When thinking of Olivia Rodrigo, the color purple immediately comes to mind. The SOUR era was dominated by purple! In the past, Olivia explained she experiences a series of colors in her mind when listening to music. The official term for this fascinating phenomenon is Synesthesia. In a video uploaded by Vogue on YouTube, Olivia further explained that many songs on the Sour album represent the color purple.
Fast forward to the present, the recent release of ‘vampire’ and the announcement of her second studio album, GUTS, got us thinking. Will this new era reflect a new hue? With multiple colored variants of GUTS on vinyl already available for pre-order, and considering previous comments about the significance of color to Olivia, we’re going to say yes! We’re delving into why ‘vampire’ perfectly embodies the color red to celebrate the start of the new era.
Red Flag Rodeo
The lyrics of ‘vampire’ are a red flag rodeo! First, we have “I’ve made some real big mistakes, but you make the worst one look fine,” which is a major red flag we need to address. Mistakes are part of the learning curve of life, not to be shoved under the rug. Then, right after that, Olivia follows with “I should’ve known it was strange, you only come out at night.” Last time we checked, most humans aren’t nocturnal. Plus, we want someone who is there for us around the clock if we’re investing in a relationship emotionally. Let’s not forget the lyric “How do you lie without flinching?” It’s not this individual’s first gig! With more red flags than we have fingers, we’d stay clear!
Intensity
If ‘jealousy, jealousy’ is described by Olivia as bright red, ‘vampire’ definitely sits in the same category. Produced and co-written by Daniel Nigro, ‘vampire’ marks Olivia’s departure from the dreamy minimalism of her previous songs. ‘vampire’ is brimming with intensity, fueled by frantic piano and pounding drums. It’s a song that commands attention and has, in our opinion, the color red smudged across it.
Bold Visuals
The music video for ‘vampire’ was directed by artist, director, and photographer Petra Collins. While the overall tone of the video may be diluted, Olivia is seen wearing a delicate white dress. This deliberately contrasts the unmissable red features throughout the video. Everything about the visual storytelling confirms our decision that ‘vampire’ is red. And to heighten this fact, in the scene of the music video when the stage set collapses onto Olivia, she is seen covered with red blood stains. Everything screams red!
Subtle Red Clues
The red trail doesn’t end there. If the visuals aren’t enough to convince you Olivia is portraying the color red, let the title of the song seal the deal. When we think of vampires, we immediately think we think of blood-sucking characters, albeit very cool, but also quite dark, often associated with the colors black, white, and of course, red. Also, Olivia’s bold red lipstick paired with her red nails subtly hints and confirms our decision that the song is red. Following, whilst the cover art has very few signs of color, the single was released on vinyl with a red pressing. All these red easter eggs convince us Olivia is portraying the color red with ‘vampire.’
Have we convinced you that ‘vampire’ by Olivia Rodrigo is red? What are your color theories for the upcoming GUTS era? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or tweet us @thehoneypop!
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