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 attended the live video premiere of her new single at the YouTube Space LA on Thursday night in Los Angeles. The event was broadcast live on the platform while fans, members of the press and YouTube creators were invited to celebrate alongside Rodrigo with fun “Vampire”-themed activations to match.
As Rodrigo walked through the crowd of buzzing fans, one courageous attendee asked Rodrigo to attend his prom as his date. “I’ve always wanted to go to prom,” she responded before asking for him to share his phone number with her.
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.
