“I’m always scared to drink water before I go on stage,” the ‘Brutal’ singer tells PEOPLE

Olivia Rodrigo has an unconventional hydration tactic — but for a good reason!

Speaking with PEOPLE on Thursday, April 24, during Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s Spring into Action Gala, the “Obsessed” singer revealed her “greatest fear” while performing.

“[I’m afraid] I’m going to pee my pants on stage,” says Rodrigo, 22, during the event, held at Cipriani South Street in New York City.

Asked about the first thing she does when she gets off stage, the singer says she takes off her makeup and then, “I drink a ton of water.”

“I’m always scared to drink water before I go on stage,” Rodrigo explains.

Olivia Rodrigo attends the Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s Spring into Action Gala in New York City on April 24, 2025.Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Rodrigo — who has a summer of headlining festival performances lined up, including at the Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and Glastonbury, all in June — previously admitted she’d been “terrified” before taking the stage for the opening night of her Guts World Tour in February 2024.

“I was like, ‘I should have rehearsed more … like I needed three more weeks to rehearse this thing,’ “ the three-time Grammy Award winner told PEOPLE that October, during the red-carpet premiere of Netflix’s Olivia Rodrigo: Guts World Tour. “But I was like, ‘Oh well, I’m gonna go on.’ “

But after the show, Rodrigo had “such a beautiful moment” with her parents and friends off stage.

“I remember coming off stage and my mom, my dad and all my friends were there to support me and just cheering,” she recalled. “We popped champagne. And it was such a beautiful moment. I’ll remember it forever.”

Rodrigo added that her hands were shaking due to nerves when she played the piano during early shows in the tour. “I was so scared that I was going to mess up,” the “Vampire” hitmaker said. “And in the last ones, I feel like could really, like, sit into it and just enjoy myself.”

Olivia Rodrigo performing at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Aug. 14, 2024.Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty

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Meanwhile, Rodrigo, who has long been a vocal advocate for women’s and girls’ rights around the world, was honored on Thursday at the Spring into Action Gala in N.Y.C. with Planned Parenthood’s Catalyst of Change Award.

Speaking with PEOPLE during the event, the “Brutal” singer said “it feels incredibly humbling” to receive the award: “I’m just arriving and looking out at a room that’s full of so many real-life heroes that are fighting for reproductive justice every day.”

“I feel really honored to be included in the midst of them … and I’m just throwing all-around good vibes. I’m just stoked to be here,” she adds.

Asked why it’s important for her to use her platform to speak out, Rodrigo says, “The world’s in a crazy place right now, and I just feel like it is a human right to have access to safe, affordable healthcare, and especially right now, that’s under real threat.”

“So many women in America aren’t able to access that, and it’s absolutely devastating and infuriating,” she adds. “And so I think it’s really important for everyone to do everything that they can to help secure that right for women in America.”