Olivia Rodrigo liberated his highly anticipated second album Gut, and the singer says the LP is about “the confusion that comes with becoming a young adult”. In a new interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1’s New Music Daily, Rodrigo spoke in depth about the album’s creative process, the inspiration behind specific songs, and his friendship with Phoebe Bridgers.

“I think the first time, I was filled with so much adrenaline, I was like, ‘Okay, wow, this is happening.’ I’ve never done this before,'” Rodrigo reflected on how Gut felt about his beginnings Sour. “This time it feels a little more real and it’s scary to know that people are going to be curious and maybe have a lot of ears.”

She added: “I think overall, making this album gave me a lot of confidence as a songwriter. I think writing the first album was so spontaneous. I was 17, learning to write songs for the first time, and pouring my heart out. I had so much to say. I think this time I was in a different place and I had a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations placed on me and I think I really had to try to block out the noise and just focus on writing songs. I wasn’t going through my first heartbreak at 17 and I think that forced me to maybe be a little more creative in the way I write.

The singer also addressed the themes on Gutwhich represent 12 titlesincluding “All-American Bitch” and “Teenage Dream” referencing Katy Perry.

“I feel like when you’re making the album, you can’t really see the forest through the trees, kinda relative to what it’s about or what you’re trying to convey,” Rodrigo told Lowe. “Sometimes you wake up and go to the studio and see what comes out of you. Looking back, I think a lot of this album is about the confusion that comes with becoming a young adult and figuring out your place in this world and figuring out who you want to be and who you want to date and everything That. thing. I think it’s probably an experience that everyone has had in their life, it’s just the result of that disillusionment.

Rodrigo said she recorded about 25 songs for Gut and confirmed that “some of them will definitely see the light of day.” She added that “Teenage Dream” was the first song they wrote to appear on the LP.

“The last line is a line that I really like and it ends the album on a question mark,” she explained of the track. “The line is, ‘They all say it gets better.’ It gets better as you grow. They all say it’s better. What if I don’t? I like that it feels like an ending, but it’s also a question mark and it leaves up in the air what this next chapter will be. It’s still a little confusing, but this feels like a final note to that confusion, one last question.

Elsewhere in the nearly 10-minute interview, Rodrigo talked about having a conversation with Bridgers to Interview reviewnoting that “she’s awesome.”

“It was so much fun talking to him,” Rodrigo enthused. “I think she’s so smart and obviously such a brilliant songwriter, but she’s really, really kind and really down to earth and it’s been really nice to have interactions with her. I think she’s just great in every way.

Gut, produced by Dan Nigro, is available now. “I am extremely grateful to everyone who has so generously supported me over the past few years,” Rodrigo wrote on Instagram to celebrate the release. “Thank you to everyone who listened, streamed and was so kind.”