Entertainment Music Pop Music Olivia Rodrigo Says She Almost Cut the 'Fame F---er' Line in 'Vampire' Because It Was 'Not Relatable' "Vampire" recently hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is the first single off her upcoming album 'Guts' By Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis is a senior writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 18, 2023 12:00PM EDT Olivia Rodrigo in Los Angeles in June. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for YouTube One of the most scathing lines on Olivia Rodrigo’s new single “Vampire” almost didn’t make the cut. The singer-songwriter, 20, opened up about the making of her latest chart-topper in an interview with Audacy’s The Julia Show, and revealed why she was close to axing a line in the chorus in which she calls her subject a “fame f---er.” “It was actually a debate whether or not ‘fame f---er’ should be in the song," she said. "Some people said, ‘It kind of isolates you from people, you can’t really say stuff like that in songs if it’s not relatable,’ yada, yada, yada, which I totally get and I saw where they were coming from." Still, Rodrigo said she felt as though the song wasn’t explicitly about someone using her fame to climb the social ladder, but more about manipulation in general — something many of her listeners have likely experienced. Olivia Rodrigo at a Met Gala after-party in New York City in May 2023. Lexie Moreland/WWD Olivia Rodrigo Raves About Bruce Springsteen: 'He's My Biggest Celebrity Crush' “I think the song isn’t about fame f---ing or whatever, I think it’s more about someone being manipulative and sucking you dry, using you for all your worth,” she said. “I think that that’s a universal theme, and I also think fame is more easily accessible now than it has ever been. It’s not just people in L.A. and Hollywood that have to deal with that.” Though Rodrigo has stayed mum on just who inspired the track, a source recently told PEOPLE that “Vampire” “isn’t about Adam Faze,” the film/TV producer she dated for seven months in 2021 and early 2022. The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series alum said she wrote the track last winter in the studio by herself, and she chose it for the first single off her upcoming album Guts because she felt it was the perfect bridge between her last album, Sour, and her new era. The star released Sour in 2021, and it quickly proved to be a runaway success, helping Rodrigo secure three Grammy Awards in 2022. She announced in June that Guts, its follow-up, will be released on Sept. 8. Olivia Rodrigo Reveals Sophomore Album 'Guts' Cover and Release Date: 'I'm So Proud of It' “I looked through all the songs we had and I think it’s not completely so far out of left field when you look at Sour and all the things we did there, but I also think it’s a step forward and kind of hints at everything that’s to come in the next album,” she said. Rodrigo added that she “really tried to improve” her songwriting while making Guts with producer Dan Nigro, and that she feels “a lot more sure of myself now.” She also teased that the first song on the new record is her favorite, and described it as “my version of a riot grrrl punk song.” Rodrigo announced Guts in June, and said in a statement that the new record “is about growing pains and trying to figure out who I am at this point in my life.” “I feel like I grew 10 years between the ages of 18 and 20—it was such an intense period of awkwardness and change. I think that’s all just a natural part of growth, and hopefully the album reflects that,” she said.