A new era of Olivia Rodrigo’s career is officially here. The singer/songwriter has released the first single from her impending second album Guts with the new song “Vampire.” The rest of the project will be out on September 8.
Videos by American Songwriter
Rodrigo chose to kick off this new project with a sweeping ballad, much like the first single from her debut record “Driver’s License.” While “Driver’s License” saw Rodrigo wishing her relationship back with a marked innocence, “Vampire” is a hard-edged, furious berate at an ex-partner that calls to mind the seething nature of one of her idols, Alanis Morissette.
She changes things up from her last release even more by switching up the tempo mid-way through the song and adding in a pounding drum fill. “It’s like a heartbreak song you can dance to,” Rodrigo shared in a statement.
Rodrigo delivers her best vocal performance to date with “Vampire,” coaxing out every ounce of emotion she has within. But you made me look so naïve / The way you sold me for parts / As you sunk your teeth into me, oh / Bloodsucker, famefucker / Bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire, she sings in the chorus making it very clear she is coming for blood on this project.
“I was upset about a certain situation and went to the studio alone and sat down at the grand piano, and the chords and melody and lyrics just poured out of me — almost like an out-of-body experience,” Rodrigo continued. “It’s a song about feeling confused and hurt, and at first I thought it was meant to be a piano ballad. But when Dan [Nigro] and I started working on it, we juxtaposed the lyrics with these big drums and crazy tempo changes.”
Along with the song comes an equally stunning visual from Rodrigo. In the music video, she sings along to the song amid a Twilight-esque meadow. When the tempo change comes around, it’s revealed that Rodrigo is performing the single at a pseudo-Grammy Awards when she suffers a bloody accident.
Check out the visual, below.
Larissa Hofmann / Courtesy U Music
