The Grudge (song)

"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 in The Guardian by stating "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." Rodrigo also added "I was very surprised when people thought that". 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.

"The Grudge" is a piano ballad, which finds Rodrigo "reflecting on a soured relationship with someone whom she once admired, admitting at the end that 'even after all this, you're still everything to me,' according to Billboard's Hannah Dailey. In the song, she recalls that her "entire world was changed" after receiving a phone call from this person during a Friday in the month of May. She goes on to describe the subject as someone who has "everything and [they] still want more"; its release was followed by some fans speculating that the song was about Swift and addressed alleged soured relations between the two after Rodrigo gave the latter songwriting credits on her song "Deja Vu" in July 2021. However, several critics have interpreted the song to be about Rodrigo's regret and inability to forgive after a romantic breakup. According to Billboard, the song depicts Rodrigo's "racing thoughts", mental arguments, daydream about an overdue apology, and other details, in order "to find some solace in a crushing breakup." Music journalist Rob Sheffield wrote, Rodrigo "torments herself over a breakup, arguing with him when she's alone in front of her bedroom mirror".

In the first verse, Rodrigo expresses anguish about the subject deceiving her and announces that her confusion about the falling out of their relationship still continues. She hangs onto the incident and still thinks about it often. During the chorus, she confesses trying to forgive the person but not having the strength to do it. In the second verse, Rodrigo dreams that the subject is apologetic and wonders if their relations ended up being spoiled because the person was insecure about Rodrigo's success.

Reception
In a ranking of all songs on Guts, Billboard's Jason Lipshutz named "The Grudge" the 9th best track and stated that the song encapsulates "her racing thoughts as she does everything she can" and "the vulnerability is beautifully rendered [...] with details leaping out of Rodrigo's mouth and a harrowing final line that drops into oblivion".

In relation to Swift
Some critics reviewed "The Grudge" in the context of its potential references to Swift. Cosmopolitan's Samantha Olson praised the bridge: "One thing about this bridge is that it seriously stings. As it potentially ties back to her budding relationship with Taylor, the flower line can allude to how the Midnights singer gave Olivia her flowers". The A.V. Club's Mary Kate Carr also noted the fan speculation and added: "Since Swift has cornered the market on writing songs about public feuds, so does that count as double inspiration?"

Commercial performance
"The Grudge" debuted at number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 issued for September 23, 2023. In Canada, the song entered at number 18 on the Canadian Hot 100 issued for the same date and was certified Gold by Music Canada. It debuted at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. "The Grudge" received a Silver certification in the United Kingdom from the British Phonographic Industry, and the Official Charts Company declared it Rodrigo's 18th-biggest song in the country in February 2024.

In Australia, "The Grudge" entered at number 13. The song debuted at number 10 in New Zealand and became Rodrigo's 11th top 10 song. It charted at number 14 on the Billboard Global 200. Elsewhere, "The Grudge" reached national record charts at number 2 on the Sweden Heatseeker chart, number 6 in Ireland, number 35 in Greece, and number 48 in Portugal.

Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Guts.
 * Olivia Rodrigo – vocals, background vocals, songwriter
 * Dan Nigro – producer, songwriter, engineer, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion, piano, vocal producer, bass, synthesizer, mellotron, background vocals
 * Ryan Linvill – additional producer, engineer, acoustic guitar, saxophone, bass, synthesizer
 * Randy Merrill – mastering
 * Mitch McCarthy – mixing