Pop-star Olivia Rodrigo rose to fame with the hit Disney Channel shows, Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. In 2021, she released her first full-length album, SOUR, launching her successful music career. With fans anticipating her next album for the past two years, Rodrigo has finally released her sophomore album, GUTS, which has quickly become a fan-favorite. With the diverse tracks and relatable messages, I decided to rank all twelve of the album’s songs from worst to best and dissect what makes them so special. 

12. making the bed

The sixth song on the album, making the bed, is a sad song about how unfortunate things happen to Rodrigo, but she’s the one “making the bed,” or making these circumstances for herself. This song is entirely about Rodrigo victimizing herself, which isn’t something that I particularly enjoy listening to. While I like the fact that Rodrigo is sort of accepting that these issues are her fault, it’s just too slow of a song with a meaning I can’t seem to appreciate.

11. teenage dream

teenage dream is a summary of the fear of growing up. As the last song on the album, it perfectly encapsulates Rodrigo’s fears as a nineteen-year-old idol. The lyrics describe a fear of not being enough, and being just good for her age. At the end of the song, we hear faint sounds of Rodrigo talking, babies making noise, and people laughing, all of which eventually fade into the sound of a turn signal — a reference to Rodrigo’s hit single, drivers license. As a teenager, teenage dream is one of the most relatable songs on the album. The insecurities of growing up are something that a lot of teenagers are faced with, and I love the reference to Rodrigo’s roots.

“They all say that it gets better, but what if I don’t?”

10. vampire

The lead single in GUTS, vampire, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100. Rodrigo describes someone using her for fame and taking advantage of her because she’s too young. This song has become a popular sound to use on apps such as TikTok — specifically the bridge where Rodrigo picks up the tempo and adds a drum-line, making the song more upbeat. When I first heard this song, I liked it, but I think the bridge is the only aspect that keeps me listening to the song. 

9. pretty isn’t pretty

In pretty isn’t pretty, Rodrigo describes her efforts to ensure society perceives her as pretty and how these efforts never seem to work. She talks about how everything she sees is making her feel worse, and how she’ll never be as good as everyone else. pretty isn’t pretty is the perfect description of society’s influence on teenagers. It’s a song I relate to more and more as I get older, and I enjoy the upbeat energy combined with the deep meaning.

8. the grudge

the grudge describes Rodrigo’s feelings towards an unnamed person who wronged her, and how she can’t forgive them. Rodrigo describes having her trust betrayed and arguing with this person in her head. Fans have speculated that this song is about Taylor Swift and their rumored feud, but neither artist has confirmed. When I first started listening to this song, I didn’t like it very much, and even when I was first ranking them, it wasn’t very high. However, it eventually grew on me. The lyric “It takes strength to forgive but I don’t feel strong” is something I can relate to, especially how it’s technically “right” to forgive someone, no matter what they did.

“It takes strength to forgive but I don’t feel strong”

      7. love is embarrassing

In love is embarrassing, Rodrigo talks about how she fell in love with someone who didn’t like her back and how embarrassed she was. Rodrigo describes giving up and coming back for more, something many people can relate to. This upbeat song is very catchy and was definitely an enjoyable experience.

6. lacy

lacy tells the tale of Rodrigo being jealous of a woman and eventually feeling admiration or love for them. Fans have speculated that this song is about Sabrina Carpenter, specifically because of the line “Bardot reincarnate.” Carpenter has notoriously mimicked actress Brigitte Bardot’s photoshoots. While this song is very slow, every time I listen to it, I can’t help myself from thinking about what Rodrigo was thinking about when she was writing it.

5. ballad of a homeschooled girl

ballad of a homeschooled girl describes how Rodrigo doesn’t know how to act in public because she was homeschooled. Rodrigo describes looking up how to talk to people and misreading situations in public. As someone who used to have social anxiety and still has to deal with it, this song is absolutely me. It is super catchy and gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it.

“Each time I step outside it’s social suicide”

4. get him back!

The eighth song on GUTS, get him back!, describes Rodrigo missing a boy she broke up with, but not for the relationship. Rodrigo mentions him manipulating her and buying her things whenever he messed up. In the bridge, Rodrigo describes wanting to key his car, make him lunch, and various other things, displaying the volatile relationship she had. get him back! is going to be the breakup song of the year. 

3. logical 

Possibly the saddest song on the album, logical describes a relationship that doesn’t make any sense and how Rodrigo wanted to fight for the relationship anyway. Rodrigo mentions the person she was in a relationship with consistently telling her that she wasn’t good enough, or that she was too young, a sentiment repeated in teenage dream. I typically don’t like slow, sad songs, but logical defies all of that. I absolutely adore this song, although it did have to grow on me a little bit.

“Two plus two equals five, and I’m the love of your life”

2. bad idea right?

The second single released for GUTS, bad idea right?, quickly rose to popularity. The song describes how Rodrigo wants to see her ex again, even though it’s a bad idea, and how she can’t hear her thoughts when she’s around them. This song is a very upbeat song with a relatable meaning. This song also had to grow on me, as it was almost too boring in the beginning. The line that made this song one of my favorites was “my brain goes ahh/can’t hear my thoughts,” which I like because Rodrigo is talking about how she’s so in love, she can’t even think straight.

1. all-american bi*ch

As the first song on the album, all-american bi*ch encapsulates everything Rodrigo was trying to do with GUTS. It’s perfectly messy and displays how it feels to grow up. The song starts with some Weezer-influenced guitar,  goes into a soft verse, and then an upbeat chorus. Another soft verse leads to an upbeat chorus and a slow bridge. This song is very angry and represents how Rodrigo hasn’t been able to express how she’s felt since her Disney Channel days. When I first listened to all-american bi*ch, I thought it was a Weezer song (which is never a bad thing).