Billy Corgan has shared his admiration for Olivia Rodrigo, praising her songwriting as being “free” and “not afraid”.
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman shared his thoughts on the ‘Deja Vu’ singer on a new episode of The New York Times’ Popcast, when he was asked why he has been using his platform to champion newer acts including Sombr and Yungblud.
Another name that was mentioned was Olivia Rodrigo, with the hosts saying that they noticed some similarities between her music and classics from The Smashing Pumpkins including ‘1979’ and ‘Disarm’.
Sharing what he thinks of the pop star, Corgan described her as “so smart” and “super savvy”, before sharing what it is that he thinks makes her stand out.
“I don’t know her much, but she’s figured out that the way to break free is to be free,” he said. “She’s like, ‘Bring me all these influences.’ She’s not afraid. She’s not afraid to make an imperfect song. She’s not afraid to have one vocal slightly out of tune. Pop stars should be as authentic in their game as rock stars are authentic in their game.”
Corgan brought out Rodrigo as a special guest this summer when Smashing Pumpkins topped the bill at Lollapalooza in August – the band’s first performance at at the festival since they headlined its travelling 1994 edition – where he duetted with the singer on ‘Thirty-Three’ from 1995’s ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’.
He joins a growing number of huge names to share their love of the ‘Driving License’ singer, with others including Mick Jagger, who praised her for her ability to “change styles from what original girly pop stuff is” (via Billboard), and Jack White, who described her as “very cool” and “very real”.
