Olivia Rodrigo gets bloody in the music video for her new single “Vampire,” a gothic, piano-centric track that tells off a certain “fame fucker.”
The first single from her forthcoming sophomore album “Guts,” “Vampire” begins as a ballad with Rodrigo singing in an ethereal field of flowers. As the song ramps up to the chorus, Rodrigo’s vocals increase in power, singing in her signature belt: “Bloodsucker, fame fucker/ Bleeding me dry like a goddamn vampire.”
The Petra Collins-directed music video then sees Rodrigo get hit by a falling light — which also triggers a tempo switch — as it’s revealed that she is actually performing on stage at an awards show. Suffering from a nasty cut to her shoulder, Rodrigo continues to put on a show as the beat drives on, smearing the blood across her face and white dress in the process.
“You said it was true love/ But wouldn’t that be hard?/ You can’t love anyone/ ‘Cause that would mean you had a heart,” Rodrigo sings in the bridge, which is introduced by a rapidly pulsing synth. As security tries to escort her off the stage, Rodrigo runs into the streets and eventually levitates into the night sky.
“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,” Rodrigo said in a statement about “Vampire.” “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.”
Rodrigo’s follow-up to her 2021 debut album “Sour,” “Guts” is due Sept. 8 via Geffen Records. “Sour” collaborator Dan Nigro is also producing “Guts,” a project that is set to tackle the “growing pains” Rodrigo has experienced since launching into megastardom with her breakout track “Drivers License.”
Watch the official music video below.
