Olivia Rodrigo, sold-out Detroit crowd spill their Guts at Little Caesars Arena

Olivia Rodrigo made her own kind of March madness Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena, as the 21-year-old pop superstar brought her very sold-out Guts World Tour to downtown Detroit and led a cathartic 1-hour, 45-minute screamfest for a crowd of more than 15,000 exceedingly emotive fans.

"I want you to scream, I want you to jump, I want you to feel all your f------ feelings!" Rodrigo told the crowd early on, and she didn't have to ask twice. Fans knew every word and shouted them back at full volume at the singer, whose voice was frequently drowned out by the teenage wall of sound that surrounded her and filled the arena. And they weren't just reciting the lyrics, they were feeling them, and all the teen drama that Rodrigo makes the centerpiece of her songs: heartbreak, betrayal, jealousy, confusion, angst and pain.

And sure, the effervescent swooning of young love, too. Rodrigo's songs aren't some downer affair, they're spiky and peppy and sour like a fistful of Warheads candy, and she presented them on Saturday with zip and bounce and flair as she jumped, skipped, headbanged and air guitared her way across the V-shaped stage. It was pure teenage bedroom bliss-out, the way you rock out when you're alone and no one's looking, or when you practice your rock moves in the mirror. She stuck out her tongue and peppered her banter with swear words, which somehow don't sound so bad when she says them.

Maybe it's because she's an approximation of rebellion more than any sort of actual loose cannon. Rodrigo comes from the Disney mold, where she was a star of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" before her debut album "Sour" became a smash hit in 2021. She was such a newbie to the pop world that she didn't play her first concert until after she had a No. 1 album, and she (wisely) performed inside theaters on her first tour — she played the Masonic Temple in April 2022 — even though she could have made the leap straight to arenas. It was a smart move and an investment in her long-term career arc, which is good, because she's going to be around for a long time.

Rodrigo's 23-song set on Saturday covered most of her recorded output to date; she played all of "Guts," including the newly released "Obsessed," and nine of 11 songs from "Sour." (She also played "Can't Catch Me Now," from last year's "Hunger Games" prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.")

Opener "Bad Idea, Right?" a fizzy punk-pop confessional about the perils of re-hooking up with one's ex-, set the stage for a high energy evening, with Rodrigo hitting the stage like she was shot out of a cannon. Joined by her five-piece band and a pair of backup singers, Rodrigo was all big eyes and wide expressions, and she always knew where the camera was, which was projecting her likeness onto a huge video wall that formed the backdrop of her stage. Her performance was studied but it was genuine, and Rodrigo's refreshingly live, non-canned vocals emphasized emoting in the moment over perfect replications of her recordings. It added an air of excitement to the performance.

"Vampire" and "Driver's License," Rodrigo's two big album-leading singles, were dispensed of rather quickly in the first five songs; in a concert that prioritized pep, perhaps it was wise to clear the decks of the outsize ballads early on. "Pretty Isn't Pretty," which takes on issues of body insecurity, and "Love is Embarrassing" were more down the middle, and Rodrigo was joined by a team of eight dancers — like her band, all-female — with whom she performed light, intermittent choreography throughout the evening.

There were a few fun production bits built into the show — she flew out over the audience on a crescent moon-shaped prop for "Lacy" and "Jealousy, Jealousy," and sat cross-legged at the end of the stage with her guitarist for an acoustic run-through of "Happier" — which bolstered her image of relatability and homespun charm. Rodrigo doesn't present herself as untouchable pop royalty, she's more like your cool friend who's down to gossip about boys and always has your back.

That's why she's created such a strong bond with her fans, most of whom on Saturday were in their teens and early 20s, and many who came dressed in shades of purple, the top color on Rodrigo's mood board (and the key shade in the cover art for both "Sour" and "Guts"). Rodrigo's informal polling of the crowd, when she asked who fans were there in attendance with, revealed mostly groups of friends, with some cheers for parents and less for couples. So the night was about friendship as much as it was anything else, and Rodrigo played the part of everyone's bestie, a role that suits her well.

A run of highly caffeinated rockers closed the show — "Brutal," "Obsessed," "All-American B----," the last of which included a prompt for fans to envision something that really makes them angry, and to let it all out in a scream — leading into an encore of "Good 4 U" and "Get Him Back!" which closed the night.

Before exiting, Rodrigo jumped down onto the floor and slapped hands, signed autographs and posed for a few selfies with fans, forming a heart with her hands and pointing into the camera which was capturing her every move. It was a fitting end for her first — but definitely not her last — arena concert in Detroit.

Opener Chappell Roan impressed with her 40-minute set of soaring confessional pop, delivered through big pop hooks and a flair for the dramatic. The rising star had fans on their feet early, where they'd stay for the remainder of the show.

agraham@detroitnews.com