Singer and Pop favorite Olivia Rodrigo recently stopped by The Julia Show to discuss the making of her second album, GUTS, and how she responded to her debut success by digging deeper into her emotions.
LISTEN NOW: Olivia Rodrigo on ‘The Julia Show’
Now that GUTS is finally here, Rodrigo admitted that she is reeling from the whole process. “I am feeling every possible emotion that you could feel,” Rodrigo chuckled nervously, describing her overall restlessness about the album’s release. “It's just everything all at once. But I'm feeling very grateful as well. I'm trying to remember to appreciate this moment, because it is pretty special.”
“I'm really proud of the way that I think it's sort of an evolution from SOUR. I don't think it's the same thing at all. And I guess I'm proud of that.” Rodrigo’s 2021 debut album was a massive success and launched her music career as, what the Los Angeles Times called, the “fresh face of Gen Z pop.” SOUR went on to win Rodrigo the Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album awards at the GRAMMYs, yet all the critical acclaim left Rodrigo wondering how she would respond, let alone fulfill the second album expectations she suddenly faced.
“It was definitely a very daunting task making this record. And there were definitely a few moments where I was like, ‘man, I don't know if this is going to happen. I don't know what I can pull through,” she told Julia. “But everything turned out alright. And I came out the other side pretty OK.”
“Pretty OK” is surely an understatement, as GUTS is already achieving global success barely a week after its release. It is currently outselling all of the top 10 U.K. charting albums, and in the U.S., single “vampire” is continuing its streak in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Yet, Rodrigo revealed that creating the album was more about vulnerability than success.
“I think that I worked really hard on it for a long time. And really tried to dig deep in,” she recalled, even revealing that "logical" and "teenage dreams" have made her cry. When asked about her most intimate lyrics, Rodrigo said, “I think the chorus of ‘making the bed’ is pretty personal. The lyrics are, ‘sometimes I feel like I don't want to be where I am / getting drunk at a club with my fair-weather friends.’ And that kind of was a hard thing to say. That song in particular was sort of a hard one to write. It was about a topic that I never really discussed before in a song.”
The album is full of themes she had yet to dive into, such as being her "father’s daughter" and even an entire song based on her cringe-worthy regrets. “I was having one of those nights… I was just replaying every cringe thing I've ever done in my life,” she said laughing, “and then I woke up the next morning and I wrote ‘love is embarrassing.’ I came up with the title first and sort of figured it out on guitar after. And yeah, it's actually one my favorite songs on the album. I think it's really fun and funny. And I think I really enjoy making fun of myself a little bit on this album.”
To listen to the full conversation, including her own misheard lyrics and the celebrity she fanned over when meeting, check out the full interview above.