My Ranking of Songs on Olivia Rodrigo’s New Album, ‘GUTS’

For all Olivia Rodrigo fans, waking up on Sept. 8 felt like Christmas morning.

The three-time Grammy Award winner released her sophomore album, “GUTS,” and like a majority of people in the Olivia Rodrigo fan club, I immediately listened to the album. With Rodrigo releasing new singles, “vampire” and “bad idea right?” over the summer, fans were able to get an idea of what to expect with the long-awaited album; I think that it came as a surprise how much the new songs would feel like a blast from the past to older Gen Z listeners. The album gives off very much early-2000s grunge vibes; think Avril Lavinge, Paramore, No Doubt type of music.

As someone who grew up on similar bands that influenced Olivia’s songwriting, you know I had my thoughts. Now, let’s break down the list of my favorite tracks off the new album. 

“the grudge”

Well, all I can say is if you need something to cry to, this one will get you.

Coming in at my least favorite track on “GUTS” is “the grudge.” Not at all saying this song isn’t good! I personally just couldn’t get into it as well as others on the album.

In the song, Olivia portrays all of the feelings that we never want to feel when ending a relationship. She touches upon feelings of heartbreak and abandonment that come from the end of relationships, which I believe is something that everyone feels at some point in life, whether it’s the end of a romantic relationship or friendship.

It’s THE sad-girl anthem, therefore, you just know this is already on my sad playlist. 

“vampire”

With “vampire” being Rodrigo’s first released single off the album, it was an instant hit. She foreshadowed the feelings of anger, jealousy, sadness, and confusion that are touched upon in her now-released album.

It’s a song filled with teenage anger, and feels like the big sister of “SOUR’s,” “good 4 u.” This song will forever be a classic but I think it gladly moved over to give the spotlight to some of Rodrigo’s other incredibly written songs. 

“teenage dream”

The final track of the album, “teenage dream,” seems to once again highlight Rodrigo’s experiences with being the center of public attention, and facing all of the critique and expectations that come with that high status. She expresses her worries about not living up to people’s expectations and being unsure of where to go after transitioning into her 20s.

This track really resonated with me, as someone who is also going through all of the transitions that come with growing up. 

“logical”

This one was giving me the same vibes as songs like “favorite crime” or “happier” from “SOUR.”

The ballad is so sad and raw, and it shows how much Rodrigo has been through since the release of her first album. She sings about feeling trapped and inferior in a relationship, which many of her young listeners may be able to understand as they navigate through dating.

Overall, this song can be for all the sad girls who want to feel like they have someone to relate to. 

“pretty isn’t pretty”

I think that this song is an anthem to all women who haven’t felt beautiful before.

The vulnerable song touches upon body image, self hatred and mental illness in the form of eating disorders. It may be one of her more relatable songs because anyone who listens to the lyrics can feel heard and know that negative self-image is something everyone goes through in their lifetime.

On a broader level, “pretty isn’t pretty” touches upon the extreme and unbearable weight of beauty standards placed on women. It can also be said that society historically has placed a definition on being a woman and has put certain female characteristics into a box.

I absolutely loved this song and thought that it was a beautiful way for Rodrigo to connect with her fans on a deeper level. 

“making the bed” 

This sixth track on the album touches upon Olivia’s experiences with fame and success in the music industry from an incredibly young age.

Even before the age of 20, she was nominated for seven Grammy’s and accumulated three of those. For most musicians, this shows that you did it; you’re talented, successful and nothing could be better than those wins. But for Rodrigo, it opened up a floodgate of self-hatred toward herself and her songwriting capabilities. The lyrics, “Another thing I ruined I used to do for fun,” seems to show that even with the fame and success of her first album, she wasn’t satisfied because of the new expectations placed on her career.

I’ve known this feeling, whether it be from sports, a hobby, or a job and losing that joy in doing things you once loved can make life harder than it has to be.

“bad idea right?” 

This one is giving ALLLL the Paramore and No Doubt vibes and feels like the relative to “SOUR’s” “brutal.”

This song was the second of her two singles to be released this past summer and was the best “trailer” for fans to see what to expect from her second album. I absolutely love this song because it feels like Rodrigo was truly experimenting with her sound, and I personally love it when I can hear a musician grow with their sound as they release more albums. Even though the song has been out since August, it’s still a song I never skip. 

“ballad of a homeschooled girl”

This song was for anyone who’s ever felt out of place in life. Maybe it was a group of people you didn’t quite vibe with, you were interested in things that everyone else thought was weird, or maybe you felt lonely in a sea of people.

With this song Olivia talked about feeling out of place in life, and feeling like there was ultimately something wrong with her. I, and I’m sure many others, could relate to this because whenever we feel out of place our immediate reaction is to think that we’re the problem, rather maybe it’s just not a good fit at the moment. 

“lacy”

I feel like this song is not getting the love it should be, but it’s one of my favorites off the new album.

The feeling of this song is just so beautiful and delicate that it had to be toward the top of my list. It can be compared to Rodrigo’s song, “jealousy, jealousy” off of “SOUR,” with both songs discussing overwhelming feelings of jealousy. Whereas “jealousy, jealousy” had more feelings of anger and resentment, “lacy” made me think of feeling jealousy towards someone, but also feeling inferior compared to them and in myself. I think this is such a natural song that a lot of people can relate to, which is what makes it so beautiful. 

“all-american bitch”

This song really gave me flashbacks to all early 2000s teen rom-coms. It felt so nostalgic and was definitely something my parents were playing in the car when I was young. I specifically admired this ballad for its contrasts in sound. At one point it starts off as light and delicate, but changes into more of a punk-rock sound.

In recent interviews, Rodrigo talked about how this album touches upon the discomfort of growing pains as she gets older, especially with the expectations and the public having eyes on her at all times. The softer melodies of the song talk reflect some of the ways the public has forced her to act in the spotlight, but when she switches into the grittier parts of the song she’s finally able to let that anger free and be her authentic self. 

On another note, the lyrics “I’m sexy and I’m kind” will be on our affirmations list for the next month. 

“love is embarrassing” 

I am so in love with the melody of this song. With less than 30 seconds in I knew it would be one of my favorites off of the album, and it’s a song that will be on my “screaming in the car playlist” for the next six months (if not more).

Rodrigo also *possibly* touched upon some of the speculated Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter drama that circulated around her first album, “SOUR,” in the lyrics, “damn near started World War III.”

The song shows how much she’s grown from that teenage version of herself, which makes her so relatable to fans going through similar experiences.

“get him back!”

I’m a sucker for all kinds of songs that give off a punk-grunge sound.

Coming in at number one, my favorite song off of “GUTS,” is “get him back!” This is the perfect revenge girl-power song. I could definitely hear the 2000s punk-rock influences.

It feels very Avril Lavigne during her early-2000s career, which is one of the many artists I grew up on so these higher energy songs hit close to home for me. I also thought it was so cute to see Rodrigo include some of her friends at the end of the song; it made it so much fun and unique! This punk-rock song makes me imagine myself dancing in my bedroom, screaming it with my friends in the car, or whenever I’m feeling like I need a girl-boss anthem.

It reminded me of Taylor Swift’s “reputation“/revenge era, and I’m all for it. 

All I can say is that this album exceeded my expectations, and I’m just gonna put it out there that I think this MIGHT have been better than her first album! I’m sure my favorite song is going to change next week, but I am totally okay with that because there isn’t one bad song on this album.

I’m ready to see what her third album brings us… I don’t know if I can wait!

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