At long last, Olivia Rodrigo has made her much-anticipated return. Tonight (September 8), Rodrigo has shared her sophomore album, Guts. With Guts, Rodrigo deals with typical 20-something problems, while grappling with newfound fame and notoriety. From the very beginning of the album, she reminds us that she is unapologetic in her self-empowering ways.
Guts opens with “All-American B*tch,” which features Rodrigo addressing criticisms and defying the boxes in which the public has tried to place her.
“I am built like a mother and a total machine / I feel for your every little issue, I know just what you mean / And I make light of the darkness / I’ve got sun in my motherf*ckin’ pocket / Best believe, yeah, you know me,” sings Rodrigo on the song’s opening verse.
In a recent conversation with Phoebe Bridgers for Interview Magazine, Rodrigo revealed that this particular song was inspired by a portion of Joan Didion’s book, The White Album.
“I was reading this bit about her going to San Francisco to meet all these hippies—5-year-olds were dropping acid and going to Grateful Dead concerts. She was talking to some hippie who ran away from home and he called his mom an all-American b*tch,” said Rodrigo. “And I was like, ‘That’s the f*cking coolest phrase I’ve ever heard,’ so I had to write a song about it.”
You can listen to “All-American B*tch” above”
Guts is out now via Geffen. Find more information here.