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Purple, angst, electric guitar, revenge, uncertainty and recklessness – this is the pulse of Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, GUTS.
Fans have been waiting for new music from Rodrigo since the release of his debut album “SOUR” in 2021. The young pop star released “GUTS” on September 2nd. 8 with 11 songs and a newfound confidence – both vocal and emotional.
Olivia Rodrigo’s success
Sophomore albums can be more revealing than debuts and can strengthen careers, according to Billboard.
The stakes were even higher for Rodrigo given the super success of her first album, SOUR, which catapulted her to superstardom almost overnight. According to ET Canada, with the release of GUTS, audiences have high expectations for Rodrigo to live up to and even exceed them. If her first album was exceptional, her next album should have been better.
Rodrigo’s emotional and beautiful songwriting abilities have massively attracted the public’s attention since the release of “Driver’s License” in January 2021. The debut artist climbed the charts, with each of her songs on the album achieving RIAA Platinum certification or higher faster than any other. another album, according to MNPR magazine. Rodrigo now boasts the 21st most listened to Spotify in the world.
Tracks “GUTS”
Rodrigo released her lead single from the album, “Vampire”, on June 30, three months before the album’s release. With her first song released in over two years, listeners treated Rodrigo’s introduction to piano from the first few seconds as a welcome return hug.
In the song, Rodrigo addresses her ex, accusing him of being manipulative and using her for fame. Expectations for this comeback may have been high, but Rodrigo still managed to exceed them with this track.
The second and final single from the album, “Bad Idea, Right?”, was released on August 11. From the get-go, the song sounds upbeat and reckless, adding a lighthearted tone to the album and reminiscent of love anthems from the early 2000s. With undertones of alternative rock music, “bad idea, right?” prepared fans for a more electric album, filled with girly themes and confident lightheartedness.
The album’s opening track, “All-American Bitch,” is an anthem for young American women who face impossible expectations to be sexy, kind, and beautiful at all times. The song uses a gentle and slow build up to a rock chorus, using the musical progression as another tool to illustrate how society places conflicting expectations on women.
The fourth track, “Lacy,” is an acoustic guitar song that flows as sweetly and smoothly as the beginning of a ribbon. Rodrigo addresses the song to the ideal Lacey, an unknown character with “daisy-white eyes” whom she envies and eventually worships. A common theme in Rodrigo’s music is the track where the artist pours out her heart when jealousy overtakes her.
The pop-rock star meets an insecure high school girl in track five: “The Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl.” In the song, Rodrigo rages over the social shame of his existence – all with an electric guitar. Fans can enjoy listening to the awkward and isolating scenarios she lays out in the chorus.
“Making the Bed” moves into an emotional reflection on the pain and dissatisfaction that came with Rodrigo’s newfound fame post-SOUR, as well as the realization that she was the one who put herself there.
“I’m so tired of being the girl I am. Everything good has turned into something I fear,” Rodrigo sings.
Rodrigo said that while she feels very lucky to have such a career, she wanted the song to also reflect the trauma that comes with it, according to Interview Magazine.
“Bring him back!” is the song that listeners will probably have the most fun listening to while jamming with friends or traveling alone in the car. The song’s many conflicting thoughts reflect the complexity of heartache and feelings of longing for an ex, as well as a deep desire for revenge.
“Love is Confusing,” the eighth track on GUTS, talks about the ridiculous thoughts and actions that come from falling in love that, upon reflection, “mean nothing” later in life. Another track dedicated to failed love, Rodrigo creates a playful and danceable chorus to combat all this humiliation.
Rodrigo stays true to her feelings of anger and betrayal in “The Grudge,” where she is hurt by holding a grudge against her ex. Unable to forgive and forget the irreconcilable party, Rodrigo reflects on the pain caused to her, which still gives her nightmares, thoughts of self-doubt and “confusion that still lingers.”
The album’s final track, “teenage dream”, represents a farewell to Rodrigo’s teenage self and the SOUR era. Rodrigo talks about her anxiety about releasing new music and aging, changes that make her dependent on the opinions of millions. Despite his assurances that things will get better, Rodrigo can’t help but wonder about the possibility of becoming a failure and a disappointment on this track.
Rodrigo’s brutal honesty, vulnerable lyrics and powerful voice throughout “GUTS” prove that the young pop star is here to stay. “GUTS” has already surpassed “SOUR” as Rodrigo’s biggest debut album in the US, according to Chart Data. On September 13, Rodrigo announced her GUTS World Tour in 2024, during which she will perform her hits in stadiums and arenas around the world.
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Contact Jackie Lopez at jacqueline.lopez@pepperdine.edu.