No, you’re not getting déjà vu — Olivia Rodrigo is back. The singer-songwriter dropped her hotly awaited second album, Guts, on September 8. In a note to fans, Rodrigo said she wrote most of the album when she was 19, “a year that, for me, was filled with lots of confusion, mistakes, awkwardness & good old fashioned teen angst.†If that translates to more gut-wrenching ballads and gut-churning pop-punk scorchers, we’re in. Rodrigo made the Sour follow-up with producer Dan Nigro, dropping the first taste, “Vampire,†on June 30. “I cannot express how excited I am to embark on this new chapter of my life with you guys,†she wrote. They really do grow up so fast.
We don’t know if it’ll reach the level of speculation that happened with Sour, but the album is sure to have fans theorizing about how these songs apply to Rodrigo’s real life. Lyrics on Guts reference everyone from an ex who lied about being six-foot-two (“get him back!â€) to someone who betrayed her trust in may (“the grudgeâ€). On “ballad of a homeschooled girl,†Rodrigo remembers a “hot guy†she thought was into her but was “making out with boys like the whole night,†causing her to ruefully conclude, “every guy I like is gay.†But she also has the internet wondering if she herself is straight: “I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you,†she sings on “lacy.â€
On July 31, Rodrigo teased her setlist in a video posted on social media, where she plants phrases like “bad idea, right.†Given that she’s a biological daughter of Taylor Swift, it’s no surprise that this video was a clue to titles on the track list. She officially confirmed the 12-song tracklist in the coming days, along with album art. “ze back of the album!!!!†she wrote in the caption for an image of her red lips yelling, complete with chipped black nails holding her face. This Barbie is in her Very Grunge Goth Girl Eraâ„¢ï¸.
This post has been updated.