“Sophomore Slump” is a phrase that should not be used in the same sentence as Olivia Rodrigo’s newest album “Guts.” “Guts” was released on Sept. 8 – a little more than two years after her first album Sour came out. Since Sour was an instant success, so many of Rodrigo’s fans were nervous to see if Guts could match or exceed the success of its sibling.
There was no need to worry. Rodrigo’s new album is iconic.
Guts became the 10th biggest album debut by a female artist with 60.9 million streams on Spotify. It is a no-skip album. It starts with “all-american b****” and ends with “teenage dream.” The best songs are “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” “logical,” and “get him back.” All three of these songs are strong and could have been released as singles.
“ballad of a homeschooled girl” debuted at No. 9 on Global Spotify. It was relatable for anyone with even a slight amount of social anxiety. “… each time I step outside, it’s social suicide,” Rodrigo writes. She expands on it later by saying, “I told secrets I shouldn’t tell, I stumbled over all my words.” What makes “ballad of a homeschooled girl” as impressive as it is, is the honesty with which she wrote it and the energy with which she sings it. The song is super catchy. I can imagine millions of teenage girls belting the lyrics in their cars.
Another highlight on Rodrigo’s sophomore album is “logical,” which contains the most iconic line in her whole album. She sings “… and now you got me thinking: two plus two equals five and I’m the love of your life, cuz if rain don’t pour and sun don’t shine then changing you is possible. I guess love is never logical.” These lyrics are gems. You can tell she writes with such deeper maturity and sings with a calmer voice than she did on her Sour album. She is still only 20 years old, but she is clearly writing about much different experiences from her last album. “logical” contains the best bridge of all her songs in Guts.
The best overall song on the album is “get him back.” This song is a complete masterpiece. When you hear a male voice say, “One, two, three. Wait, is this the song with the drums?” you know you’re about to hear some of Rodrigo’s best work. I personally love when a song has a special intro in it. One of my favorite Sour songs was “Brutal,” which had a unique intro, so I was excited when I heard the creative intro in “get him back.” It adds a special twist to the song, which contains a pop-rock vibe. The song is as catchy as Rodrigo’s songs get. One of the best lines is, “He said he’s 6-foot-2; and I’m like, dude, nice try.” The background vocals on “get him back” make the song 10 times better. It’s a song all Rodrigo fans can anticipate will be even better when she performs it live.
Overall, the album shows definite maturity from her debut album. You can tell her vocal range has increased and her talent for writing has grown. If you watched Rodrigo’s performance on the Today Show on Sept. 8, you also would have seen how much she has improved performing live.
Rodrigo made sure not to change the genre of music she loves singing and writing for this new album. Her pop-punk trademark style follows her struggle through her late teens, which is one of the reasons Rodrigo’s fans feel as though they are growing up with her. She writes relatable and mature songs almost any teenager or young adult can relate to. While it’s hard to follow a debut album that won three Grammys, Rodrigo stayed true to herself and her fans with “Guts.”
