That scorching “fame fucker” line in “Vampire” almost didn’t make the cut. In a recent interview with Audacy’s The Julia Show, Olivia Rodrigo revealed that she and Dan Nigro considered opting for a different line on her comeback song to relate to more listeners.
“Some people said, ‘It kind of isolates you from people, you can’t really say things like that in song, it’s not relatable,’ yada, yada, yada,” she told the show.
In the song, Rodrigo directs her ire to a person who she accuses of trying to use her for clout while they were in a relationship.
“But you made me look so naive/The way you sold me for parts/As you sunk your teeth into me, oh
Bloodsucker, fame fucker,” she sings. “Bleedin’ me dry, like a goddamn vampire.” (Some have speculated that the song is about her ex Zack Bia, who also dated Madison Beer at one point.)
“I totally get and saw where they were coming from,” Rodrigo continued. “I think the song isn’t about fame fucking — I think it’s more about someone being manipulative and sucking you dry, using you for all you’re worth.”
“I think that’s a universal theme, and I also think fame is more easily accessible now than it has ever been,” she added. “It’s not just people in LA and Hollywood that have to deal with that.”
Rodrigo opted for using the words “dream crusher” in the clean version of the song, which will likely become a radio fave. The interview comes days after she shared some of the alternative versions of the lyric on her TikTok.
Nigro and Rodrigo tried joking replacements such as “tree hugger,” “whale blubber,” “fame hunter,” “Mark Zucker,” “fame lover,” and “garlic butter.” The video saw the two laughing at the ideas they had. “No, not that one!” Nigro said after one of the lines.
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“Yeah, I think one of those will work!” the two joked at the end.
“Vampire” is the first taste of what’s to come on her upcoming album Guts out later this year. “I feel like I grew 10 years between the ages of 18 and 20 — it was such an intense period of awkwardness and change,” she previously wrote in a statement. “I think that’s all just a natural part of growth, and hopefully the album reflects that.”
