With the release of Olivia Rodrigo’s second album, GUTS, vinyl fans have noticed four new tracks on their records that can’t be heard anywhere else.
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With her singles, “vampire” and “bad idea, right?” already becoming hits, listeners have been holding their breath for Olivia Rodrigo’s second album release. GUTS was published on all platforms last Friday, but it’s the vinyl that has exceeded expectations, as fans are discovering bonus songs on their records that are not available anywhere digitally. “THIS IS SO GOOD i was SHOCKED,” one fan captioned a TikTok of the record playing, with another joking on X, “so grateful to have olivia rodrigo making music to soundtrack my teenage years (i am in my mid-20s).”
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In an interview with Apple Music, Rodrigo revealed that she wrote 25 songs for GUTS in total, though only 12 made the final cut. “I think some of them will definitely see the light of day. I don’t know,” she said of the remaining songs. “In crafting an album track list, there’s just intricacies. Like, oh, too many of these songs and I want to save this for later, and stuff like that. So I bet some of them will see the light of day.” And, as it turns out, four bonus songs have already been brought back - though are exclusive to specific vinyl releases at the moment.
The songs “Obsessed,” “Scared of My Guitar,” “Stranger” and “Girl I’ve Always Been” can each be found on a separate version of her four limited-edition colored vinyls. Similar to her hit “good 4 u,” the bonus song “Obsessed” jumps between bratty Rock and Pop as she describes an unhealthy fascination with her partner’s past relationship. It appears to be available on the black and red wax-pressed vinyl.
Found only on the white vinyl, “Scared of My Guitar,” is a vulnerable ballad where Rodrigo expresses hesitancy toward writing music, singing, “I’m so scared of my guitar / ‘Cause it cuts right through to the heart / Yeah, it knows me too well so I got no excuse / I can’t lie to it the same way that I lie to you.”
The third bonus release, “Stranger,” is an acoustic track from the blue vinyl, and describes how the singer feels like herself again now that her once-loved ex is now just "some guy." And in a surprise turn of events, “Girl I’ve Always Been” is a Country-Pop take on "bad girl" behavior. “Well, I have captors I call friends / I got panic rooms inside my head / And I get down with crooked men / But I am the girl I’ve always been,” Rodrigo sings on the final lavender-wax record.
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It seems she may have been hinting at these songs in a promo video released just last week, which showed the album's tracklist on a shaky VHS-like recording. However, the video ‘glitches’ around the 26 second mark, with barely a flash of titles that hadn’t been mentioned before. Dedicated, eagle-eyed fans were convinced it would be part of a deluxe album, and even they were surprised by the songs having record-by-record exclusivity.
To listen to the songs in full, you’ll have to get your hands on each limited edition vinyl, available at Olivia Rodrigo’s website. This is sure to boost some hype, and sales, for her second album's release. Not such a ‘bad idea, right?’