Is “Vampire” about Taylor Swift? Olivia Rodrigo won’t reveal the subject of her sophomore album’s single — or any other song, for that matter.
Speaking to The Guardian, Rodrigo addressed speculation that her song “Vampire,” the first single released off her sophomore album Guts, out Sept. 8, was about her potentially soured friendship with Taylor Swift.
“How do I answer this?” Rodrigo asked when questioned about the song’s potential connection to Swift. “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. I think it’s better to not pigeonhole a song to being about this one thing…I was very surprised when people thought that.”
What’s the relationship between Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift?
Rodrigo, the 20-year-old former star of Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, became a major player in the music world in Jan. 2021 with her hugely successful hit single “Driver’s License.” She released her debut album Sour later that year to commercial and critical acclaim, winning the Best New Artist at the 2022 Grammys.
Rodrigo previously credited Swift — who is having a huge year with The Eras Tour and just announced a movie version, in theaters next month — as one of her music idols, as well as a major source of inspiration for her songwriting.
The admiration appeared mutual, with the two exchanging friendly messages on social media, and Swift praising Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License.” In 2021, Rodrigo told Billboard that the star even wrote to her during her ascent to fame.
“I don’t want to divulge too much because it’s really sweet and personal,” Rodrigo said at the time. “But she talks a lot about how, I think, you make your own luck in the world. And when you do kind things to others, good things come your way.”
Though the two were finally photographed together at the Brit Awards in May 2021, it wasn’t long before fans speculated the Disney Channel alum had some bad blood with the superstar. Interactions between Rodrigo and Swift ceased shortly after their meeting, even as Swift released re-recordings of her previous albums Red and Speak Now (works Rodrigo previously professed to love as a longtime Swiftie) and her new album Midnights.
Why do people think that “Vampire” might be about Taylor Swift?
The song “Vampire” features lines like “bleeding me dry like a goddamn vampire,” and some have suggested Rodrigo may have been referring to literal money — specifically, songwriting royalties.
The theory stems from the fact that Rodrigo added Swift as a co-writer — as well as Swift’s longtime collaborators Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent — to her song “Deja Vu,” which Rodrigo revealed in an April 2021 interview with Rolling Stone’s The Breakdown featured elements inspired by Swift’s 2019 track “Cruel Summer,” which she previously covered and posted online.
“I love ‘Cruel Summer.’ That’s one of my favorite songs ever,” she said. “I love the yell-y vocal in it, the harmonized yells she does. I feel like they’re super electric and moving, so I wanted to do something like that.”
While neither Rodrigo nor Swift have spoken about the other publicly, Rodrigo told Time of giving other songwriters credit on her work, “It was really frustrating to see people discredit and deny my creativity.”
In addition to adding Swift to songwriter credits on “Deja Vu,” Rodrigo also added Paramore to her Sour song “Good 4 U.”
Who else might “Vampire” be about?
Rodrigo won’t confirm the subjects of any of her songs, but that hasn’t stopped people from digging through her romantic history to find potential subjects.
One person people have pointed to is record executive Zack Bia, who the singer allegedly dated for around the “seven months” referenced in the track. Other people have speculated that it could be about producer Adam Faze, who she also reportedly dated for less than a year.
That being said, it doesn’t seem like Rodrigo will ever confirm the identity of “Vampire” — if there even is only one person who the song is about.
Rodrigo and Swift have that in common. The 1989 artist told GQ in 2019, “I’ve never named names, so I feel like I still have a sense of power over what people say — even if that isn’t true, and even if I don’t have any power over what people say about me…The fact that I’ve never confirmed who those songs are about makes me feel like there is still one card I’m holding.”
