Two years after Olivia Rodrigo released her freshman album “SOUR,” she released her sophomore album, on Sept. 8, 2023 “GUTS,” with 12 songs. Her first album was an absolute hit. “SOUR” was the first album in Spotify history to have all songs hit over 200 million streams. But “GUTS” is now predicted to be the first album on Spotify to have all its tracks reach 300 million streams.
“GUTS” is relatable for the average teen girl—awful boys, self-esteem and spiraling, to name a few topics. For example, “All-American B****’ is about trying to be society’s ideal girl but also knowing you can’t be. The song switches between soft melodic music and a loud, rough-sounding tune. Representing two sides of a girl, the “perfect” front and then the real not so pristine side. The lyrics are relatable because they talk about how society confines young girls to a particular box. I feel like it helps express girls’ emotions well. One of my favorite lines in “All-American B****” would have to be, “I know my place, and this is it.” I love this lyric because it means how you are is how you should always be.
Originally, “Lacy” was a poem Rodrigo wrote for a poetry class. “Lacy” is about comparing yourself to other women, and that being completely overwhelming. “Lacy” is a very feminine, dreamy feeling song, different sounding from the rest of the album.
“Vampire” was the first song released off the album, and it quickly became a top-of-the-charts song too. “Vampire” was Rodrigo’s third number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart. The other two are “Driver’s License” and “Good 4 U” from “SOUR.”
“Vampire” amplifies the struggles of meeting someone who completely drains you, like a vampire would drain you of blood, hence the name. Many fans of her think that this song could be about two of her most recent exes, Adam Faze and Zack Bia. Once again, it is relatable to almost anyone.
Overall, the album encompasses a mix of emotions that almost anyone would find a way to relate to. It has so many beautiful melodies and meaningful lyrics. “GUTS” is expressive and explains a lot of girls’ typical issues in society. Rodrigo uses fun but beautiful songs to explain what we have all felt or will feel at some point in life. But to my surprise, “SOUR” will always be my favorite album of hers. I would say I over-listened to that album. “GUTS” is definitely a close second, though.
