teenage dream

teenage dream
General information
Artist	Olivia Rodrigo
Release date	September 8 2023
Recorded	2022
Genre	Alternative pop • indie rock • indie folk • chamber pop
Length	3:42
Albums	GUTS, GUTS (spilled)
Label	Geffen
Songwriter(s)	Olivia Rodrigo, Dan Nigro
Producer(s)	Dan Nigro
GUTS chronology
"pretty isn't pretty"
"teenage dream"
"obsessed"
ㅤ⠀ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎‏‏‎Lyric video

"Teenage Dream" (stylized in all lowercase) is the twelfth and closing track from Olivia Rodrigo's sophomore studio album, GUTS. It was released on September 8, 2023 through Geffen Records. It also was originally intended to be on her debut studio album, SOUR, but it was later scrapped.

Background

Rodrigo's sophomore album "GUTS" features a final track titled "teenage dream," which reflects on the challenges and anxieties of growing up under the spotlight. The song highlights the pressure musicians face to maintain their previous work, especially after the global success of her debut album "SOUR." The emotional and emotive track offers an intimate update on Rodrigo's feelings two years later. She wrote this song on the piano just a few days before her 19th birthday.

Olivia confirmed at the amex performance that the song was originally recorded for her debut album SOUR but was scrapped because it was a "stupid idea." A demo was confirmed to be recorded with alternative lyrics.

Official Versions

	Version	Released on	Release date	Producer(s)	Creation date	Length
	Final	GUTS	September 8, 2023	Dan Nigro	2022	3:42
Demos
	Demo	Unreleased	Unleaked	Nigro	2022	Unknown
	SOUR version	SOUR (scrapped)	Unleaked	Nigro	2020 - 2021	Unknown

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Olivia Rodrigo]
When am I gonna stop being wise beyond my years and just start being wise?
When am I gonna stop being a pretty young thing to guys?
When am I gonna stop being great for my age and just start being good?
When will it stop being cool to be quietly misunderstood?

[Chorus: Olivia Rodrigo]
I'll blow out the candles, happy birthday to me
Got your whole life ahead of you, you're only nineteen
But I fear that they already got all the best parts of me
And I'm sorry that I couldn't always be your teenage dream

[Verse 2: Olivia Rodrigo]
And when does wide-eyed affection and all good intentions start to not be enough?
When will everyone have every reason to call all my bluffs?
And when are all my excuses of learning my lessons gonna start to feel sad?
Will I spend all the rest of my years wishing I could go back?

[Chorus: Olivia Rodrigo]
I'll blow out the candles, happy birthday to me
Got your whole life ahead of you, you're only nineteen
But I fear that they already got all the best parts of me
And I'm sorry that I couldn't always be your teenage dream

[Bridge: Olivia Rodrigo & Backup Vocalists ]
They all say that it gets better
It gets better the more you grow
Yeah, they all say that it gets better
It gets better, but what if I don't?
Oh, they all say that it gets better
It gets better the more you grow
Yeah, they all say that it gets better
It gets better, but what if I don't?
Oh, they all say that it gets better
It gets better the more you grow
Yeah, they all say that it gets better
It gets better, but what if I don't?
Oh, they all say that it gets better
It gets better the more you grow
Yeah, they all say that it gets better
It gets better, but what if I don't?

[Spoken Outro: Olivia Rodrigo & Dan Nigro]
Is this recording?
Hi, Saoirse
Of course it's recording
What do you want your next album to be called? FART

Trivia

• Despite being the first song recorded, this track serves as the closing of the Guts album.
• Her first performance of this song was during her self promoted 'An Evening With Olivia Rodrigo' concert at the Ace Hotel on October, 9, 2023 (a month after GUTS was released)
• When she performs this song at the Guts Tour, she first has a spoken intro while she is playing the piano and when she is singing there are pictures of when she was a child, also the song concludes with her younger self speaking.

Videos

Olivia Rodrigo - Teenage Dream (Live Debut) Ace Theatre 2023