Fans believed Olivia Rodrigo was done spilling her gut-ridden secrets through her new album, “GUTS,” once she started her world tour February 23. However,the 21-year-old singer-songwriter proved them wrong when she surprise-announced a deluxe version of her second studio album while on stage in Chicago March 19.
When Rodrigo released the standard version of “GUTS” Sept. 8, critics from major publications such as Rolling Stone declared that the album “avoids all of the typical second-album pitfalls.” All 12 songs from the album debuted within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, with its lead single, “vampire,” returning to No. 1. The album also earned her six more Grammy nominations in major categories like Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and more.
The deluxe version, titled “GUTS (spilled),” includes five songs new to streaming platforms. In an Instagram post celebrating the release, Rodrigo said she was proud of all of the additions to the album but is especially excited about the now closing track, “so american.”
The track features a similar punk-pop 2000’s sound that is cohesive to many of the standard tracks such as “get him back!” and “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” but thematically, it could not be more different. The track is Rodrigos’s first love song that doesn’t allude to heartbreak or pain caused by its muse, even taking her debut album, “SOUR,” into account.
In the verses of “so american,” Rodrigo sings about positive traits of the person she was inspired by such as, “he says I’m pretty wearing his clothes.” Similarly, the chorus builds on the person’s good characteristics with the lyrics, “Oh God, I’m gonna marry him if he keeps this sh– up / I might just be in love.”
These heartfelt, romantic and mushy lyrics can all be directly contrasted with the lyrics of the standard track titled “love is embarrassing” which states, “I’m planning out my wedding with some guy I’m never marrying.”
Although “so american” added a positive love song to the album, the additional tracks still included Rodrigo’s famously sad perspective. The third additional track, “scared of my guitar,” mirrors the acoustic sound of track four’s “lacy” and provides a more stripped-back production. In it, Rodrigo confesses that because she is lying to herself and her partner about being in love, she avoids playing her guitar. She sings, “It cuts right through to my heart / It knows me too well, so I’ve got no excuse / I can’t lie to it the same way that I lie to you.”
Additionally, this song is the first time Rodrigo references the title of the album in her lyrics. In the first verse she sings, “Perfect, easy, so good to me / so why’s there a pit in my gut the shape of you?”
Whether you have guts by being brave or you’re spilling your guts by telling secrets, this deluxe album has a song for both occasions. With songs for crying, ranting, screaming and any other mood, trust your gut and give the album a listen.
