The Grudge

"The Grudge" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. It is the tenth track on her second studio album, Guts (2023), which was released on September 8, 2023, by Geffen Records. Rodrigo wrote it with its producer, Dan Nigro. A piano ballad, "The Grudge" details how Rodrigo's relationship with a person went south after sharing an unpleasant phone call. Background After the commercial success of her debut studio album, Sour (2021), Olivia Rodrigo continued collaborating with Dan Nigro, who had produced all of the tracks on it. The follow-up album, Guts (2023), was conceived when she was aged 19, a year that she described as "lots of confusion, mistakes, awkwardness & good old fashioned teen angst". The album and its title were announced on June 26, 2023, and its lead single, "Vampire", was released four days later. Following fan speculation that "Vampire" was about American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, Rodrigo responded: "I mean, I never want to say who any of my songs are about. I've never done that before in my career and probably won't." The song reached number one in various countries, including the United States, where it became her third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. "Bad Idea Right?" was chosen as the follow-up single. Rodrigo wrote "The Grudge" with Nigro. On July 31, 2023, Rodrigo revealed a video clip which included clues about Guts tracklist, intended for fans to decode. It featured her relaxing in a bedroom, unpacking boxes, and experimenting with various devices, including an electric keyboard and a retro typewriter. On August 1, 2023, Rodrigo revealed the tracklist, which features "The Grudge" as the tenth track. The song was released as a track of Guts on September 8, 2023, via Geffen Records. Composition "The Grudge" is three minutes and nine seconds long. Nigro provided production and vocal production, and he engineered the song with Ryan Linvill. He plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion, piano, bass, synthesizer, and mellotron and Linvill plays acoustic guitar, saxophone, bass, and synthesizer. Mitch McCarthy mixed the song, and Randy Merrill mastered it.