“It’s a bad idea, right?”sings Olivia Rodrigo on her hit song, “bad idea, right?” This is probably one of the most relatable lines a teenager can think of. On September 8, 2023, Rodrigo released her second album: “GUTS”. Following her first album, “SOUR”, “GUTS” contains breakup and revenge songs for her audience to scream to. Despite similarities from her first album, “GUTS” includes songs focusing more on maturity and healing. Her most recent album puts even more of a twist on her music by adding more of a punk rock sound to her songs.
The most popular breakup songs on “GUTS” are “vampire,” “the grudge,” “making the bed” and “logical.” Rodrigo shares her experiences in her dating life and gives teenagers a chance to connect, sing and cry along with her, going as far as telling her fans to cry if they feel like crying during her world tour. But even though getting a good cry out feels satisfying, nothing is better than singing along to revenge songs to build one’s confidence. Songs like “get him back!”, “bad idea right?” and “ballad of a homeschooled girl.” According to Pitchfork Reviews, “her plastic smile starts to melt into a grimace…putting on her best…All-American Rejects sneer.” Rodrigo sets up an assertive and dauntless appearance to show off that confidence. Just as it encourages listeners to sing along with Rodrigo during her vengeful moments, the record lets the audience share in her confidence.
“making the bed” and “stranger” represent a shift in the album, discussing her growing up and reflecting on the past. “making the bed” talks about how her last album has affected her fame today. During an interview with J-14, Rodrigo discussed how her “life changed because of all the things that happened with the last album.” She also states how it was “hard dredging up all of that stuff.”
“stranger” discusses a past relationship after which Rodrigo healed and moved on, but still remembers how close she used to be with her partner. The song focuses on how she has returned to being strangers with her former partner, a stranger she knows “everything about.” “SOUR” was written when she was fresh out of a relationship, with all of those songs focused primarily on that heartbreak. “GUTS”, however, provides songs written when she has finally healed and grasped a mature outlook on her breakup. She is growing from her past pain, and only sees her ex-boyfriends as people she used to be close with.
“GUTS” also promoted more of a “rocker chick” theme than her debut album. According to The Crimson, “GUTS” is rife with early-2000’s sounding pop-punk themes that ache with teenage nostalgia…the chorus of ‘get him back!’ flaunts a distinctly Avril Lavigne sound…” Avril Lavigne was the pop-punk performer of her time in the early 2000s. Both her and Rodrigo exhibit similarities in their performances and music. Both can play a mean guitar, can be seen smashing objects in their music videos and wearing dramatic makeup to represent the punk genre.
With the release of “GUTS”, Rodrigo gave her fans more breakup songs to scream to, as well as revenge anthems and songs about healing from past pain. She embraced more of the pop punk genre to build off of “SOUR”, all to create a successful and relatable album for teens to relate to.
