It is a wonderful time to be a teenage girl with the release of Olivia Rodrigo’s second studio album, Guts. “Vampire,” the lead single for the album, made headlines as fans created theories about the subject of the 20-year-old singer’s newest song. After the smashing success of her first album Sour, the world patiently awaited her return. Rodrigo became an overnight hit with her first single “driver’s license” blowing up on TikTok.
Guts features Rodrigo’s signature emotional ringers such as “making the bed” and “lacy.” However, this album features more upbeat songs than Sour, including, “all-american bitch,” “ballad of a homeschool girl,” and “love is embarrassing.”
Rodrigo wrote about her love life and the universal struggle of growing up. In her song “pretty isn’t pretty,” Rodrigo writes about feeling like she is not enough. In the first verse, she sings, “There’s always something in the mirror that I think looks wrong”. Rodrigo captures the insecurity of growing up and changing. The teenage years are tortuous for most girls as they are scrutinized about their bodies and choices.
Rodrigo faced these challenges on a global scale as she starred in the American Girl Doll movie of Grace Stirs Up Success in 2015 at the age of twelve. Her success continued in Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark and later the Disney Plus show High School Musical the Musical the Series. Rodrigo spent her teen years in the spotlight which affected her experiences and mental state.
Rodrigo closes the album with the track titled “teenage dream.” The lyrics center around a fear of not meeting expectations set by others. The chorus sings, “I’ll blow out the candles, happy birthday to me / Got your whole life ahead of you, you’re only nineteen / But I fear that they already got all the best parts of me / And I’m sorry that I couldn’t always be your teenage dream.” She encompasses the bittersweet feeling of growing up as she openly writes about her fear that she has already peaked.
Overall, the album is a time capsule for being a teenager and feeling unsure in numerous areas of life. Rodrigo explores heartbreak and the deeper emotions of experiencing imposter syndrome. The verdict from fans is the album defeated the sophomore slump and surpassed expectations.