In anticipation of her forthcoming GUTS world tour, Olivia Rodrigo and creative partner-in-crime Dan Nigro have given us a taste of how the star’s sophomore album sounds live. The duo took to the stage for one night only with An Evening With Olivia Rodrigo in partnership with American Express, giving us all a little peek into the creation of the project — including a small anecdote all students can relate to.
During the intimate evening held at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel in L.A., Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro serenaded fans with a selection of GUTS songs, including lead single “Vampire” and fan-favourite “All-American B*tch,” while spilling some pretty major behind-the-scenes nuggets that we can’t help but describe as gems. One of said gems? The revelation that “Lacy” is, in a way, repurposed college homework.
Speaking to the audience and as noted by The Hollywood Reporter, the creative duo admitted to encountering some roadblocks while writing some of the songs, so, of course, they got savvy.
While walking around Greenwich Village, Nigro entered a bookstore and found a book centered on American singer-songwriter Robin Pecknold’s songwriting process, where the Fleet Foxes frontman shared that “some of his songs started as poems.”
The revelation struck a chord with Rodrigo, who had just started uni at USC and had been tasked with flexing her poetry muscles. “One of the poems I wrote was called ‘Lacy,'” Rodrigo recalled during the event, and, poof, just like magic, the roadblock was gone.
Rodrigo and Nigro also shared other album making tidbits during the event — like the fact that they recorded “Vampire” over 20 times with different BPMs (beats per minute) to get the cadence right, and that the album closer, “Teenage Dream,” was actually the first song they completed.
If you were not able to witness the fun in person on Monday night, fret not because American Express’s An Evening With Olivia Rodrigo was recorded and uploaded to Rodrigo’s YouTube channel. You can watch the entire performance and conversation below and get in on the album-writing goss. (Be quick though, the video will only be available from now through Thursday, October 12!)
This feature originally appeared on Teen Vogue.
