Popstar Olivia Rodrigo creates music that resonates with young women who want to scream and dance in their bedroom at one in the morning. She has a way with words that makes every girl feel as if Rodrigo’s music was written personally for them.
Rodrigo draws from her life experience, lets them simmer in her mind, then releases the emotions and channels them through her music.
She did it with her very first album, “Sour,” which, according to Ben Sisario’s article “Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ Scores the Biggest Debut of the Year,” Rodrigo broke records with her first album, “Sour” amounting to 301 million streams upon its release.
After blowing up on the internet at the age of 17, now 20-year-old Rodrigo from Temecula, CA, had to face not only the beginning years of womanhood but also this new idea of fame.
In an article for Vogue, “A New Decade, A New Album, A New Life, – Olivia Rodrigo’s Next Chapter,” author Jia Tolentino writes, “The new album is a time capsule, Rodrigo says, commemorating a moment that feels like it’s ‘about figuring stuff out, about failures and successes and making mistakes.’”
That is what makes Rodrigo’s music so special and so popular. Her albums are like a girl’s personal diary, except with rhythm and a beat. Being a young woman comes with many new emotions, most of which are first experiences.
Listening to Rodrigo’s music in “Sour” and now “Guts,” feels almost like a warm hug. She advises you that it’s not the end of the world, and helps you understand that you are not the only girl feeling those intense emotions that she sings about.
Rodrigo continues to live up to the same standards she set with “Sour” in her sophomore album, “Guts.” According to @chartdata, a verified account with 2.3 million followers on the app X, Rodrigo’s new album earned over 60 million streams on the first day.
Her album begins with the song “All-American Bitch,” a pop punk song reflecting the need she feels to suppress her emotions, saying, “I don’t get angry when I’m pissed / I’m the eternal optimist,” and later adding, “I scream inside to deal with it.”
This is a common idea all women face, thinking that we can’t verbally or physically express the way we feel so we’re not labeled as “crazy” or “over dramatic.” Maybe even an emotion that Rodrigo personally felt back in May of 2021 when “Sour” was first released, as she kept quiet when social media rumbled over possible exes that may have inspired the album.
Another song that has gained a lot of popularity on TikTok, is “Lacy.” A soft ballad in which Rodrigo sings, “smart and sexy Lacy,” a girl who wears ribbons in her hair with a lingering perfume smell. Lacy almost seems like a perfect person, all because they have something Rodrigo craves, whether that be beauty, kindness or other characteristics.
This song has gained traction because many girls understand the “gut” wrenching feeling of envying someone, but also not being able to hate them, because there’s truly no reason besides the bad thoughts that can linger in someone’s brain caused by insecure moments. It’s the experience one has when you obsess over someone and compare yourself to them because you feel that whatever they have will make you better, even if that’s not true.
Rodrigo even writes some not so serious lyrics in another song called “Love is Embarrassing” saying, “I’m planning out my wedding / with some guy I’m never marrying.” This again is another universal experience of womanhood. Like, haven’t we all had that random crush on a barista that we end up fantasizing about for the rest of the week? How about that long-term crush we thought was the love of our lives that we later end up chuckling at?
Rodrigo brilliantly concluded her album with the last song on the track, “Teenage Dream,” which almost seems like a nod to the first track on “Sour,” known as “Brutal.” In “Brutal,” she asks herself, “Where’s my fucking teenage dream?” two years later at 19, when Rodrigo wrote this album, she answers her past self and says, “And I’m sorry that I couldn’t always be your teenage dream.”
Following that line, she begins to question whether she will find herself reminiscing the life she had before big fame. Her dream was always to be a well-known musician, but now that she has it, she’s not so sure why she isn’t getting the euphoric feeling she thought she would. In this new album Rodrigo writes not only for her fans, but also for herself.
Rodrigo manages to connect “Guts” to “Sour,” as they co-exist as sisters, both sharing one of the biggest changes in her life. “Sour” capturing moments before fame, and “Guts” capturing everything after.
In her newest album, “Guts,” Rodrigo shows progression in her vocal and writing skills, but manages to keep the same charm that made everyone fall in love with “Sour.” Using guitars, drums and chants to release the emotions piled up in our hearts and minds, then, using the piano in her ballads to help us ponder and reflect.
Olivia Rodrigo writes her songs and then holds a mirror to our faces.
