Olivia Rodrigo Says Writing ‘GUTS’ Album ‘Tested My Confidence and Patience’

Olivia Rodrigo says she learned a very important lesson when writing the songs for her sophomore album GUTS: you can’t try to please all the people all the time. “The experience tested my confidence and patience. It taught me some important lessons about songwriting in terms of focusing on your craft rather than just waiting for inspiration to strike,” she told Variety magazine.

Most importantly, though, Rodrigo, 20, said the sessions for the LP taught her how to zero in on the mindset that is most important to writing good songs. “You can never sit down at the piano and try to write something that everyone will like; that always results in a really bad song. It taught me that I write songs that I want to hear,” she said.

Her second collaboration with producer/co-writer Dan Nigro has spawned the hit “Vampire” and recently racked up six Grammy nominations, including her first nod in the best rock song category for the grunge pop rager “ballad of a homeschooled girl.” While there was pressure to deliver a smash follow-up to her Grammy-winning 2021 debut, Sour, Rodrigo said she Rwas once again laser-focused on being as real as possible.

“Honest songwriting. It’s what I’ve gravitated towards my whole life — music that helps you process what you’re feeling or comforts you when you’re feeling these big feelings,” she said of what she hopes audiences take away from her songs. “It’s just nice to know that someone else is experiencing them. It makes you feel less alone.”

Rodrigo is slated to kick off her GUTS world tour on Feb. 23 with a show in Palm Springs, CA on an outing that is currently slated to keep her on the road through an Aug. 13 show in Los Angeles.