Debuting with 302,000 units and a single in the No. 1 spot on Billboard Hot 100, Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album, “GUTS,” has taken over pop.
Two years after the release of “SOUR” in 2021, it’s clear that Rodrigo and her music have evolved — and she’s ready for another massive era. “SOUR” was first and foremost a pop album, ranging from pop chants to bedroom pop ballads. Her debut album is now certified 4x platinum in the United States and was awarded a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2022. It featured hits exploring Rodrigo’s pains and perils as a 17-year-old: heartbreak, jealousy, anger and dejection.
“GUTS” explores Rodrigo’s next era of life, and consequently, her next era as an artist.
With a spunky album title and a tracklist of bangers, ballads and big hits, “GUTS” challenges the status quo just as its predecessor did. This time around, Rodrigo turns toward rock and punk influences, emulating a pop-punk album with her signature teen angst. While still sticking true to her roots, the album is new and different, and vaults her right back into the spotlight.
Featured singles include the international number-one hit “vampire,” as well as “bad idea right?” and “get him back!” The first two preceded the album, generating conversation and hype for the entire release; they also reintroduced Rodrigo as an artist, taking stock of her new sound and the audience reception.
Clearly, it worked.
“GUTS” debuted with over 7,000 more units compared to “SOUR” and charted one more Hot 100 entry — mostly due to the fact that the album contains 12 tracks compared to the first album’s 11.
Rodrigo created most of her sophomore album at age 19, a year that she described to Billboard as having “lots of confusion, mistakes, awkwardness & good old fashioned teen angst.” “GUTS” explores the growing pains at that point in her life. “I feel like I grew 10 years between the ages of 18 and 20,” she said.
The album reflects that. It’s messy in a good way.
The song “get him back!” is a personal favorite. Billboard described it as the “‘good 4 u’ of ‘GUTS.’” It is reminiscent of Rodrigo’s sarcastic third single but experiments more with the pop-punk style. It explores Rodrigo’s vengeful yet regretful feelings toward an ex. The title itself is contradictory: does it mean reconciliation or retaliation? Not only is it a banger, but the lyrics emulate the mood of the song so well. The spunky lines include “I wanna meet your mom / just to tell her her son sucks” and “I am my father’s daughter, so maybe I could fix him.”
This pop-punk style is influenced by past genres, singer-songwriters and idols, something Rodrigo doesn’t shy away from. In “GUTS,” a rock-inspired foundation grounds the work, a genre not popular in today’s mainstream culture.
The first song on the album, “all-american bitch,” was inspired by Joan Didion, an American writer and journalist. In an interview between Rodrigo and Phoebe Bridgers, Rodrigo spoke about the inspiration from “The White Album,” a book of essays by Didion published in 1979. In the essay, Didion talks to a hippie who ran away from home and called his mom an all-American bitch. Rodrigo said “That’s the fucking coolest phrase I’ve ever heard” and wrote the first track of her album about it.
“Everything is within your grasp to be written about,” she told Bridgers.
“all-american bitch” describes the societal expectations placed on women. The lyrics include “I am built like a mother and a total machine,” “I don’t get angry when I’m pissed / I’m the eternal optimist / [and] I scream inside to deal with it.” Rodrigo’s craft shines through as she writes of universal social issues, yet tailors them to both current day and Didion’s age.
Not only do Rodrigo’s influences and experiences take on a more mature feel, but her talent does too. The audience can tell that she has grown as a singer, from the maturity in her voice to the strength in her tone. You can hear the difference in her confidence through the recordings and live on stage.
The ending of “GUTS” is one of my favorite parts of Rodrigo’s entire catalog, which is the culmination of a full circle moment beginning with the first track on her first album, “brutal.” “brutal,” a messy pop anthem, features the lyric, “Where’s my fucking teenage dream?” Alternatively, “GUTS” finishes off with “teenage dream,” a wholehearted reflection on the difficulties of growing up. The two songs contrast so well and beautifully symbolize Rodrigo’s development as an artist. They consider the change in album and artist while still existing as individual songs.
Rodrigo is growing up and her music will always reflect the trials and tribulations of that change. Her fans are growing up with her, and I think that’s why so many people, myself included, resonate with her music. It’s weird to think that Olivia Rodrigo and I are the same age, being in such different places in our lives, but when I listen to her music, I recognize and appreciate the universal themes of girlhood that connect a pop superstar to a regular old college student.
**Rodrigo will be supporting the album by embarking on the “GUTS” World Tour in 2024.