(Image via exclaim.ca)
Volunteer Writer: Aidan Danforth
Email: adanforth@umassd.edu
Olivia Rodrigo’s second album, GUTS, has been widely popular and has helped the young pop star become one of the bigger faces of modern-day music. She is currently on the GUTS world tour and has decided to release a deluxe version of the album featuring five new tracks.
The songs include “obsessed,” “scared of my guitar,” “stranger,” “girl i’ve always been,” and “so american”. These songs continue to portray Olivia’s talents as a songwriter by combining multiple genres, including pop, punk, rock, country, and folk.
Here is a review of each new song Olivia has released and how they compare to each other and Liv’s other songs.
“obsessed”
“obsessed” is the first of the secret tracks many fans heard due to Olivia playing it during her GUTS world tour. Olivia played “obsessed” on guitar while singing it during her shows. This not only shows Olivia’s talents as a singer but also her talents as a guitar player.
This song also received a music video that involved a pageant with Olivia singing about a guy Liv and other women have dated. The combination of rock and pop in “obsessed” is a big reason why fans, including me, fell in love with this song with its lifting energy, guitar rhyme, and great background vocals.
“obsessed” reminds me a lot of “All American Bitch” with its softer pop beginning and its shift to a more rock-heavy song.
“scared of my guitar”
“scared of my guitar” sticks with Olivia’s usual pop genre in combination with a theme around relationships and sadness.
This is a slower song with an acoustic in the background while Liv sings. The theme revolves around the uncertainty in a relationship, with her expressing her deep feelings through her lyrics and sound.
Some fans enjoy this song due to its relatability regarding relationships and the slower tempo. Others may not like the slowness and prefer her more upbeat songs.
The song is over four minutes long, which is a bit longer than the majority of her songs, which are two to three minutes long.
“stranger“
“stranger” tries something new that Olivia has never done, combining pop with aspects of country and folk. It is a slower song like “scared of my guitar” but has some optimistic and uplifting acoustics and lyrics.
The song focuses on Olivia singing about gaining strength after moving on from a relationship.
Of the two songs Liv tied country with, “stranger” is the one I prefer due to its uplifting and relatable theme. The use of acoustic fits perfectly with the theme of the song.
“girl i’ve always been”
“girl i’ve always been” offers uses of strictly country music, which is unique to “stranger” which utilizes pop and country. It uses parts of the country with heavy acoustic guitar and background vocals. Even the lyrics have a big country feel just by listening to Liv’s tone.
The song revolves around Olivia singing about growth and identity. Any song dealing with that theme will surely relate to some fans, especially those in the teen/young adult audience.
Some fans may like this direction of experimenting with country, while some may find this song boring and uninteresting.
“so american”
“so american” is the last of Olivia’s new songs. It has an upbeat pop feel with some uplifting lyrics and instruments.
This song also has some drums and guitar in the background that help add to the upbeat pop feel.
Unlike most Liv songs that focus on breakups, “so american” is a love song where she is singing about this amazing guy she loves so much she might have to marry him.
With that change, fans expect the song to be about her current boyfriend, Louis Partridge. However, Olivia is private about her relationships, so people may or may not be right.
Fans should focus on “so american” being a great upbeat pop song that goes in a different direction from Liv’s usual theme.
The similar lyrics remind fans of the GUTS song “Love is Embarrassing,” which tackles some of the complex problems with relationships. The lyrics have sparked some comparisons.
Here are my rankings of the new tracks on GUTS Deluxe:
- obsessed
- stranger
- so american
- scared of my guitar
- girl i’ve always been
All of these songs do a great job of presenting Olivia’s talents as a singer/songwriter. It gave fans something new to look forward to for future shows, as she will likely swap between the deluxe songs for each show.
The new tracks also shine a light on what fans could see for the future of Olivia’s music. We could potentially see an album focused on country or one with a theme around love.
If you’re into multiple kinds of music like pop, rock, and country, I’d recommend checking out GUTS deluxe and other songs on the original GUTS and SOUR. Both albums have plenty of excellent songs written by an incredible young artist who has touched the hearts of people around the world.