Watch Olivia Rodrigo appear at the White House to promote COVID-19 vaccines

NME

Olivia Rodrigo has visited the White House to appear in a video campaign encouraging young Americans to vaccinate themselves against COVID-19 – watch her speech below.

• READ MORE: Olivia Rodrigo: “It’s important for me to be taken seriously as a songwriter”

The 18-year-old pop artist met with US President Joe Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci, chief of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, yesterday (July 14).

In the press conference at the Brady Press Briefing Room, Rodrigo said she was “beyond honoured and humbled” to “help spread the message about the importance of youth vaccination”.

“I’m in awe of the work President Biden and Dr. Fauci have done and was happy to help lend my support to this important initiative,” she said. “It’s important to have conversations with friends and family members, encouraging all communities to get vaccinated and actually get to a vaccination site, which you can do more easily than ever before given how many sites we have and how easy it is to find them at vaccines.gov.”

A message from President Joe Biden’s official Twitter account added: “Olivia Rodrigo is stopping by the White House today with a clear message to young people: get vaccinated. It’s the best way to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the dangerous new COVID-19 variants.”

Olivia Rodrigo is stopping by the White House today with a clear message to young people: get vaccinated. It’s the best way to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the dangerous new COVID-19 variants. Head to https://t.co/4MYpWqXVVo to find a clinic near you.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 14, 2021

The Biden-Harris Administration has been steadfast in tailoring COVID-19 vaccination campaigns towards younger audiences. In May, President Biden and Dr. Fauci teamed up with a group of YouTubers to answer questions about vaccines. Fauci also recently joined TikTok to share educational videos on the coronavirus.

Rodrigo released her debut album, ‘Sour’, in May via Polydor/Geffen. It featured her breakout hit ‘Drivers License’ and other singles ‘Deja Vu’ and ‘Good 4 U’, and was followed by a concert film titled Sour Prom.

• READ MORE: Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour Prom reviewed: infectious pop-punk meets high school movie

In a four-star review, NME writer Rhian Daly pronounced ‘Sour’ “an almost-masterpiece that’s equal parts confident, cool and exhilaratingly real”, calling Rodrigo “[an artist] we’ll be living with for years to come”.

‘Sour’ was also featured in NME’s list of the best albums of 2021 thus far, writer Sophie Williams praising Rodrigo for “lacing confessional pop with alt-rock influences”.

In May, Rodrigo became the youngest artist to land two concurrent Number One singles in the UK. She repeated the feat just a week later, then made UK chart history again last month when she became the first female artist to have three Top 5 singles in the same week.

Though Rodrigo has yet to announce a headline tour, she is set to perform at this year’s iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas in September.

The post Watch Olivia Rodrigo appear at the White House to promote COVID-19 vaccines appeared first on NME.