Being filmed is Spotify newcomer star’s secret to success, says producer
She simply asks her producer, Daniel Nigro, to film her singing.
At first, he couldn’t understand it. “I’m a person who buckles under pressure,” he explains. “You put me on camera and all of a sudden I get in my head and I can’t perform.
“But with Olivia, it’s the exact opposite. You’d say, ‘OK, we’re filming you, people are watching’, and all of a sudden she gives the performance of a lifetime. It became a bit of a joke between us.”
There’s a logic to her approach. Rodrigo started out as an actress, first in the Disney series Bizaardvark, then in the hit streaming show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. She’s used to switching into performance mode when the red light goes on.
“Acting definitely comes into play for me when I’m recording,” she admits. “I’m so into it, I will screw up my face and act out every word I’m singing.
“I think that makes the performance on the eventual record so much more impactful.”