After Olivia Rodrigo released her sensational first album, SOUR, everyone was anticipating what songs were going to come out during the release of her sophomore album. Many were on edge, curious if the sophomore album would live up to her first. She announced GUTS on June 23, 2023, with a release date of September 8, 2023. After releasing her sophomore album Guts it was reported on September 23 it was at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 while all 12 songs from the set chart in the top 40, led by lead single “Vampire” at No. 1.
The album sold 302,000, with nearly a million streams in the United States.
After the anticipated M.T.V. Awards, where Olivia was nominated for some, she announced that she was going on a GUTS world tour, on September 13, 2023. The world tour will start on February 23rd, 2023 and the last tour date will be August 17th, 2024.
Every song has a hidden message in it, almost like the theme of a story. This can be said about GUTS. The hidden messages in all the songs are almost relatable because of everyone’s different life experiences. You might be asking, what are the meanings of the songs?
The opening song, ‘All-American B****’ conveys the feeling of repressed confusion or anger. It also conveys the feeling of being out of a box or being judged based on unfair factors, as a girl. Rodrigo spoke with PEOPLE Magazine explaining how she came up with the idea for the song, “It comes from the essay that she wrote about hippies in San Francisco and running away from home,” she explained. “One of the runaways was talking about his mom back home and said that she was an ‘all-American b**ch.’ I was like, ‘Wow, that’s so cool.’ It’s such a provocative set of words. I sat down the next day at the piano and wrote ‘All-American B****.’… You never know the trajectory a song is going to take.”
One of the songs that was released as a single, ‘Bad Idea, Right?’, is a song about how knowing your ex is a very bad idea, but how you do it anyway. This song’s music video features many different easter eggs. The music video itself is based on the 90’s horror-comedy aesthetic. As for the easter eggs, there is a variety of them. The most prominent one of them is the guitar and its case, featuring the songs for the entire album.
This song was the very first single to be released on the entire album. ‘Vampire’. The meaning behind this song is debatable. Some may think that the song is about how someone using you to climb the social ladder, but it can also be about how people can manipulate you and drain you, only using you for what they think you are worth.
Some say ‘Lacy’ is the continuation of the song ‘Jealousy, Jealousy’ from her previous album, SOUR. Just like her other song, she is comparing herself to another woman. Despite having little meaning behind the song, it is also very relatable. There is someone who you think is always better than you, thus them becoming your very own Lacey.
Once again, ‘Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl’ is similar to one of her other songs, ‘Brutal’, except this time, she sings about the awkwardness of growing up and making mistakes whilst trying to find yourself. Rodrigo has homeschooled herself, so she knows very well what it feels like to feel like this.
‘Making the Bed’ is a very thought-provoking song, making you reflect on yourself and your current situation. For Rodrigo, this song is about her reflecting on her rise to fame and how it all happened overnight. Rodrigo told PEOPLE Magazine, “I feel like last time there was so much weird media s— and I had no idea how to deal with any of it,” Rodrigo further stated, “Literally, it was the first song out of the gate and all of that s— happened. I felt so ill-equipped … That was an overwhelming experience, but now I definitely feel a responsibility. I just try not to think about it during the writing process.”
The song, ‘Logical’, is about a failed relationship and how she ignored the signs because she was in love. Many might find this relatable either from being in that situation or currently in that situation. Many fans believe that ‘Logical’ is about Rodrigo’s ex, Zack Bia, as she sings about being too young and “fallen from the February sky”. The age gap between Rodrigo and Zack was seven years and they started dating in February of 2022. Rodrigo will not confirm her fanbase’s suspicions, as Rodrigo had told PEOPLE Magazine, “I never want to say who any of my songs are about. I’ve never done that before in my career and probably won’t. I think it’s better to not pigeonhole a song to bring about this one thing.”
‘Get Him Back’ is about wanting to get revenge on a lover, but at the same time wanting him back in his life. Once again, Rodrigo won’t confirm who this song is about, leaving fans questioning and theorizing about which ex this song is about. Rodrigo spoke to Apple Music, talking about the writing
process and how this song became one of her favorites, “We took a break and we came back and we wrote ‘Get him back!’ and it’s one of my favorite songs, so just goes to show you: never give up. It was super fun to write, I really like the chorus. It feels kind of sticky to me and feels like something I would want the crowd to sing.”
‘Love Is Embarrassing’ paints the perfect picture of how it feels to fall in love while being a teenager and dealing with the aftermath of what happens after the heartbreak. The song also hints at the drama from after she released ‘Drivers’ License’, with her ex Joshua Basset and Sabrina Carpenter. She sings, “And I consoled you while you cried / Over your ex-girlfriend’s new guy / My God, how could I be so stupid? / You found a new version of me / And I damn near startеd World War III”. Rodrigo has expressed her regret, stating, “I put it out not knowing that it would get that reaction, so it was really strange [when] it did. I just remember [everyone being] so weird and speculative about stuff they had no idea about. I don’t really subscribe to hating other women because of boys. I think that’s so stupid, and I really resent that narrative that was being tossed around.”
‘The Grudge’ is about how Olivia once looked up to a person until they betrayed her and left her shattered. Most people can relate to this, as it happens a lot now in our time period. Some believe that the inspiration behind this song is the Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo feud about ‘Drivers’ License’. But many also think that the song is about one of her parents. But Rodrigo stated, “My parents, they’ve taught me how to be kind and respectful, and to always do the right thing.”
‘Pretty isn’t Pretty’ is pretty easy to understand. Olivia sings about her insecurities and her struggle with self-confidence as social media and magazines warp her sense of self-worth. Similar to ‘Lacey’, this song went crazy in TikTok because of its relatability. This song will always be going to be relatable as, in your mind, there is someone who is always prettier than you or better than you in every way.
And now, for the very last song in the album, ‘Teenage Dream’. This song connects both her albums, SOUR, and GUTS. This song references to her very first song, ‘Brutal’, but instead of the line “Where’s my f**** teenage dream?”, she sings, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t always be your teenage dream.” She is reflecting on the years that have passed between SOUR and GUTS, as she struggles with her rise to stardom, wondering if she has already hit her peak.
Rodrigo is one of the many females who placed but is the third female artist to place 12 songs in the Hot 100’s top 40. As all 11 tracks from Rodrigo’s 2021 debut set Sour hit the Hot 100’s top 40 that year, she became the first artist to chart all songs from two career-opening albums in the Hot 100’s top 40. Rodrigo spoke with PEOPLE stating, “But I’m very excited for this album to come out. It’s been a long time in the making, so it’s going to feel good”.
