On September 8th, 2023, Olivia Rodrigo released her sophomore album, titled “GUTS”, to the public. Immediately, the album soared to the top of the charts and took a distinguished stance as one of the most anticipated and successful releases of the year.
Who is Olivia Rodrigo?
Olivia Rodrigo first rose to prominence in the media as a child actress for various Disney projects. She assumed the role of Paige in the quirky Disney channel comedy Bizaardvark, establishing a presence in modern pop culture. The show aired from 2016 to 2019, gaining traction and displaying her versatility as both a young actress and a skilled vocalist. Such directly influenced her role in the Disney program High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, a spin-off of the beloved classic Disney movie High School Musical. Naturally, this allowed her to further develop and exhibit her prowess as a singer. Rodrigo continued to pursue this passion on a greater scale, releasing her first single, “Driver’s License”, in January of 2021, at 17 years old. The song was an immediate success and paved the way for the release of her first official album, SOUR, mere months later. Rodrigo admits that she takes great inspiration from global superstar Taylor Swift when composing her music.
GUTS Album
Comprising 12 new songs, as well as an additional 4 songs available to listeners who purchase her vinyl, the album was an immediate hit with the loyal fans she gained from her first album. Rodrigo worked alongside her SOUR producer, Dan Nigro, when writing and recording the featured songs. GUTS aimed to represent Rodrigo’s maturation that occurred following the release of SOUR. Rodrigo was loyal to the pop genre when creating this album, though she incorporated alternative rock and moody, indie varieties in several of the songs. GUTS songs “Vampire”, “Get Him Back!”, and “Bad Idea, right?” proved the most successful of the releases, dominating the top spots on the billboard for several weeks. Due to the immense success and popularity of the album, Rodrigo officially announced the GUTS Tour less than a week after its release; the sold-out tour will take place in early 2024.
My Opinion
The most concise way to describe this album would be “fun”. Rodrigo, as always, released an album that is enjoyable to sing along with and palatable for the radio. Personally, my favorite song was “Get Him Back!” for this very reason. The album is simply a good time for listeners. Though Rodrigo claims that GUTS is symbolic of her “growing pains” and maturity following SOUR, I don’t see much of a stylistic difference between the two albums. The lyricism continued to be lively yet surface-level, except for some of the moodier songs, such as “Lacy” or “Logical”. The similarity between these two albums is not necessarily negative: fans love the simple spunkiness of Rodrigo’s songs, and I feel that she has continued to present that signature style in her latest album.
