Singer Olivia Rodrigo becomes first Filipina Vogue USA cover girl

Singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo made history by being the first Filipina to grace the cover of Vogue magazine.

My teenage self—who bought Vogue magazines with my saved-up wad of crimpled Philippine pesos—would have been jumping up and down the streets, shouting to the world that a Filipina has broken yet another seemingly impossible barrier.

Sure, some people might say she’s only half-Filipina (her mother is Irish and German, her father Filipino)—but she has stated that her family follows Filipino traditions and cuisine.

That makes her a full Filipina in my books. Heck, even if she turned out having .005 Filipino blood in her, we’d still be gushing about her achievements, claiming her as our own.

At 20, she has already achieved so much: winner of three Grammy awards and various awards including Billboard Music Awards, MTV, iHeart, People’s Choice and a Juno.

Rodrigo was also named Time Magazine’s Entertainer of the Year in 2021.

Her debut single “Drivers License”, released January 2021, was so universally loved and praised that it was downloaded on Spotify a record-breaking 80 million streams in seven days.

The lyrics of “Drivers License” chronicled her first heartbreak:

I got my driver’s license last week
Just like we always talked about
‘Cause you were so excited for me
To finally drive up to your house
But today, I drove through the suburbs
Crying ’cause you weren’t around

Her debut single resonated with people of all ages. Who hasn’t had their hearts broken and felt flashbacks of a relationship while walking or driving through places you spent time together in?

Sidewalks
We crossed
I still hear your voice
In the traffic
We’re laughing
Over all the noise

Ending with the line, “cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street”, Rodrigo cemented her place in music history. Her follow-up singles “Good 4 U” and “Deja Vu” also garnered much success, staying on the Billboard chart for 80 weeks combined.

Talking about “Drivers License”, Rodrigo said that “the most painful moment of my life turned into my most successful”.

Another noteworthy fact is that the Vogue article about Rodrigo was written by Filipina staff writer for The New Yorker Jia Tolentino.

Tolentino was born in Toronto to Filipino parents but moved to Houston when she was four years old. She studied English at the University of Virginia as a Jefferson scholar and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan.