Commencing the campaign for your sophomore album is no easy task. You’re expected to deliver something familiar to soothe your fans’ appetite, yet whatever you put out must show some artistic progression without being a complete 180. Oh, and you must at least match, but ideally surpass, the commercial success and critical acclaim of your debut. And if you miss the mark, you’re in an even more precarious position for the third album.

When your debut album is SOUR — a historic record that earned three Grammys, spawned a pair of No. 1 hits, and became one of the most-streamed albums of all time — the pressure feels insurmountable just from the standpoint of an observer. In a move that immediately quells any doubts about her being a one-album wonder, Olivia Rodrigo returns with “Vampire,” the fantastic lead single from her forthcoming sophomore studio album Guts.

“Vampire” begins much like the litany of tear-streaked piano-centric ballads that comprised Sour, namely its record-breaking lead single “Drivers License.” As she prepares to go scorched-earth on her ex-lover, Rodrigo employs a chugging melody to underscore her revelatory takedown of a man who abused the power dynamics of their relationship. “I see the parties and the diamonds sometimes when I close my eyes / Six months of torture you sold as some forbidden paradise,” she croons.

The song then builds into a lengthy, anthemic chorus, again evoking the dynamic hook of “Drivers License,” but this time the chorus’ progression pushes Rodrigo’s voice to even more towering heights. Her delivery is borderline histrionic, a simultaneous tease of the song’s eventual transformation into a quasi-rock opera and the inevitable result of a singer whose vocal approach is steeped in musical theatre. Even when the vampire metaphor starts to wear thin, the conviction in Rodrigo’s voice holds everything together.

“Vampire” is a structural marvel, as far as contemporary top 40 songs go. The instrumentation steadily builds from a piano ballad to an arena-ready pop-rock banger with stirring strings, pounding drums, and wailing electric guitar leading the way. The song is a smart synthesis of Rodrigo’s musical influences (Alanis Morissette and Taylor Swift loom large here) and her allegiance to tasteful experimentation as she readies her next formal artistic statement. The perfect bridge from Sour to Guts, “Vampire” is already proof that Olivia Rodrigo need not worry about the alleged curse of the “sophomore slump.”

Vote for Olivia Rodrigo at the 2023 Bulletin Awards.

Score: 80