by Sophie Oliver ’26
October 31, 2023
The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the writer and do not reflect the views of University School of Nashville or the Peabody Press.
Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album, Sour, was one of the biggest albums of 2021—it won a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Album, a Billboard Music Award, and three Grammys (Best Pop Vocal Album, Best New Artist, and Best Pop Solo Performance). Her follow up, GUTS, has already become a big hit.
GUTS has a mix of pop songs and slow ballads, and includes rock influences as well. She showcases her soprano voice while experimenting with indie pop styles and 90’s alternative rock and also having piano ballads similar to the ones on Sour. You can hear the piano on the ballads and drums and guitar on her more poppy songs.
GUTS-Y: The cover art for Rodrigo’s new album, highlighting her punk style (via oliviarodrigo.com)
Most songs on this album are fast and upbeat, especially “get him back!” However, “logical”is more laid back..The album boasts a variety of song topics, including social anxiety, beauty standards, and relationships.
GUTS opens with a song called “all-american b****.” The song starts off with the line “I am light as a feather and stiff as a board,” which is used to highlight the unrealistic visions of the ideal woman, and continues with a soft beat until the chorus, where Rodrigo lets all of her anger out. I love the upbeat energy in the chorus and how the arrangement abruptly strips down.
Rodrigo has this same energy in her fifth track, “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” and in her eleventh track, “pretty isn’t pretty.” Her fifth track is all about her social awkwardness and anxiety, and the eleventh track is all about trying to fit impossible beauty standards. I love how all three of these songs are upbeat and highlight Rodrigo’s pop-rock style.
My favorite songs on “GUTS” are “making the bed,” “vampire,” and “get him back!”, which is also an upbeat song. It starts out by Rodrigo talking/singing just like on her second track “bad idea right?” It then grows to an energetic chorus, and that abundance of energy is what makes this song so good.
“Making the bed” and “vampire” are not as energetic as “get him back!,” reveal a lot of emotion throughout the songs with the lyrics and emotions put behind them. In “Vampire” there is a big buildup to the bridge where the song really picks up, and the powerful bridge is my favorite part of the song. I also really enjoy the unique aspects of “Vampire.” This song has many chord changes and beats that I had not heard in songs before, and these unique details in the song are part of the reason I love it so much.
One of the main reasons I love “making the bed” so much is the emotion Rodrigo puts behind her singing. You can hear her feelings through the way she sings, and when she slows down at the end you can tell how she’s feeling through her breath and words. She slows down to sing, “Sometimes I feel like I don’t wanna be where I am, Countin’ all of the beautiful things I regret, But it’s me who’s been making the bed.” This line sums up Rodrigo’s feelings throughout the entire song, and the beat slowing down shows that she feels more sad than angry.
The final track on “GUTS” is called “teenage dream.” In this song, Rodrigo expresses her fear of getting older and people outgrowing her. She sings, “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.” Rodrigo communicates her true feelings in this song just like in “making the bed.” The chorus of this song is a bit slow; however, it really picks up on the bridge where you can tell she is singing from the heart.
I love how all of the songs are written about topics that Rodrigo has a lot of opinions on, and her emotion behind all of the songs help listeners really feel for her. Even though she writes her songs about personal experiences and events specific to her own life, the lyrics are broad enough for people to interpret them in different ways, and listeners can relate the songs to their lives. I enjoy all of the songs on this album, and all of them make me want to sing along.
“GUTS” is such a fun pop album, and it’s a 10/10.
