By: Roxanne Fernandez
Summer 2023 was the summer of girlhood, from girls decked out in pink for the highly anticipated Barbie movie to swapping friendship bracelets at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. We also saw the rise of “girl” trends on TikTok, like “Lucky Girl Syndrome” and “Girl Dinner.” Billie Eilish’s song from the Barbie soundtrack, “What Was I Made For,” inspired a girlhood trend on TikTok of people showing what girlhood means to them. After the release of Olivia Rodgrido’s sophomore album GUTS, Rodrigo fans couldn’t agree more that the album is an honest tribute to the unfiltered messiness of girlhood.
After a more than two-year hiatus, which Livies (the name of her fans) called “the drought,” the Grammy winner announced “Vampire” as the first single off of GUTS. The track introduced the new era with a confessional narrative about an exploitative relationship with an older guy, alternating between rage and disappointment. She followed with the playfully angsty anthem “Bad Idea Right?” before releasing the full album on September 8, 2023.
By stepping away from music for a bit, Rodrigo was able to develop and experiment with her sound. She attended a college course at UCLA to work on her lyricism, even using one of the poems from that class to craft the dreamy ballad, “Lacy.” Her willingness to take more artistic risks, such as embracing a more pop-punk style in this album and infusing her lyrics with more personality and humor, allowed her to grow as a musician.
While the Grammy-winning album SOUR was a solid debut, GUTS is a step up in all aspects. The collection thematically and sonically shows her progression from SOUR and how she navigates the rest of her teenage years while dealing with the consequences of her success. Yet, Olivia remains relatable to her listeners as she writes about everyday teenage problems like heartbreak, bad decisions, and self-image issues. The coming-of-age album has a nostalgic sound similar to an early-aughts teen soundtrack.
The album is filled with funny one-liners and cheeky lyrics. In “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl,” the pop-punk singer captures the uncomfortable feeling of social anxiety with humor and angst — producing a rebellious track that is anything but ballad-like. She nods to her previous relationship with Disney castmate Joshua Bassett, humorously confessing, “everything I do is tragic/ every guy I like is gay.” In the chorus, she expresses that her interactions with others feel like “social suicide,” a reference to the teen chick flick Mean Girls, where Lindsay Lohan plays a homeschooled girl like Rodrigo was in real life. She ends the song as if she is venting her thoughts in real-time, even breaking the fourth wall and admitting that she “can’t think of a third line” before lalala-ing her way out and ending with an exhausted sigh.
On another note, the album contains reflective, poignant songs that touch on her experiences these past few years. In “Logical,” Rodrigo writes about an emotionally abusive relationship with a “master manipulator,” who had her jumping to false conclusions that were anything but logical. In the bridge, she painfully sings about all the ways he made her think she wasn’t good enough for him. “Said I was too young, I was too soft/ Can’t take a joke, can’t get you off.”
At first glance, GUTS is similar to SOUR. In both albums, her lyrics are raw and honest, as if she is reading confessions from her diary. The albums also share similar aesthetics, both with purple album covers. However, GUTS shows a natural progression from her debut album in terms of everything from production to storytelling. Rather than being an entirely new era, GUTS feels like SOUR’s jaded older sister. In an industry where female artists constantly feel pressured to reinvent themselves with each release, Rodrigo stays fresh by uniquely expanding on her first body of work.
As GUTS continues to carve its path in the music world, it serves as an impactful reminder of girlhood as a shared experience through laughter, tears, self-growth, and authenticity. Through this album, Olivia Rodrigo successfully captures the essence of these transformative years — without biting her tongue.
