Olivia Rodrigo says she feels an all-new kind of pressure releasing music after the success of her debut album, SOUR.
The pop star dropped “vampire,” the lead single off her upcoming sophomore album, GUTS, on Friday, June 30. She told Billboard that while she felt some pressure releasing SOUR, it was completely different to how she feels now.
“It’s definitely a different feeling, and it felt different making this album too. I mean, it’s a lot of pressure,” Rodrigo said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel that.”
For a bit, that pressure got to her. Rodrigo recalls the point in time when she realized she had to change her mindset to continue making the album.
“I think I got to a place throughout making the record where I really shifted my perspective from being like, ‘Oh, we have to make something that’s gonna impress everyone, and beat the last one,’” Rodrigo said. “All of this was just swimming in my head, and I wasn’t writing songs that I resonated with. It wasn’t productive, and conducive to good work.”
What was the change she had to make?
“I had to shift my perspective into just trying to make the music that I would like to hear on the radio, and once I did that, things started flowing a little easier. So, I just try to maintain that perspective,” Rodrigo said.
GUTS releases on September 8.
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