Vampire (Olivia Rodrigo song)

Rodrigo stated that her second studio album, Guts, would probably "be a lot happier" than her debut, Sour. On June 13, 2023, she announced "Vampire" as the lead single from the album. Limited edition 7-inch and CD singles featuring a demo version of the song were made available for pre-order, along with its pre-save on streaming platforms. The song was first written by Rodrigo in December 2022 and finished and recorded the following month. Some critics thought the Band-Aids indicated the spot where someone would be bitten by a vampire. The artwork also references the poster of the 1968 horror film Dracula Has Risen from the Grave. A 15-second snippet of the song was played when fans called Rodrigo's "Sour Heartbreak Hotline". Rodrigo teamed up with YouTube Shorts to launch "#vampireOR2" on June 30, 2023, an Internet challenge exclusively on the platform. ==Lyrics and composition==

"Vampire" is three minutes and thirty-nine seconds long. taking on the style of pop rock, with influences of gothic rock, and an EDM ending. It starts as a rock piano ballad, similarly to "Drivers License" according to Billboards Jason Lipshutz, with "jittery percussion and wounded, dramatic vocal runs". The song was subject of a lot of criticism for the similarities to the Radiohead song "Creep", a song that she famously covered at the age of 13. In the song, Rodrigo uses critical language towards an unidentified person, including "bloodsucker, fame fucker, bleedin' me dry like a goddamn vampire." "Fame fucker" is replaced in the clean version of the song with "dream crusher", and "goddamn" is shortened to "damn". Rodrigo makes several references to vampires, and at one point, sings "I should've known it was strange you only come out at night". She recalls how a several-years-older man she dated exploited her: "Went for me and not her / 'Cause girls your age know better". Listeners speculated on the song's subject, with many believing it to be about either film producer Adam Faze or DJ Zack Bia, both of whom Rodrigo "reportedly dated for about six months". Others believed the song was about Taylor Swift, which Rodrigo told The Guardian she "was very surprised" by. Rodrigo stated there was "a lot of vampire lore to be played with" and she found "fun songwriting fodder" in it. She also revealed her and Nigro's vision for the song was how it "crescendoed the entire time and reflects the pent-up anger that you have for a situation". ==Critical reception==

"Vampire" received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. The Guardians Laura Snapes gave the song a five-star rating and stated the pre-chorus "has a dreamy lightheadedness to it that's quickly become a Rodrigo trademark". Snapes also mentioned it "bears Rodrigo's wounds in a reminder of what's at stake for young women." Pitchfork named the song as the "Best New Track", and Quinn Moreland stated that it proved the "undeniable songwriting chemistry" between Rodrigo and Nigro: "There's an unhurried emotional logic to the track's structure, mirroring a young woman's gradual understanding of her own agency." Moreland highlighted the chorus of "Vampire" as "especially showstopping, even as it indulges in some on-the-nose imagery". Abby Jones and Jo Vito of Consequence thought the song "blossoms into a vehicle for Rodrigo's candid, emotional performance", and "the arrangement opens up to a high-energy backbeat, akin to the more upbeat tracks from Sour" after the second verse. Justin Curto of Vulture called the track a "full performance" that featured "each line sounding more emotionally exhausted than the last". He wrote that Rodrigo's lyrics "keep the charming specificity of her Sour tracks while packing more of a clever punch". == Commercial performance ==

"Vampire" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number one, with 35.5 million streams, 26,000 sales (17,000 physical units; 9,000 digital downloads), and 26.3 million radio airplay audience impressions in its first week, ending July 6. It also debuted atop the Streaming Songs chart. Bolstered by the release of its parent album, the single returned to number one, peaking at the top for a second week. It tied for the longest gap between weeks at number one in a single chart run (9 weeks), matching the gap of Miley Cyrus' 2013 single "Wrecking Ball". The song also debuted atop the Canadian Hot 100, becoming her third number-one in Canada. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and has received 2× Platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which denotes track-equivalent sales of 1,200,000 units. In Australia, "Vampire" debuted at the top of the ARIA Singles Chart and has been certified 5× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In Spain, following the release of the album, "Vampire" reentered the Top 100 at number 53, becoming its best-performing week in the country. == Music video ==

On June 27, 2023, YouTube Shorts shared a teaser in which Rodrigo can be viewed resting on a patch of grass before being deluged by a blue-green haze while "a pounding electric guitar-filled snippet of 'Vampire' plays", which Billboard thought was likely from its music video. A later teaser shows her lying under a full moon while a piano-driven instrumental plays. Petra Collins—with whom Rodrigo had previously worked on the visuals for her 2021 singles "Good 4 U" and "Brutal"—directed the video, which was released at 12 a.m. ET on June 30. Hours prior to its release, the artist premiered the video at an exclusive YouTube Space event in Playa Vista, Los Angeles. Filmed in Los Angeles, the music video for "Vampire" contains references to vampires "without being too on the nose". == Live performances ==

in Atlanta on July 23, 2024. Rodrigo's first live performance of "Vampire", on the piano, was published to her YouTube channel on July 6, 2023. She again performed "Vampire" along with the latter at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, DayDay on September 26, and Live Lounge on October 2. On October 9, Rodrigo performed an acoustic rendition of the song at her one-off concert, An Evening With Olivia Rodrigo, in Los Angeles. The song was part of her set on the December 2023 Los Angeles and New York City dates of iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball Tour 2023. In February 2024, she performed the song live again at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. "Vampire" was included in Rodrigo's setlist on the Guts World Tour (2024). == Accolades ==

• Olivia Rodrigo – vocals, songwriting • Dan Nigro – production, songwriting, vocal production, guitar, percussion, piano, bass guitar, synthesizer, drum programming, background vocals • Benjamin Romans – piano • Paul Cartwright – viola, violin • Sam Stewart – electric guitar • Sterling Laws – drums • Serban Ghenea – mixing • Bryce Bordone – mixing assistance ==Charts==

Weekly charts Monthly charts Year-end charts == Certifications ==