Coming off of her number one debut album “SOUR,” Olivia Rodrigo released her highly anticipated sophomore album “GUTS” two years later on Sept. 8. The anticipation for the album began when Olivia posted a selfie on May 17 with a calendar in the background. The date June 30 had a heart drawn around it, leading fans to speculate that her new album would be released that day. Olivia later announced not her album, but the release of her first single from the album, “vampire” which was released on June 30.
Rodrigo starts the album off strong with a track titled “all-american bitch” which has a very angsty teen sound that is reminiscent of an early 2000s teen movie. In the chorus of this track, she states, “I know my age, and I act like it” which cements that the tone of this album will be a teen punk-influenced album where she deals with fame, heartbreak and the insecurities that come with it.
Some notable tracks (and my personal favorites) from the album are “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” “making the bed,” “love is embarrassing,” and “pretty isn’t pretty.” These four songs encapsulate the theme of the album; Rodrigo is willing to be vulnerable with her fans about her insecurities. This is shown through lyrics such as “Sometimes I feel like I don’t wanna be where I am, Countin’ all of the beautiful things I regret” and “You fix thе things you hated, and you’d still feel so insecure.”
“teenage dream” is the perfect closer for this album because it comes full circle with the recurring theme of her feeling like she’s only seen as a young pop star; “When am I gonna stop being great for my age and just start being great” and “I fear that they already got the best parts of me.” She opens up about her fear of growing up and no longer being able to give her fans that “teenage dream” feeling that they’re used to from her.
Since I began writing this review, “GUTS” has gone number one on Billboard’s Top 100 albums, making this Rodrigo’s second album to achieve this milestone. The title for this album is very fitting, in my opinion. Rodrigo essentially “spilled her guts” in the sense that she revealed her most gut-wrenching insecurities.