- Jia Tolentino interviewed Olivia Rodrigo for Vogue's August 2023 issue.
- They visited a record store where Rodrigo purchased a bootleg Springsteen LP called "Porn In The U.S.A.!"
Olivia Rodrigo has no shortage of praise for her musical heroes, including Taylor Swift, Carole King, Avril Lavigne, and Alanis Morissette. But for Bruce Springsteen, she reserved a unique title.
"He's my biggest celebrity crush of all time," she told Jia Tolentino for Vogue's 2023 August cover story.
During their interview, Rodrigo and Tolentino visited A-1 Record Shop in the East Village, where Rodrigo picked out a bootleg Springsteen vinyl called "Porn in the U.S.A.!" that was recorded during a 1984 concert in Toronto.
On the cover, Springsteen wears a white T-shirt with a warning label: "This record contains noises of an explicit nature that may be offensive and should not be played in the presence of minors."
"I think I might have to get this for my new apartment," Rodrigo told Tolentino, adding: "Yeah, you're coming home with me."
Rodrigo was born and raised in California but recently moved to Greenwich Village.
"I've got to live my 'Sex and the City' fantasy," she said, revealing that she identifies as a mix of Carrie Bradshaw and Charlotte York.
On top of entering her New York City era, the "Vampire" singer is also on the cusp of releasing her sophomore album, "Guts," which arrives on September 8. Many of the songs were written and recorded at Electric Lady Studios, in the same neighborhood as Rodrigo's new home.
Tolentino described "Guts" as an "evolution" from "Sour," Rodrigo's acclaimed debut album.
"She wasn't dwelling in the territory of bubblegum locker-door fairy tales, nor was she aggressively making statements that she was edgy and grown," Tolentino wrote. "She'd simply captured what it was like to be 20, an age when you're sometimes blazing with ridiculous lust, thrilled to be seen as beautiful, enraged by other people's expectations."
For her part, Rodrigo told Tolentino that becoming a household name as a teenager "pales in comparison to turning 20." She added, "The rest of it feels minuscule compared to that."