Maps of Music

GUTS (2023)

Where the lyrics of GUTS take you, and where it was really made.

The title Guts came from phrases Rodrigo noticed people using, such as "spill your guts" and "hate your guts", and she had it in mind since making Sour.

Key places

Electric Lady Studios, New York City (2023)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — Listed as a recording location for Guts. The pin marks the studio building in New York City. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

EastWest Studios, Los Angeles (2023)

Recording site EastWest Studios — Listed as a recording location for Guts. The pin marks the studio building in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Skylight, Los Angeles (2023)

Recording site Skylight — Listed as a recording location for Guts. The pin marks the Skylight site in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Guts: second studio album by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo
• Released September 8, 2023 through Geffen Records
• Written and recorded with producer and multi-instrumentalist Dan Nigro, who also worked on her debut Sour
• Blends pop and rock subgenres, using alternative and pop rock guitar and drum sounds
• Deluxe edition Spilled released March 22, 2024

Background

• Conceived after the success of Sour, reflecting Rodrigo's process of maturity toward the end of her teenage years
• Sour released May 21, 2021; it won Rodrigo three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist
• Rodrigo said the album is about growing pains and figuring out her identity at that point in her life
• Rodrigo abstained from songwriting for six months after Sour so she could live a life to write about
• Lead single Vampire released June 30, 2023; the official album title and release date were revealed June 26, 2023

Recording

• Work on the album concluded about a week before Vampire was released
• Lyrics focus on the transition from adolescence to adulthood, including identity, sudden stardom, romance, and societal expectations for young women

Cover

• Cover photographed by Larissa Hoffman
• Rodrigo reclines on a purple floor, biting her thumb, with four letter rings spelling the title on her fingers
• Spilled edition keeps the same image but changes the bra color to red and adds a paper rip over her face

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born February 20, 2003 in Murrieta, California; raised in neighboring Temecula.
• Half-Filipina, identifies as Filipino American; mother has German and Irish ancestry.
• Began vocal lessons at age five, piano at nine, and was playing guitar by age 12.
• First appeared onscreen in an Old Navy commercial in May 2010 at age seven.

Career

• Acting debut in 2015 in the direct-to-video film An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success.
• Starred in Disney Channel's Bizaardvark (2016–2019) and the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2022).
• Signed with Geffen Records in 2020 and negotiated ownership of her masters.
• Debut album Sour (2021) topped the US Billboard 200; lead single "Drivers License" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Second album Guts (2023) and third album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love (2026) each debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
• Lead singles from her first three albums all debuted atop the Hot 100, a first for any artist.
• Won three Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards and seven Billboard Music Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Guts received universal critical acclaim for its lyrical wit, complexity, topicality, aesthetic and energy
• Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield hailed the album as an instant classic
• Billboard's Jason Lipshutz called it the most complete pop album of the year
• The Guardian's Alexis Petridis found the record sharp and witty
• The Independent's Helen Brown judged it wittier and angrier than Sour
• The Daily Telegraph's Poppie Platt wrote a mixed review, saying it was mostly a continuation of the first album

Reappraisal

• Metacritic weighted mean score of 91, based on 22 professional reviews
• BBC defined the album as the most critically acclaimed of 2023
• People magazine and Billboard staff writers ranked it number one in their year-end lists of the best albums of 2023
• Rolling Stone and Los Angeles Times placed it in their year-end top five

Records

• US: debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 302,000 album-equivalent units, including 150,000 pure album sales
• Second Billboard 200 number-one album for Rodrigo
• All 12 tracks charted in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100
• UK Albums Chart number one with 60,300 units
• Number one on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia, and on the New Zealand Albums Chart
• RIAA certified triple platinum for over 3 million units in the US
• 66th Annual Grammy Awards: nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Vampire's music video was directed by Petra Collins in L.A. and uploaded to Rodrigo's YouTube channel with the single's release
• Four bonus songs appeared as a 13th hidden track on limited vinyl variants sold through Rodrigo's webstore
• The Guts: The Secret Tracks vinyl EP debuted at number 200 on the Billboard 200 and was the second best-selling album of Record Store Day 2023
• The album trailer parodied an infomercial and featured narration by Mort Crim, and it revealed the four hidden tracks
• A pop-up called Guts Gallery ran in New York's Meatpacking District, with a private preview for American Express cardholders and Spotify fans

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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