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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Lifestyle
William Mata

Olivia Rodrigo makes a comeback with piano ballad Vampire

Olivia Rodrigo Petra Collins

Olivia Rodrigo is back with a new single and music video with the release of striking piano ballad Vampire — her first release since 2021.

The track is the first taste of what to expect from her second album, Guts, which will be released on September 8. Rodrigo has said writing and recording Vampire was therapeutic.

“I made it with my very talented wonderful friend @TheDanielNigro last winter and created the video with the incredible Petra Collins,” she wrote on Twitter.

“Writing this song helped me sort through lots of feelings of regret, anger, and heartache.

“It’s one of my favourite songs on the album and it felt very cathartic to finish. I’m so happy it’s in your hands now and I hope it helps you deal with any bloodsuckers in your life.”

Rodrigo’s debut single Drivers License (sic) set a Spotify record for the number of plays of one track on one day when it was released in January 2021. Her breakout album Sour followed that year and helped her transition from a Disney Channel actress to a pop star with a massive fanbase.

While Sour dealt with heartbreak, Rodrigo — now 20 — has channelled her rage at an unnamed assailant on Vampire, with lyrics such as “bloodsucker, fame f*cker, bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire”.

“I think I listened to a lot of heavier stuff growing up and that’s what I’ve always been drawn to,” she told Zane Lowe on Apple Music.

“But I think, in my regular day-to-day life, I don’t get to express those feelings of rage and dirty sh*t and messing shit up.

“And I think in music, you have the freedom to express feelings that you don’t get to express in your everyday life. And so I think maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to this, because I don’t get to be messy every day in daily life and work.”

And fans are loving it. Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter.

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