Olivia Rodrigo: Voice Profile & Vocal Range (2022)

Vocal Range: Eb3 – E5 – G5 (2 octaves and a major third)^[1]https://therangeplanet.proboards.com/thread/1938/olivia-rodrigo?page=1

Vocal Fach: Light Lyric Soprano / Soubrette

Vocal Rating: Singer

Analysis: One of the most successful and promising musical acts of her generation, singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo has captured the curiosities of the music industry with her overnight success. Making her Hollywood debut in the Disney+ television series Bizaardvark and High School Musical, Rodrigo was branded as a musical talent from the beginning of her career. With her voice still developing and improving as a teenager, she is fortunate to have begun training early, with lessons for both voice and piano at a young age. At present, Rodrigo is a decent vocalist whose skills are poised to grow alongside her career.

At just 18 years old, Rodrigo’s voice is still maturing rapidly, but she is undoubtedly a light lyric soprano and seems likely to remain one. Her voice is bright and girlish throughout, while her lower register naturally thins out around Bb3 and sounds breathy by F#3. While many pop sopranos have ease belting notes at F5 and beyond, Rodrigo has not done so yet, likely because her breath support is underdeveloped. With Rodrigo’s mixed voice topping out now at E5, there is an upper extension of her mixed voice that is certainly waiting to be utilized.

Her breath support is posed as her most notable area for development, as she often sings with more reliance on the muscles in her throat than her breath to sing. She tends to sound out of breath when moving around a stage, and tense approaching C5 as her natural ease dissipates. Another factor compounding this tension is her diction: take “Driver’s License,” where she approaches the word “never” with a thinner, Indie style vowel (“Niver”) when the more technically sound choice would be an “eh” vowel sound. Rodrigo also tends to lift her head and jaw around C5, creating tension in her neck that is avoidable with better support and coordination. While these all also function as stylistic choices, they are likely hindering her range as well.

The highlight of her voice is certainly her head voice: while her voice overall is light and airy, those qualities blend with this part of her range beautifully and provide a nice contrast with her middle register (“Driver’s License”). Her head voice also sounds connected well with her modal voice, as she has developed a solid mixed voice up to E5 and is able to flip between the two registers quickly and easily.

Overall, Rodrigo is a vocalist with considerable promise. With years of musical training already under her belt and a natural inclination for musical phrasing, she has built a foundation from which the rest of her career can build.

What do you think of Olivia Rodrigo’s voice? Would you add anything to our analysis? Let us know by commenting below!