Olivia Rodrigo is all for honoring the musicians who paved the way for her. The 19-year-old pop phenom helped induct Alanis Morissette into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame in September, and Rodrigo popped by Madison Square Garden in August to perform with Billy Joel. The streak continued Saturday (November 5) at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2022 induction ceremony.
The 2022 class in the performers category was filled by Carly Simon, Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie, and Pat Benatar. Simon didn’t attend the ceremony — two of her sisters tragically passed one day apart from cancer in late October — so Sara Bareilles was on hand to accept Simon’s induction on her behalf and performed “Nobody Does It Better.” Rodrigo doubled down on the Simon celebration by taking the stage to give a pitch-perfect rendition of “You’re So Vain.”
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Another fan captured a portion of Simon’s induction video that featured Taylor Swift gushing over Simon’s songwriting. “When I heard ‘That’s So Vain,’ I just thought that is the best song that has ever been written,” the Midnights mastermind said. “That is the most direct way anyone has ever addressed a breakup. It’s amazing.”
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“You’re So Vain” and “Nobody Does It Better” peaked at No. 1s and 2 on Billboard‘s Hot 100, respectively — the highest-charting singles of her storied career. As noted by Rolling Stone, Rodrigo and Simon won Best New Artist at the Grammys exactly 50 years apart — Simon earned it in 1972, and Rodrigo won this April.
An edited version of this year’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will be available on HBO beginning November 19.