If you stayed up to watch MTV's Video Music Awards last night, chances are you caught Olivia Rodrigo's entertaining yet slightly concerning performance. But ICYMI, the 20-year-old took to the prestigious stage to belt out two of her hits from her sophomore album, GUTS, (which also earned her a number of nominations and one win, for "Best Editing").
While singing "Vampire" in front of a sea of fellow celebs and industry professionals, the pyrotechnics of the performance began to malfunction—literally sparking and exploding on stage around the singer. At first, the audience looked majorly concerned as Olivia appeared panicked—with cameras even panning to show Selena Gomez's uneasy expression. It wasn't until a red curtain fell from the ceiling that a stage worker deemed the setting "unsafe" and rushed to her aid to quickly get her offstage.
However, Selena and viewers at home soon learned that it was all one big hoax. It was actually a planned part of the show. The whole thing replicated Olivia's music video for "Vampire," where she also performs surrounded by luscious greenery followed by sparking pyrotechnics. This is eventually all revealed to be the backdrop for her 19th Annual Awards performance.
Shortly after being ushered backstage, a blue curtain dropped in front of the previously collapsed set. Olivia reappeared accompanied by a group of dancers, all wearing pink pleated skirts and crop tops. As the "Good 4 U" singer went straight into her second hit of the night, "get him back!" she looked fierce and confident as she continued her *iconic* performance. All's well that ends well then.
Let's face it: the girl is a rockstar.
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This article originally appeared on Cosmopolitan.com/uk. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.