Olivia Rodrigo

Lil Nas X And Olivia Rodrigo Are Set To Close Out ‘SNL’s 46th Season This Month

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May 22 will mark the finale of Saturday Night Live‘s 46th season and in the final two weeks, the show’s musical guests will be two of 2021’s most successful, chart-topping young stars. May 15, “Driver’s License” singer Olivia Rodrigo will perform in an episode hosted by The Prom‘s Keegan-Michael Key, while the season finale will feature Ana Taylor-Joy of The Queen’s Gambit and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” rabble-rouser Lil Nas X.

Incidentally, each of the young music stars’ No. 1 hits have been the subjects of sketches on previous episodes of SNL. In February, guest host Regé-Jean Page and cast regulars Alex Moffat, Beck Bennett, Bowen Yang, Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, and Pete Davidson participated in a tongue-in-cheek analysis of “Driver’s License” from the ironic perspective of the all-male denizens of a pool hall unexpectedly relating to the song’s teenage emotions. Rodrigo called the sketch “the best birthday present ever” in a tweet expressing her approval.

Meanwhile, the conservative establishment-trolling video for “Montero” was lightly lampooned in an early-April sketch that saw Chris Redd stand in as Lil Nas to address the kerfuffle over the video and its tie-in “Satan shoes” from MSCHF. The sketch saw Redd-as-Nas perform a lap dance on “God” to balance out the bad vibes from his similar moves on the devil in the “Montero” video, minus the neck-snapping at the end. Nas’ reply was equally cheeky, as he joked “SNL going to hell.”

In addition, Nas responded to SNL’s announcement, revealing that he’d be performing a new song in addition to “Montero.”

Cardi B Responded To Praise From Olivia Rodrigo With Advice For The Young Singer

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Ever since Olivia Rodrigo ascended to the top of the pop world earlier this year thanks to “Drivers License,” she and Cardi B have done a bit of bonding. After Cardi made a joke about not having a driver’s license herself, Rodrigo offered to drive Cardi wherever she wants, which Cardi was all for. Now the two are forging their friendship further, as Cardi has responded to some high praise that Rodrigo recently heaped on her.

During a recent conversation with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Rodrigo spoke highly of Cardi, saying:

“I’m so in love with her, I want to marry her. […] I feel lucky to be a teenager at the time when Cardi is making music. As a songwriter, some of the stuff that she says is just so honest, almost like shockingly honest. When I listened to her song, I’m like, ‘Oh wow, she really just said that on a recorded album.’ […]

That’s definitely something that I grapple with in my songwriting. I’m making a lot of music right now to put it out, and I listen to it back and I’m terrified sometimes. I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I’m literally writing about stuff that I don’t tell some of my closest friends and I’m going to put out for the whole world to scrutinize and talk about.’ It’s a really horrible, terrifying thing. [Cardi] gives me courage to sort of say whatever I want to say and be honest in telling my story.”

Cardi caught wind of that quote today and seemed touched by Rodrigo’s praise. She responded with some advice for the up-and-comer, writing on Twitter, “This is so sweet .You doing sooo good for your age. Don’t let no toxic sh*t get to you and don’t let nobody restrict you from your voice.”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’ Just Broke A Chart Record Previously Held By Drake

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Though she rose to fame as an actor on the Disney+ hit series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License” made her a household name. Since releasing the track, Rodrigo has dominated charts, been in the throes of a teen pop love triangle, received kind cosigns from pop stars like Taylor Swift, and was even name-dropped in a recent Saturday Night Live sketch. Now, continuing with the its success, “Drivers License” is once again at No. 1.

This week, “Drivers License” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the seventh consecutive week. The track is the first debut single to ever spend that long at the top spot on the Hot 100 chart, but that’s not all. “Drivers License” also managed an impressive feat previously achieved by Drake: It’s the first single to spend its first seven weeks at No. 1 since Drake’s 2018 “God’s Plan.”

While the song has hovered at top of the charts for weeks, its apparently continuing to increase in popularity. According to Billboard, “Drivers License” totaled 21.5 million streams in the US and was downloaded 13,000 times this week alone, up 38 percent since last week’s charts. The song also received a healthy boost from US radio stations, as it was spun 67.3 million times on the airwaves, a 13 percent increase from last week.