By Lee McGowan
Correspondent
Spotify and Apple Music were ablaze this past Friday due to the new release of “GUTS” by Olivia Rodrigo.
This is the Disney actress-turned-pop-princess’s second studio album, preceded by “SOUR” in May 2021. “SOUR” is hailed as a “breakup album,” considering the intense rumors surrounding her relationship with Joshua Bassett, her co-star on “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” “GUTS” instead focuses more on the struggles of being a teenager.
The album begins with the song, “all-american bitch.” An acoustic guitar welcomes listeners, but switches to a pop-punk chorus. Starting the album with this song is an interesting choice for Rodrigo, as it combines the gentle ballads of “SOUR” with her newer electronic sound in “GUTS.” Of course, “SOUR” is known for the songs “good 4 u” and “brutal” being closer to her punk sound, but she mostly focuses on ballads in her debut album.
“GUTS” also focuses less on heartbreak than Rodrigo’s more popular songs. While songs like “vampire” and “get him back!” still match her original style, she also delves into the angst many teenagers and young adults feel.
Fans have also been speculating on the meaning behind her song “lacy,” which details homoerotic jealousy that girls feel for each other. She sings, “Smart, sexy Lacy, I'm losin’ it lately / I feel your compliments likе bullets on skin.”
Many believe this is Rodrigo misidentifying romantic feelings for another girl as jealousy. However, Rodrigo does not like to “pigeonhole” her songs into one meaning, as she admitted in an interview with The Guardian.
“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,” she explained in the interview. Due to this, it’s unlikely that “lacy” is Rodrigo’s way of coming out. Still, she outlines a common conflict women face, dancing between the lines of jealousy and attraction.
Rodrigo ends her album with “teenage dream,” where she talks about the pressures of being a childhood star. First reaching fame in “Bizaardvark” on Disney Channel at the age of 13, Rodrigo has rarely stepped out of the limelight in the past 7 years. She asks in the song, “When am I gonna stop being great for my age and just start being good?”
It follows a similar theme to her other ballads in “SOUR” (some examples being “brutal” or “enough for you”), delving into the same topics of feeling inadequate yet being put on a pedestal by society. The song ends the album on a melancholy note, yet creates hope with the final outro.
She includes audio of her talking to her producer’s new child Saoirse, picking up the sounds of her babbles in the microphone. By writing a song about the pressures of growing up and becoming an adult, but ending with the innocence of a new baby, Rodrigo seems to be finding some peace in her new role in life.
Overall, Olivia Rodrigo has received positive feedback from this release. Her song “get him back!” has already reached number one on Spotify’s “Today’s Top Hits,” a playlist created by ranking the most streamed songs on the app.
Following her performance and VMA for “Best Editing Award” on Sept. 12, Rodrigo announced her “GUTS” tour dates. She will be touring North America from February to August 2024, and will be touring internationally after. Fans can expect high traffic on ticket selling websites, but students at the College will be glad to know that there are three tour dates in the tri-state area.
