Bad Idea Right?

## Music video

* Music Video
* Lyric Video

**"Bad Idea Right?"** (stylized in all lowercase) is the second track and second single from Olivia Rodrigo's sophomore studio album, *Guts*. It was released on August 11, 2023.

## Background

hiii

hope everyone is doing super well!!! I am just writing to inform you that I have a new song coming out august 11th! its called “bad idea right?” & im so stoked about it. the song is pretty different from vampire & shows another side of GUTS thats a little more fun & playful. cannot wait to share it with you alllllll. love to ya always

bad idea right?’ started with us making a joke song about me hooking up with an ex-boyfriend, but then we realized we were actually onto something.

We were throwing the weirdest things at the wall — in one of choruses there’s a part that sounds like an instrument in the background, but it’s me gradually screaming louder and louder

> hi again!
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> big day big day!!! ‘bad idea right?’ is out everywhere now! you can stream it & download it & watch the music video directed by Petra Collins and co-starring my beautiful talented friends Madison, Tate and Iris! im so excited to share this one with you guys. and I cant believe GUTS comes out in a month! eek!
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> ♡, Liv
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> I wrote it in New York. Me and my friend, Dan, were at Electric Lady Studios, and I was telling him about one of my fun escapades. I sent this guy a text: “seeing you tonight, it’s a bad idea, right?,” and I was, like, “Ooh, that rhymes.” And so I told Dan about it the next day, and he was like, “Oh, that’s fun,” talking about it. The refrain started as a joke, he was just making fun of me, he was just going, “My brain goes, ‘Ah’.” And we were like, “Wait, maybe we’re onto something there, maybe there’s something in there.” And so we wrote the song “bad idea right?,” and I really like it, I think it’s kind of funny and tongue-and-cheek, and the music is fun and upbeat and makes me want to dance.
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> > I had such a fun time making this song with @dan\_nigro in nyc last year. we wrote the chorus as a joke but we loved it so much we made it into a full fledged song lol! I had a ball making the music video with my friends @petrafcollins @madisonhu @tatemcrae @irisapatow and I’m so happy it’s out in the world. u can listen and watch now!!!!!
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## Critics

*Pitchfork* named “bad idea right?” Best New Track in their review of the song. Shaad D’Souza wrote:

> The second single from *GUTS* is hammy, blasé, and brilliant.
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> Olivia Rodrigo is a masterful chronicler of pivotal “firsts”: first love, first heartbreak, first time you heard “Uptown Girl”. On “bad idea right?,” the second single from her forthcoming album, *GUTS*, she explores an equally significant moment in any young person’s life: first backslide. Wry and motor-mouthed, it adds some waggish comedy into Rodrigo’s music, the seed of wounded irony planted on the *SOUR* track “brutal” sprouting into hammy, blasé brilliance.
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> Were the person performing “bad idea right?” even slightly less committed to the bit, it likely wouldn’t have worked. But Rodrigo, a capital-P performer, barrels into the song with profound commitment to playing the role of sloppy main character. Chattering over the song’s strutting bassline, Rodrigo narrates her decision to link up with an ex-boyfriend like she’s relaying the information in real time: “I’m out right now and I’m all fucked up/And you’re callin’ my phone and you’re all alone/And I’m sensing some undertone!”
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Aesthetically, the track exists miles away from “vampire”, *GUTS’* soaring and bitter first single. But there’s still a thread of musical theater in there: “bad idea right?” manages to recall the narrative punk of “Drama Queen (That Girl)”, the centerpiece of the early-aughts Lindsay Lohan teen musical *Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen*, and draws from the squared-off new wave synths of The Cars as well as Weezer’s chunky pop-rock. The glue holding this genre Frankenstein together is Rodrigo, whose cheekily feigned innocence (“I just tripped and fell into his bed!”) provides one of the best pop performances of the year.

## Theme

Described as ‘fun and playful’, “bad idea right?” serves as the second single for *GUTS*. The cover art has a more complex design compared to the sophomore albums lead single, “vampire”; it features Olivia staring through a steamy glass pane, with the track title written in lipstick on the glass, along with red kiss marks.

“bad idea right?” is a punk pop track that follows the events of Olivia lying to her friends—who would otherwise object to Rodrigo’s eponymous bad idea—about leaving a party to see her ex-boyfriend. Her emotive lyrics ponder on whether the pair can rekindle their love for each other and she decides to see the outcome.

The song was announced as the second single from the album on August 7, and later released on August 11, four weeks ahead of *GUTS'* September 8 release.

## Lyrics

* Final Version
* Demo

**[Intro]**

(Hey)

**[Verse 1]**

Haven't heard from you in a couple of months

But I'm out right now, and I'm all fucked up

And you're calling my phone and you're all alone

And I’m sensing some undertone

And I'm right here, with all my friends

You're sending me you're new address

And I know we're done, I know we're through

But, God, when I look at you

**[Pre-Chorus]**

My brain goes ah

Can't hear my thoughts (I cannot hear my thoughts)

Like, blah, blah, blah (Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah)

Should probably not (I should probably, probably not)

(I should probably, probably not)

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

Fuck it, it's fine

**[Chorus]**

Yes, I know that he's my ex

But can't two people reconnect?

I only see him as a friend

(The biggest lie I ever said)

Oh, yes, I know that he's my ex

But can't two people reconnect?

I only see him as a friend

(Just tripped and fell into his bed)

**[Verse 2]**

Now I'm getting in the car, wreckin' all my plans

I know I should stop

But I can’t

And I told my friends I was asleep

But I never said where

Or in whose sheets

And I pull up to your place on the second floor

And you're standing, smiling, at the door

And I'm sure I've seen much hotter men

But I really can't remember when

**[Pre-Chorus]**

My brain goes ah

Can't hear my thoughts (I cannot hear my thoughts)

Like, blah, blah, blah (Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah)

Should probably not (I should probably, probably not)

(I should probably, probably not)

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

Fuck it, it's fine

**[Chorus]**

Yes, I know that he's my ex

But can't two people reconnect?

I only see him as a friend

(The biggest lie I ever said)

Oh, yes, I know that he's my ex

But can't two people reconnect?

I only see him as a friend

(I just tripped and fell into his bed)

**[Break]**

Oh, yes, I know that he's my ex

Can't two people reconnect?

(The biggest lie I ever said)

(Just tripped and fell into his bed)

My brain goes ah

Can't hear my thoughts

(The biggest lie I ever said)

My brain goes ah

Can’t hear my thoughts

(I just tripped and fell into his bed)

**[Pre-Chorus]**

(Thoughts)

(Blah)

(Thoughts)

(Blah)

**[Intro: Dan Nigro, Olivia Rodrigo]**

It's Good

It's Fun, Silly

But fun and silly people

Ok ready

**[Verse 1]**

Haven't heard from you in a couple of months

But I'm out right now, and I'm all fucked up

And you're calling my phone cuz you're all alone

And I’m sensing some undertone

And I'm right here, with all my friends

But you're sending you're new address

And I know we're done, I know we're through

But, God, when I look at you

**[Pre-Chorus]**

My brain goes ah

Should probably not

Can't hear my thoughts

Like, blah, blah, blah

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

It's a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight

You know what fuck it, it's fine

## Trivia

* The music video was directed by Petra Collins, which would be her fourth to direct after Brutal, Good 4 U, and Vampire.
* Within the song’s clean version, “fucked up” and “fuck it, it’s fine,” are replaced with “wrecked up” and “whatever, it’s fine.”
* The music video features some of Olivia's friends such as Madison Hu, Tate McRae and Iris Apatow.

## Gallery

### Videos

Bad idea right? this friday ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹Olivia Rodrigo - bad idea right? (Behind The Scenes)Behind The Scenes
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