In the midst of selling out four nights at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, Olivia Rodrigo has cemented her status as a pop rockstar, lifting the spirits of thousands of dedicated fans in attendance.
American Express
Tyler, The Creator’s GOLF WANG Has Opened Global Holiday Shops with Amex!
Christmas came early this year: Tyler, the Creator’s GOLF WANG has opened *TWELVE* pop-up holiday shops worldwide, alongside their permanent locations in Los Angeles, New York City, and London!
The stores feature portions of the FW23 collection of utilitarian-inspired tops and bottoms and outerwear pieces with mixed media details, as well as a variety of playful accessories that correspond to apparel pieces from the collection. Each pop-up location will also feature a graffiti airbrush-inspired art piece that can be seen across different items like tees, fleece, jackets, accessories, and—the best part—Converse Chuck 70’s!
In addition to the FW23 items, the stores carry your favorite pieces from the essentials collection, and of course, Tyler, The Creator’s entire music catalog to purchase on vinyl.
And, if you’re an American Express cardholder, you’re in luck! As the GOLF HOLIDAY SHOPS’ official partner, American Express is offering special card member-only perks, including:
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An Amex Card Member-only entry line to the Shop.
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Access to purchase dedicated apparel available exclusively to Amex Card Members.
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An exclusive 5% discount on purchases made in stores.
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And a complimentary gift with purchase when using an Amex Card!
(Terms and conditions apply to these card member benefits. Visit https://golfwang.com/pages/holidayshops to learn more!)
Not an Amex card holder, but one of Tyler, the Creator’s top fans on Spotify? Spotify is also continuing their partnership with GOLF WANG—fans have access to exclusive archival GOLF WANG merch items as part of the Spotify Capsule Collection here!
You can find GOLF HOLIDAY SHOP pop-up locations in Austin, Atlanta, Bay Area, Chicago, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., as well as internationally in Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, and Melbourne. To explore more about what each pop-up shop has to offer, and store hours and other information, you can visit the official website here!
This week in Miami American Express hosted the PLAY by American Express Platinum House Party at The Miami Beach EDITION. The one-of-a-kind, interactive gallery featured reimagined toys as collectable art during Miami Art Week. PLAY was created in collaboration with one of the most sought-after creative studios, PlayLab, Inc. and the premier collector platform, Mattel Creations.
A star-studded crowd came out for the night celebration. Notables included Lori Harvey, Chanel Iman, Aly Raisman, Yvonne Orji, Batsheva Haart, Dale Moss, Shantell Martin and more. The exclusive, invite-only party featured music from LA-based DJ collective, Donavan’s Yard.
The gallery combined art and nostalgia by bringing together some of today’s most interesting artists including Salehe Bembury, Surin Kim, Eny Lee Parker, Serban Ionescu, and Kumkum Fernando to reimagine iconic toys as limited-edition collectibles and art pieces.
PLAY by American Express Platinum was available to Platinum Card® and Centurion® Members and their guests.
Photos by Getty Images for American Express Platinum
It was a dazzling night with Vanessa Hudgens as American Express hosted its Raise the Bar with Business Gold immersive pop-up experience
Personal Essay: An Evening with Olivia Rodrigo Nearly 3,000 Miles Away, and Everything She Taught me About Life on the Way There
This fall, in Downtown Los Angeles, 2,795 miles away from my home in New York, the breath-of-fresh-air vocals that can only ever come from Olivia Rodrigo could be heard radiating through a small hotel venue. Inside, she performed most of the songs on her latest album, Guts, for the very first time. A little less than seventy-two hours prior, I stared at a computer screen from the corner of a sound studio at my school and decided that, no matter what it took, I would be in the audience when she did.
The show, warmly titled American Express Presents; An Evening with Olivia Rodrigo, was an acoustic, unplugged, rare gem of an experience that I’ll undoubtedly carry with me for the rest of my life. And if you’d asked me at seventeen what life lessons Olivia Rodrigo had taught me, I’d probably have a pink notebook filed from cover to cover and would take up your entire afternoon. She’d been the first artist, and quite frankly one of the first people in those days, to have gotten through to me. She taught me that I wasn’t the only person in the world who was suffocating under the weight of the perpetually messy teenage girlhood experience, that young heartbreak wasn’t going to be the death of me, and that one day, there would be an entire world outside the four walls of my bedroom.
If you’d asked me around three weeks ago what she’d taught me, I’d have an updated notebook. That the inevitability in growing up is scary no matter who you are, that it’s okay if there’s an infinite number of things that you still wish you had or were or will be, that teenage dreams don’t go away when the teen years get left behind. And that, at the very end of the day, all of these things are perfectly fine.
If you asked me today, we’d need more than an afternoon. My notebooks have been forgone in favor of notes hypothetically inked on my skin to be carried wherever I wander these days. In recent days, Olivia has taught me how to live in a way I once thought wasn’t entirely possible. To catch a flight across the country with a day’s notice. To ride on a golf cart through the Hollywood hills. To see flowers you’ve never seen before to take pictures on a tiny digital camera and to remind yourself, time and time again, that there is an infinite number of emotions still left to be felt.
How exactly is Olivia Rodrigo responsible for any of this? Bear with me, we’ll get to that.
When I was somewhere near fifteen years old and my journalism career only existed in my daydreams, I spent a great deal of time imagining red carpets, sparkly dresses, and the way the California mountains would look through a plane window, a view that I planned to memorize on my many trips back and forth to Los Angeles. I pictured myself, looking far older than I do now, having an understanding of the world that I do not currently have, following events, shows, and the artists that I loved from coast to coast at the drop of a hat. To my young self, the idea of hopping onto a plane to chase something exciting felt so blissfully simple.
With time, I learned that there wasn’t much of a need to do so. Nearly every artist that I admired tended to make a stop in my home city, causing me to trade planes for subways or sneakers. Still, the memory stayed in the back of my mind. How beautifully grown up would it feel to step onto a plane on my very own to spend a day or so on the other side of the country, in a city lined with palm trees and the golden glow of the midday sun? At the time, growing up was a novelty.
An Evening with Olivia Rodrigo was exactly what it sounds like. A night spent with just five things: Olivia, her producing partner Dan Nigro, three backup singers, one guitar, and one piano. In between songs, Olivia and Dan told the story of how they were created, from heartwarming interludes featuring Dan’s 6-month-old daughter (who can be heard at the end of Teenage Dream) to the frustrations of crafting the album and all of the emotions that went into it. “We cried just because we were frustrated,” Olivia said. “We were really toiling.”
When it comes to me, at the risk of sounding like a complete cliche, Olivia heals all. From the release of Sour following my very first heartbreak by an alleviating three weeks, to Guts validating my constant fear of growing out of my teen years and being unaware of what awaits me on the other side. Our shared ages have made her music feel like a guiding light throughout a tumultuous teenage-turned-new-adult life. In recent times, primarily the fearful anticipation of my twentieth birthday, I’ve felt myself looking for the guidance and comfort that the artist once granted me at seventeen.
The aforementioned birthday was a cake-filled interlude to what has been a complex season of life. I’ve admittedly feared the number twenty for a few years now. It’s absurd, really, but my teen years and the youthful ones prior were all that I’ve known for all of the years of my life that I can vividly remember. Guts tells a similar story, with Teenage Dream illustrating the perils of growing up so beautifully. It seems that, in my world, Olivia’s albums are constantly coming just at the right time. From a heartbroken seventeen-year-old to a girl right on the verge of adulthood, Guts and Sour have continually been the soundtracks to some of my most monumental moments in time.
In the last few late nights of my teens, I couldn’t sleep, and instead spun my bright blue Guts vinyl over and over again, repeating Teenage Dream. The line But I fear that they already got all the best parts of me has remained in my ears since I first heard it, sitting a few feet away from Olivia at Guts Gallery back in September. Last night, however, the best parts of me couldn’t have felt closer as I walked to my seat inside of The Ace. The 1600-person venue was packed with fans who, much like myself, felt extremely lucky to be there. Many of whom had also been on a journey of cars, trains, and even planes, since the news had been released the morning prior. The kind-eyed girls behind me had flown to San Francisco from Toronto and then rented a car to make the six hour drive, while a boy who I chatted with in the hallway had come from Las Vegas.
Forgive my change of scenery here, but for the context of just how I ended up in Los Angeles in the first place, I’ll need to take us away from the Golden State and over to a particularly cloudy day at a college in New York. The story starts with me having a professor this semester who, albeit in somewhat kinder words, told me that she doesn’t like anything about the work that I create. I was in the aforementioned professor’s class on Thursday morning, my back against the wall in our on-campus news studio with my chest filled with the sort of heavy feeling that only comes about when you’ve just turned twenty and you’re struggling to grasp why you can’t seem to stop thinking about a number.
Before my trip this weekend, I’ll admit that I’d been thinking about California quite a bit. New York is everything to me. It’s been my home for my whole life and it’s where I’ve done all of my dreaming. But some days, I had struggled to get the image of a series of mountains I’d seen in Palm Springs a number of years ago out of my head, and I had begun to wonder if the answers that I’ve been desperately searching for aren’t behind me after all, maybe just simply on a different coast.
I had been halfway between pulling the trigger on a weekend trip but knew I’d be far too scared to at the end of the day. I was also halfway in this particular thought and the fact that the studio was far too hot and it was causing the hair to stick to the back of my neck and how I found that extremely annoying, when my computer pinged with an email from the incredible team at American Express, informing me of Monday’s concert.
I’d like to tell you that I thought it over for longer than five minutes, but the amount of time between the aforementioned email and confirmation text about my plane tickets is two minutes less than that. When class came to an end a few minutes later, my friend Nikole asked me to grab her bag for her as she hopped off the anchor desk. “Sure,” I said, handing it to her. “Oh, also, I’m going to LA. Day after tomorrow.”
Though I wasn’t able to tell anyone the reason for my trip, I’m sure that everyone who knew me well enough could conclude that if I was doing something as wild as that, it most likely had something to do with Olivia Rodrigo.
Last week, Olivia did a cover of Noah Khan’s Stick Season during her performance at the BBC Live Lounge. Two days after I booked my whirlwind trip across the country, that cover is what played through my headphones as the sun rose through the plane window. As we flew over the mountains that I had missed so dearly, I jotted down the following in my notes app:
at the moment I’ve found myself looking out the plane window to the California mountains and wondering why I feel strangely somber. but then again, I do have an answer, as just a few minutes ago I was fifteen, hiking up one out in the deep desert of Palm Springs, stopping every time I saw a flower so I could weave it into my hair.
I listen to Olivia’s cover of stick season now and think about how then, I didn’t know who she was, and I didn’t know who most of the people I’ve truly loved in this lifetime were, either. why does fifteen feel so young, but when I look at the pictures, I don’t think that I look different at all? the mirror alters my reality, shows me that I look far older. I look like I’m twenty, maybe older on a good day. I look like I live in my own apartment with a job that allows me to wander off to LA for a few days when I’m in search of something that I can only hope I’ll find.
The aforementioned job fills me with so much joy. The last thirty minutes of a whirlwind first day at my new internship a few weeks ago ended up being the very first time I’d meet Lexy White. We chatted via a somewhat glitchy Slack call, and I remember thinking that the background of where she sat in her LA apartment resembled mine. The walls contained an array of colorful posters, clearly reflecting on some of the things she loved in the same way mine did, a world and a half away from the office that I sat in. I’m not really sure how Olivia had come up, but somehow, we spent most of the call talking about our shared love of the artist. Well that sucks, I thought as I packed up my laptop to head out of the office. That might be one of the coolest people I know now, and I’ll probably never meet her in person.
With the way I tend to live my life, I should probably remove probably never from my vocabulary. A thought of I should ask her to grab coffee while I’m in LA turned into us riding through the backlots at Universal Studios on a golf cart before accidentally wearing nearly the exact same outfit at The Ace that night and not realizing it until we arrived. She’s hilarious, so unbelievably kind, and luckily for me, the type of person who’s willing to spend the entire day with an intern, which I assume is pretty few and far between. I consider myself extremely lucky to know her.
Teenage Dream and Making The Bed have been my most played songs on Guts, despite Lacy and Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl being my undoubtable favorites. I blame the fact that they seamlessly narrate my fears these days, making them two of the most relatable songs I’ve ever heard. As I rode through the backlots of Universal Studios on a golf cart and subsequently sat in a theater listening to my favorite artist of all time play an acoustic set of an album I loved more than anything, I was reminded of how deeply I once wanted this life, and how recently it was when all I could do was want it. How I had planned on not stopping until I’d achieved these things, and how I assumed that it would be far later on this path. That I would be much older than twenty years old. In the moments where I’m supposed to be basking in the joy of this, I sometimes find myself worried instead. Where do we go from here, will all of this continue to mean what it does as I get older? I have found, in growing up, that time, experiences, accomplishments, can feel fragile when you spend too much time thinking about them.
In her own way, Olivia has found this as well. I’d been feeling this way on a Tuesday night around three weeks ago when a New Yorker article popped up on my Twitter feed. In it, she says, “It happened so young in my career. […] I was nineteen, and I was, like, Wow, I’ve done so much that I wanted to do. I’m only nineteen. But, in a way, that’s also sort of freeing. Maybe that sounds weird, but it’s so nice to have accomplished those things in the last album cycle. […] Now I just get to make music for me.”
Yet another Olivia lesson, that I need to figure out my own version of making music for me. I think that, in some capacity, I’m well on my way.
What was unique about this particular show wasn’t entirely its intimacy or the Q&A portion, but more so the unplugged, acoustic nature of it, and the unspoken agreement from the crowd to sit back and let Olivia’s own vocals carry the night away. We remained seated for the majority of the show, only getting up at the direction of Olivia, who exclaimed “get up, get up!” during All American Bitch. The soothing, intimate nature of the evening says a lot about what sets Olivia apart from many other artists: her effervescent kindness. The young star has a way of lighting up a room by simply flashing a smile and saying hello in a warm, kind voice that you’d expect to belong to a Disney princess. One would expect flowers to bloom in her path and maybe they do, but we’re all far too busy noticing everything about her to realize what’s going on alongside.
Dan brings up Olivia’s “revisionist history” when it comes to making the albums, and it reminds me of my own overwhelming nostalgia. “Even today, just talking about it, I’m like, ‘We had so much fun,” she says. “We had Taco Bell every day, hanging out!’ We were toiling, though, in the real world.”
And with that, the feeling in my chest that had been there since my birthday gives way into something new, something warmer. She has a way of channeling relatability in a way that makes sense in every scenario. Forgive my simplicity here, but Olivia is a warm hug. The notion that no matter how old I get or how much my life grows and changes, there will always be a connection to the shy eyed teenage girl I once was.
Lately, I’ve thought a lot about which of the Olivia lessons have been the most prominent in my lifetime. Was it the ones that resonated at seventeen, or the ones that resonate now? The way that I am currently choosing to see it, is that somewhere in a very different version of life, a different universe maybe, a younger version of me sits on the couch as Olivia plays in the background. Completely unaware that there was a world not all that far in which she is playing at The Ace Hotel in Los Angeles and I am sitting in the orchestra, despite the fact that tomorrow, I’ll need to be at school in New York. There’s a world in which I can and will make that class and there’s a world in which my hair was once blonde but not anymore and I love people who I once didn’t know existed. There is a world in which I get to be here for the earlier days of a global superstar who will only continue to grow. There is a world, the one that I am currently in, where there are countless more Olivia albums to release, countless more shows to be played, and countless more lessons for her to teach me as I grow, both literally and theoretically.
In that case, I’m going to need more notebooks.
An endless amount of thank you’s to the amazing team at American Express for putting on this unparalleled concert and for having me in attendance. Check out the conversation and bits of the concert for yourself on Olivia’s youtube channel!
Couldn’t Make It To Olivia Rodrigo’s Amex Members Week Concert? We’ve Got You! Here’s How to Watch The Concert!
Excitement was through the roof in the City of Angels last night as none other than Olivia Rodrigo graced the stage at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. This was no ordinary concert, as it’s intimate location unplugged performance made for an unforgettable night.
The event was the culmination of American Express’s third annual Member Week. A week-long celebration of all things #withAmex, this year’s Member Week promised to be a showstopper, and it certainly delivered. The secrecy surrounding the concert was almost as thrilling as the event itself, as the news of the performance was kept under wraps until Sunday morning, when Card Members got the nod that tickets were to drop in less than an hour. The excitement was palpable, and anticipation ran high all the way into the concert itself.
In true Olivia Rodrigo style, the night was all about an immersive experience, combining live music, interactive visuals, and, of course, plenty of surprises. The theatre was transformed into a magical space that brought Guts to life in vivid detail.
Rodrigo has fans all over the world, and even if you are a California native, I’m sure we all know how difficult it is to obtain concert tickets these days. For those who missed out on seeing the show live, not to worry! Once again, in true Olivia Rodrigo fashion, she has ensured that fans around the world can still savor the magic. The iconic performance will be available on her YouTube channel from Tuesday, October 10, 8 PM ET, until Thursday, October 12th. The video will not only feature her extraordinary musical talents but will also delve into the stories behind each song, giving fans a sneak peek into the artist like never before. Click here to check it out!
Olivia Rodrigo will Play an Intimate Concert at The Ace Hotel for Amex Members Week Tomorrow! Want to be There? We Have All The Deets!
As an avid connoisseur of the latest in Olivia Rodrigo news, from her newest releases down to her favorite color Stanley Cup, I love being in the know about where I can catch a glimpse of my favorite star and her breathtakingly beautiful performances. I know I’m far from alone in this one, and when I found out that American Express would be putting on an evening with Olivia at the Ace Hotel TOMORROW, I knew that I needed to let all of you know as soon as possible.
I know what you’re thinking- how do I be a part of this? Well, if you’re anything like me (a New Yorker), start by getting on the closest plane headed towards LAX with Guts playing in your headphones, as is what I’m doing right now. That’s right, I want you all in the know about this gem of a night so badly that I am quite literally writing this from 42,000 feet in the air.
Once you’ve secured a way to get to Los Angeles in less than 24 hours OR realized that you don’t have to do that since you already live there (consider me jealous), all you have to do is head over to AXS, where the tickets will be available via the following link at 10 AM PST, just an hour from now! https://www.axs.com/events/506549/an-evening-with-olivia-rodrigo-tickets
The tickets will be available exclusively for American Express Cardmembers, and can be yours for only $25! Once again, if we’re similar, your wallet also tends to audibly cry when a new concert is announced, so this is incredible news. Best of all, All proceeds from ticket sales will go towards Fund 4 Good, Olivia’s new nonprofit. It launched alongside Olivia’s upcoming GUTS Tour and is a global initiative committed to building an equitable and just future for all women and girls through direct support of community-based non-profits that champion girls’ education, support reproductive rights and prevent gender-based violence. In addition to these ticket sales, a portion of each ticket sold for the tour will go towards the fund as well.
So what can you expect once you’ve grabbed your American Express card, transportation to LA (whether that’s an airplane or simply your feet) and head to toe purple outfit? I’m so glad you asked! The immersive concert experience will bring some of GUTS’ most iconic moments to life, including an Instagram-worthy photo moment from the “Bad Idea Right” music video and vintage-style photo booths, so very Olivia. The show will also feature a complimentary matcha experience, featuring matcha lattes from LA-based small business Midori Matcha, in a commemorative reusable cup. After the show, concertgoers can expect to be met with even more surprises. I’d tell you now, but I’d rather just see you there.
We’re always telling you how great is is to be #withAmex, and this exclusive show is truly the icing on the cake. The concert is part of Amex’s third annual Member Week, a weeklong celebration of what it means to be #withAmex. Olivia’s concert follows 2022’s Member Week concert featuring Jack Harlow. American express is presenting the week this month, as a continuation of their commitment to making life better. From October 9-13, cardholders will be met with exciting new offers and experiences across dining, travel, entertainment, shopping, and of course, being a diehard Livie.
Don’t live in the area? No problem! For those unable to attend, Olivia’s performance will be available on her YouTube channel the following day, Tuesday, October 10 at 8pm ET through Thursday, October 12, courtesy of American Express. The video will include special stories behind each song, and viewers will get an inside look at Olivia like never before.
There’s nothing like being an Olivia fan, and as her stardom continues to grow at a record breaking pace, experiences like these will continue to bring us all together and remind us what it feels like to escape from life for just a while. I should be touching down soon and have many purple dresses to sort through, so I have to go, but be sure to head to AXS shortly to secure your ticket to see American Express Presents: An Evening with Olivia Rodrigo. I can promise that it’ll be a night to remember. See you there!
American Express Offers the Best and Exclusive Perks at the U.S. Open
The 2023 U.S. Open Grand Slam tennis tournament has officially kicked off in New York and tennis fans can have the opportunity to watch their favorite players compete up close, experience some of the most thrilling activities, eat some of the most delicious foods, and drink premium beverages thanks to American Express.
American Express partners with the US Open Tennis Championships for their 30th anniversary and announces their renewed partnership with UTSA.
BLACKPINK Born Pink Experience: K-Pop Fandom Meets NYC Pop-Up Reality
This week, American Express unveiled a magical collaboration, joining forces with Japanese designer Verdy and K-Pop sensation BLACKPINK. The NYC drop comes days before their performance at the Met Life Stadium on August 12, featuring an exclusive capsule collection designed by Verdy. Located conveniently at 541 W 25th St, the pop-up is just a short distance from Hudson Yards and offers easy access to the High Line, making it a must-visit destination for both BLACKPINK devotees and pop culture enthusiasts. The exhibit is open for a limited time, providing a unique opportunity to experience the synergy between music, art, and fashion that defines BLACKPINK’s global influence
Upon entering the pop-up, visitors are greeted by a captivating sight: a larger-than-life BLACKPINK bear named KRUNK, exclusively designed by Verdy. This iconic centerpiece sets the tone for the entire experience, symbolizing the fusion of BLACKPINK’s trendsetting aesthetic with VERDY’s distinctive artistic touch. The atmosphere exudes energy and excitement, resonating with the vibrant spirit of the K-pop phenomenon. As visitors continue their journey, a dedicated merchandise section awaits. From trendy dad hats and heart-shaped pillows to stylish tees, jackets, and a distinctive bike priced at $3,500, the collection lets fans own a piece of BLACKPINK’s magic. VERDY’s artistic touch is evident in every detail, harmoniously fusing the pop-up’s theme with BLACKPINK’s global influence.
As you explore further, the rear of the pop-up reveals an interactive wall adorned with captivating images of the Born Pink bear. A life-sized Born Pink BLACKPINK heart takes center stage, delighting fans with its visual charm. This interactive feature creates an immersive experience, bringing fans closer to the beloved K-pop sensations. For an added dose of fun, a photo booth area awaits, allowing fans to snap playful shots and have them printed out as treasured mementos. The BLACKPINK Born Pink Pop-Up experience encapsulates the essence of K-pop culture, uniting music, art, and fandom under one roof. Don’t miss your chance to explore this limited experience.
To learn more about BLACKPINK’s Born Pink pop-up experiences, including opening hours and additional details, please visit www.blackpinkmusic.com/amexpopup.