Song is first from sophomore album
Olivia Rodrigo returns with her new single “Vampire.” Released via Geffen Records, the emotionally raw yet extravagantly composed track marks the lead single from the 20-year-old artist’s massively anticipated sophomore album Guts, due out September 8th. Special limited edition physical versions of the single, including Rodrigo’s first demo of the track, are available on CD and 7-inch pressing.
The follow-up to Rodrigo’s 4x Platinum, record-breaking 2021 debut album Sour, Guts will be available on CD, cassette, and vinyl. Exclusively available at Rodrigo’s online store, the vinyl version of Guts will be offered in four colors: red, white, blue, and purple. In addition, an exclusive colored vinyl and CD, both with alternative cover and poster, will be available through Target.
Produced by and co-written with Daniel Nigro (also Rodrigo’s main creative partner on Sour), “Vampire” marks a departure from the dreamy minimalism of past hits like her 5x Platinum breakthrough single “Drivers License.” To that end, “Vampire” begins with a hushed intensity before bursting into a larger-than-life epic built on pulse-pounding drumbeats and magnificently frantic piano work. As the track takes on a wild velocity, Rodrigo reveals her newly heightened sophistication as a vocalist and lyricist, spinning a tale of the kind of toxic romance that drains your very life force.
“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,” she recalls. “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 and I started working on it, we juxtaposed the lyrics with these big drums and crazy tempo changes. So now it’s like a heartbreak song you can dance to.”
Directed by famed artist/director/photographer Petra Collins, the video for “Vampire” made its global broadcast premiere on MTV Live, MTVU, and across MTV’s global network of channels, as well as on the Paramount Times Square billboards. Collins previously directed the video for Rodrigo’s 2x Platinum “Brutal,” and earned a Grammy nomination for her work on the video for the 4x Platinum, Billboard Hot 100-topping “Good 4 U.”
Earlier tonight (Thurs, June 29th), Rodrigo and YouTube hosted an in-person “Vampire” premiere event in Los Angeles. There, Rodrigo revealed the #vampireOR2 Shorts challenge and celebrated the release of the official music video alongside her fans and YouTube creators.
Partly written at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City, Guts mostly came to life in Nigro’s garage studio in Los Angeles. Although each song intensifies the emotional honesty that’s always imbued her storytelling, the album ultimately finds Rodrigo expanding her expressive palette and uncovering entirely new dimensions of her artistry.
