The wait is over. Olivia Rodrigo’s highly anticipated sophomore album, “GUTS” dropped Sept. 8, with 60 million streams on the global Spotify chart in its first day, making it the tenth biggest female album debut of all time.

Rodrigo teamed up with producer Dan Nigro to create an album that perfectly intertwines teen angst with heartbreak. Through witty lyrics and euphonious musicality, Rodrigo constructed an outstanding follow-up to her smashing debut album, “SOUR.”

In a July 22 interview with Audacy, Rodrigo said she wrote over 100 songs for “GUTS,” but ultimately narrowed it down to 12 tracks, which alternated between pop-punk hits and her iconic heart-wrenching ballads.

The album’s opener, “all-american bitch,” embodies the early 2000s teen movie feel: spunky pink Bratz dolls, friendship bracelets stacked elbow-length high, and sassy comebacks, confidently embracing the teenage angst we saw sparks of in “SOUR.” Rodrigo poked fun at societal expectations set by the music industry and the insatiable nature of fans, with riveting lyrics like, “I’m alright with the movies / that make jokes ’bout senseless cruelty, that’s for sure / and I am built like a mother and a total machine / I feel for your every little issue, I know just what you mean.”

She followed with “bad idea right?” which pinpointed the guilt of returning to a toxic relationship that many of her fans know all too well — especially knowing the consequences that come with it, but succumbing regardless. 

“‘I only see him as a friend,’ the biggest lie I ever said,” Rodrigo sings in “bad idea right?”

This playful and carefree track epitomizes the appeal of Rodrigo’s music: lyrics many can relate to combined with a hypnotic tune, resulting in an instant hit.

“vampire,” the single that launched the “GUTS” era, awarded Rodrigo her third Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit.

 “It was always one of my favorite songs on the record … it’s you know, not entirely super different than ‘SOUR,’ but I think it still represents kind of a gradual transition into something new and different,” Rodrigo told Audacy.

The song that resonated the most with me is Rodrigo’s sixth track, “making the bed,” in which Rodrigo nails the heart-wrenching cyclical nature of self-sabotage. In the song, she describes struggling to come to terms with the route she’s taken in life, but that she only has herself to blame.

The experiences she sings about and expresses concern for are the same aspects of life most of us in our late teens and early twenties go through. We’re all transitioning, dealing with these growing pains, and unfortunately sometimes getting caught up in the finer things in life. 

In the alt-rock anthem, “get him back!,” Rodrigo collaborates with artist Alexander 23 to dramatize a fiery desire to reclaim a former love. Cleverly crafting the title as a double entendre, Rodrigo’s “get him back!” hints at both seeking revenge and rekindling a former relationship.

Fans were quick to acknowledge the relatability of her witty lyrics, including, “Wanna kiss his face / With an uppercut / I wanna meet his mom / Just to tell her her son sucks.”

“the grudge” is a fan-favorite, as indicated by its growing TikTok fame. It is reminiscent of former hits “driver’s license” and “traitor.” In this breakup anthem, Rodrigo tells the story of a relationship clouded by deceit and manipulation. Its piercing lyrics, “And I know, in my heart, hurt people hurt people / And we both drew blood, but, man, those cuts were never equal,” have caused many to show their empathy for Rodrigo, having undergone similar experiences.

Although it happens to be the first song Rodrigo wrote for the album, the 12th and final track on “GUTS” nostalgically reminisces on growing up. In a Sept. 8 interview with Rolling Stone, Rodrigo explained why she chose “teenage dream” to close the album, noting its final lyrics:

“The last line is a line that I really love and it ends the album on a question mark … it’s still sort of confused, but it feels like a final note to that confusion, a final question,” Rodrigo said.

“Oh, they all say that it gets better / It gets better the more you grow / Yeah, they all say that it gets better / It gets better, but what if I don’t?”

In this coming-of-age, messy exploration of feelings, Rodrigo concludes the album authentically rather than wrapping it into a neat bow.

Rodrigo affirms herself to be more than just a one-album-wonder with “GUTS,” which has proven to be an instantaneous classic chock-full of bangers — impeccable from start to finish. 

In an Instagram post made on Sept. 13, Rodrigo announced dates for her 2024 world tour. Tickets can be accessed here. 

Edited by Annie Goldman | agoldman@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy and Grace Knight