It’s been two years since Olivia Rodrigo dropped her debut album, “SOUR” and she’s back with a new set of hits.
On Sept. 8, Rodrigo released her highly anticipated sophomore album “GUTS” featuring twelve new tracks, all written and produced by the “Vampire” singer with help from Dan Nigro, the same mastermind behind Rodrigo’s record-breaking debut album.
Following the release, some fans bought vinyl copies while others received their anticipated pre-orders in the mail. They began posting unboxings, reactions, and other content celebrating their physical editions. Soon enough, fans began reaching the album’s last song, realizing there was still a significant amount of blank space left to go on the disk. After several seconds of silence, a never-before-heard or announced song starts to play, leaving fans in shock by Rodrigo’s antics.
“I thought it was fake,” University of Missouri student Sarah Calixto says. “I saw a TikTok with the vinyl spinning the track ‘Obsessed.’ [The video] played the [entire] song and that’s when I knew it might be real.”
Several people were quick to post videos of their findings, wondering if others experienced the same thing when listening through for the first time. Eventually, the pieces were put together and the consensus was that each variant had a different secret track.
The blue vinyl features “Stranger,” a melancholic track that fits right in with the original tracklist. The white colorway features “Scared of My Guitar,” a Phoebe Bridgers-inspired track, featuring an emotional tune that will have the crowd pulling their phone flashlights out. The purple disk features “Girl I’ve Always Been,” an acoustic guitar-centered song with country undertones. All other variants (Red variant, Target edition, Picture disk, etc.) feature “Obsessed,” which has quickly become a fan favorite, with a heavy bass line and catchy melody.
“Listening to ‘Obsessed’ for the first time – I became overjoyed,” Calixto says. “My favorite songs, including the secret tracks, are ‘Obsessed’ and ‘Ballad of a homeschooled girl.’ The whole album really resonates with me. I appreciate how [Rodrigo] makes it known that what’s important is what the songs mean to each individual rather than the backstory of writing them.”
Tons of people on the internet can be seen wondering how and why the secret tracks didn’t make it to the standard tracklist – and we want to know too!
Listeners are incredibly eager to get these four tracks on digital and streaming platforms ASAP, with creators trying their best to post crystal-clear record player audio to tide everyone over until further notice.
These 13-track variations of “GUTS” can be purchased on Rodrigo’s website for a limited time. The ‘Drivers License’ songstress also announced her second world tour, this time to promote her new record. For North American dates, you have until Sept. 17 to register for a general public on-sale code to buy tickets. Your code will grant you access to either the sale on Wednesday, Sept. 20, or Thursday, Sept. 21 (via Live Nation).