“GetHim Back!” (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from her second studio album, Guts (2023).
Rodrigo wrote it with Dan Nigro, who co-produced it with Alexander 23 and Ian Kirkpatrick. The song was sent to Italian radio as the album’s third single on September 15, 2023. “GetHim Back!” was inspired by Rodrigo getting into her relationships due to people’s expectations of her and details her desire to return to her ex as well as get vengeance. Some critics picked the song as a standout.
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 itstitlewereannounced on June 26, 2023, and its lead single, “Vampire“, was released four days later.
The song reached number one in various countries, including the United States, whereitbecameherthirdnumber one single on the Billboard Hot 100. Bad Idea Right?” was chosen as the follow-up single. Rodrigo wrote “Get Him Back!” withNigro. She detailed its inspiration in an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music: “I had such a desire to live and experience things and make mistakes and grow after Sour came out, I kind of felt this pressure to be this girl that I thought everyone expected me to be. I think because of that pressure, maybe I did things that maybe I shouldn’t have—dated people that I shouldn’t have.
“On July 31, 2023, Rodrigo revealed a video clip that 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 “GetHim Back!” as the eighth track. A teaser clip released alongside the tracklist included letters addressed to “258 get him back drive”. The song was released as a track of Guts on September 8, 2023, via Geffen Records.
The New York Times’s Caryn Ganz described “GetHim Back!” as a “hilarious rap-rock banger”, on which Rodrigo “playfully spins the title phrase, seeking both revenge and reconciliation”. Chris DeVille of Stereogum picked the song as Guts’s “most obvious hit” and a standout track. He believed the live performance upon its release proved “someone within Rodrigo’s team” thought the same.
In a ranking of all songs on the album, Billboard‘s Jason Lipshutznamedit the best track and stated: “Rodrigo rollicks through the verses, almost rapping her account of a joyfully misguided romance before a stomp-along hook arrives with an array of voices buoying her wordplay; the extended bridge […] marks one of the most euphoric pop moments of the album, and very likely of all 2023.”
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
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