.
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In a profile ahead of the release of Rodrigo’s sophomore album, The New York Times reported that St. Vincent has become a friend and mentor of the “bad idea right?” singer.
The rocker even spoke highly of the pop star to the outlet, saying, “I’ve never met anyone so young and so effortlessly self-possessed.”
She also added that the hitmaker “knows who she is and what she wants — and doesn’t seem to be in any way afraid of voicing that. And just a really lovely girl too. I’ve never heard her say a bad word about anyone.”
Although it’s unclear when the two musicians first connected, St. Vincent received a songwriting credit on Rodrigo’s SOUR track “deja vu” in July 2021. Several months after its release, Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and the guitarist were credited on the song because of its interpolation of Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” which they co-wrote and St. Vincent recorded guitars on.
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