Having learned her lessons about how the internet does what the internet do from the tracks on SOUR, Olivia Rodrigo will be doing things differently when it comes to her sophomore album, GUTS, arriving Friday, September 8.
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Speaking candidly to Phoebe Bridgers for Interview magazine, Olivia admitted she was “ill-equipped” to deal with the spark of public intrigue, speculation, and response that began with her breakout hit “drivers license.”
In that case, fans were quick to pin Joshua Bassett, Rodrigo’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costar, as the unfavorable ex-boyfriend she describes in her heartbroken lyrics.
Revealing she now feels a “responsibility” to send her songs to their subjects before releasing them to the world, Olivia said, “I feel like last time, there was so much weird media s*** and I had no idea how to deal with any of it.”
“Literally, it was the first song out of the gate and all of that s*** happened,” she reflected. “I felt so ill-equipped.”
At one point, Bassett was even hospitalized due to a near-fatal case of septic shock caused by stress following the release of the track. He has since been open about feeling blindsided by the song as well as the hate he received. Sabrina Carpenter, whom fans targeted as "that blonde girl" in the song, has also been vocal in her music about the backlash she received due to speculation all because she supposedly “stole” Bassett from Rodrigo.
“That was an overwhelming experience, but now I definitely feel a responsibility (to give a heads up),” Rodrigo told Bridgers. “I just try not to think about it during the writing process.”
The two GUTS singles that have already been released — “vampire” and “bad idea right?” — have both already been examined, with fans wondering which of Rodrigo’s rumored ex-boyfriends might’ve inspired the tracks. The speculation of which is sure to continue when the rest of her album is unveiled.
For more of Olivia and Phoebe’s conversation, check out the entire Interview article HERE.