During the media event for her single R.Y.F. short for Raise Your Flag, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray reacted to being compared to American actress-singer-and-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo.
She recalled seeing the comparison between her and Rodrigo on social media.
“It’s funny. I see on twitter all the time people saying that we look alike. But she’s doing so well, she’s so talented, and it’s so nice to see her that.Â
“She’s debuted an album. She’s doing so so well at such a young age.”
Gray referred to the 18-year-old Rodrigo, who is known for her roles as Paige Olvera on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark and Nini Salazar-Roberts on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
In 2020, Rodrigo inked a contract with Interscope and Geffen Records and released her debut single Drivers License in January this year. The single reached number one in multiple countries, including the United States; while the young artist’s critically-acclaimed debut album, Sour, had its release on May 21 of this year as well. The said got preceded by two more singles, Deja Vu and Good 4 U.Â
The Filipina Miss Universe then expressed her interest in collaborating with the American artist, while sharing her advice as a beauty queen.
“I would love to collaborate with her. That would be awesome. In regards to Miss Universe, if she wanted. But it really depends if you really wanted to go in a direction, as with any career or opportunity; your heart needs to be invested in it.”
As for local artists, Catriona expressed her interest in collaborating with three Filipina artists.
“I would love to collaborate with KZ Tandingan, Jaya, or even Moira. I really admire their artistry and how they’ve really carved out their own sound. And you can see that their heart is in what they are doing.”
As for her music career, Gray lent her voice to the inspiring song of courage, R.Y.F (Raise Your Flag). Recorded by KZ Tandingan in 2019, the song pulled its inspiration from Gray’s statement during her journey in the Miss Universe 2018. It is available on all digital music streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. (Additional texts by Jude Cartalaba.)
