Olivia Rodrigo and Feist gave the most pure and innocent rendition of “We’re Going to Be Friends” to honor The White Stripes at the duo’s 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. The simple acoustic duo performance, their undeniable chemistry, and the looks they shared together while singing made this such a special tribute. This was also a notable performance to see what Olivia is capable of artistically.
Olivia has some bangers in her original music, but seeing her step outside her usual style was a revelation. With how compelling she is as a singer and performer, even in an unfamiliar format and genre, it showed what depth she has as an artist. The Music Man has to say this was the perfect song for the 23-year-old star, and we loved to see this side of her!
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame uploaded Olivia and Feist’s “We’re Going to Be Friends” cover on January 2, 2026, and it hit 240,000 views. Viewers gave plenty of love below the video, adding comments such as “I typically would never put a cover version above an original, except here! This performance takes the song to a whole new level, and this is coming from a big Jack White fan!” and “This is lovely. Wonderful to see and hear Feist again, and Olivia Rodrigo continues to surprise and impress.”
Hitting the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame stage always seems to foster killer performances from Olivia. The Filipina-American singer performed “You’re So Vain” for Carly Simon’s induction in 2022, going mega viral to the tune of 17 million views. This just showed what an absolute superstar Olivia is, with a playful performance that was just dripping with X-factor. You couldn’t have picked a better singer for this tribute.
The White Stripes released “We’re Going to Be Friends” as the ninth track on their third studio album, White Blood Cells. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that the nostalgic tune was never released as a full single, despite the fact it became one of the band’s signature songs. The band did drop the song as a promo single for radio, but it didn’t get a proper release like the album’s other three singles. The enduring popularity of “We’re Going to Be Friends” can be seen in the fact that it is The White Stripes’ fourth-most popular track on Spotify, with 197 million streams.