"Lacy" (stylized inall lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriterOlivia Rodrigo from her second studio album,Guts (2023). Rodrigo wrote it with its producer,Dan Nigro. The song became available as the album's fourth track on September 8, 2023, when it was released byGeffen Records. Afolk-pop andindie folk song with influences of theatrical folk, "Lacy" originated from a poem she wrote for a class assignment. The song chronicles Rodrigo's obsession over the beauty of a female figure whom she addresses by the same name and her resulting envy and self-hatred.
Music critics praised the lyricism and production of "Lacy", along with the intensity of Rodrigo's performance. They perceived potentialLGBT implications in the song's lyrics. It reached the top 30 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States and entered the charts in some other countries. Rodrigo performed "Lacy" atthe Grammy Museum, theBluebird Café, and aTiny Desk concert. She included it on theset list of her 2024 concert tour, theGuts World Tour.Noah Kahan covered "Lacy" onBBC Radio 1'sLive Lounge, which received positive critical commentary. Kahan's version was released as theB-side to a7-inch vinyl single in April 2024.
Olivia Rodrigo (pictured in 2021) first started writing "Lacy" as a poem for a homework assignment.
Olivia Rodrigo's debut studio album,Sour (2021), was released in May 2021,[1][2] following which she took a break from songwriting for six months.[3] She conceived the follow-up album,Guts (2023), at the age of 19, while experiencing "lots of confusion, mistakes, awkwardness & good old fashioned teen angst".[4]Sour's producer,Dan Nigro, returned to produce every track on it.[5][6][7] They wrote over 100 songs and included the morerock-oriented tracks on the album because they drew a bigger reaction from her audiences during live shows.[8]
Rodrigo began attending poetry classes at theUniversity of Southern California in 2022. She was required to write a poem during a homework assignment. Rodrigo called it "Lacy" and came up with the titular line while sitting at her kitchen counter: "Lacy, oh Lacy, skin like puff pastry." She described the inspiration as "this sort of all-encompassing envy that I was feeling". Upon liking the poem, Rodrigo transformed it into a song with Nigro as the co-writer.[7][9] "Lacy" was the first song she conceived by starting with a completely formed lyric and creating the melody later, having usually done both simultaneously. Rodrigo described it as an amusing test for her as an artist and called the final result one of her favorite songs onGuts.[10]
Rodrigo announced the album title on June 26, 2023, and its lead single, "Vampire", was released four days later.[11][12] On August 1, 2023, she revealedGuts's tracklist, which features "Lacy" as the fourth track.[13] The song became available fordigital download on the album, which was released on September 8, 2023.[14] Following the release, it received attention due to the mysterious character of its subject matter,[15] with fans suggesting the song might be aboutTaylor Swift,Gracie Abrams,[16][17] orSabrina Carpenter.[18][19] When asked about the inspiration, Rodrigo responded: "All my songs are about me and about how I feel, I don't know!"[15]
"Lacy" is 2 minutes and 57 seconds long.[14] It was recorded at Amusement Studios in Los Angeles andElectric Lady Studios in New York City. Nigro provided production and vocal production, and heengineered the song with Dani Perez and Chris Kasych. He plays drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, and synthesizer. Mitch McCarthymixed the song at the Wheelhouse Studios inVancouver, andRandy Merrillmastered it at Sterling Sound inEdgewater, New Jersey.[7]
"Lacy" is an acousticballad which has the samefolk-pop sound included in some songs onSour, with influences of theatrical folk.[27][28][29] Mikael Wood of theLos Angeles Times believed the song has anindie folk sound reminiscent of the work of Abrams.[30][31] Its instrumentation is driven by a fingerpicked acoustic guitar.[32] Rodrigo initially sings in a sarcastic tone and delivers her vocals with a contemptuous whisper.[27][33] The vocals are layered into a harmony, which recalls the work ofLana Del Rey according toBeats Per Minute's Lucas Martins, and leads into anelectronic/synthesizer flourish.[32][34][35]
Lacy is described as a reincarnation of French actressBrigitte Bardot (pictured in 1962) in the song's lyrics.
The lyrics of "Lacy" depict Rodrigo's jealousy towards a female figure called Lacy.[27][33] Rodrigo describes her through comparisons as someone who possesses "skin like puff pastry" and "eyes white as daisies". She continues complimenting Lacy during the second verse, calling her "sexy" and referring to her as a reincarnation of French actressBrigitte Bardot. Rodrigo details being tortured by her obsession and constant thoughts about her.[33][36] Later in the song, she changes almost every line from the first hook and calls Lacy "made of angel dust".[27][37] Rodrigo's obsession grows into resentment,[38] and she confesses to experiencing self-hatred due to her envy towards its climax: "I just loathe you lately / And I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you / Yeah, I despise my rotten mind and how much it worships you."[39] Critics compared the song's lyrical theme toDolly Parton's 1973 single "Jolene"[40][41][42] and the track "Jealousy, Jealousy" fromSour.[43][44]Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone described it as "a mournful lament about falling under the spell of a femme fantasy ideal".[37]
Based on the physical description of Lacy, such as the Bardot comparison,Time's Moises Mendez II likened her to Swift[40] and Stephanie Soteriou ofBuzzFeed News compared her to Carpenter.[45] Critics likeOut's Bernardo Sim andPride's Rachel Kiley wrote about the plausibleLGBT implications of the lyrics.[46][47] Mendez II believed they had a "homoerotic tinge", and Sheffield opined they could be about an imaginary persona or a real-worldcrush.[40][48] Reviewers thought they simultaneously describe adulation, envy, and resentment, muddling the difference between jealousy and asapphic infatuation.[31][49] Responding to this, Rodrigo stated that she appreciated the more imaginative interpretations of who Lacy is, such as a former version of herself or the inner voice that tells her she is not good enough.[16]
The lyricism of "Lacy" received positive reviews from music critics.AllMusic's Heather Phares thought the song delves into the complexities of envy and longing with a subtlety that would be impressive from songwriters of any age,[50] and Jason Lipshutz ofBillboard believed the chorus's mutating lyrics displayed a "songwriting triumph".[27] Writing forMusicOMH, John Murphy favorably compared it toLorde's second studio album,Melodrama (2017).[51]Variety's Chris Willman described "Lacy" as Swift's 2015 single "Bad Blood" if it was transformed into a slower beautiful ballad with a more ambivalent and self-reflective tone rather than pure anger.[31] On the other hand, Poppie Platt ofThe Daily Telegraph thought the song was "downright bad" and criticized the lyric comparing Lacy's skin to puff pastry: "since when was the best way to describe a beautiful face as possessing the sheen of a sausage roll"?[52]Nylon included the same line in its list ofGuts's most impeccable lyrics, andGQ included "Lacy, oh, Lacy, I just loathe you lately" in its list of the album's standout and "gutsiest" lyrics.[42][53]
Some critics praised the intensity of Rodrigo's performance and the production of "Lacy".The Independent's Helen Brown believed she sang with vigor, similarly toTori Amos, and Wood thought her "breath [sounded] almost uncomfortably hot on the microphone".[30][54] Sowing ofSputnikmusic praised the vocal layering as beautiful and opined that Rodrigo sounded divine on the song.[35] Its production was described as airy,[29] delicate,[54][55] and dreamy, withThe New York Times'sJon Caramanica drawing comparisons to Swift's 2020 albumFolklore.[28] Matthew Kim ofThe Line of Best Fit thought the strummed guitars and ascending vocals created an intimacy that surpassed all of her previous work.[29] Writing forThe Wall Street Journal, Mark Richardson believed the harmony was refined and attractive and the music was engaging enough to counter some of its awkward lyrics.[32]
Wood believed "Lacy" was among the most majestic songs onGuts.[16] Sheffield ranked the song as Rodrigo's 16th-best in September 2023, describing it as one of the most puzzling and mysterious tracks onGuts. He picked his favorite lyric: "I despise my rotten mind, and how much it worships you."[48] Willman and Steven J. Horowitz placed it at number six onVariety's list of the best songs of 2023; Willman remarked that "Rodrigo makes poetry out of insecurity like nobodys business", called the chorus "drop-dead gorgeous, and its melody “Bardot reincarnate”.[56]
"Lacy" debuted at number 23 on the USBillboard Hot 100 issued for September 23, 2023.[57] In Canada, the song entered at number 24 on theCanadian Hot 100 issued for the same date and was certified platinum byMusic Canada.[58][59] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 26 on theOfficial Audio Streaming Chart and number 24 onBillboard.[60][61] "Lacy" received a gold certification in the United Kingdom from theBritish Phonographic Industry, and theOfficial Charts Company declared it her 19th-biggest song in the country in February 2024.[62][63] In Australia, the song entered at number 25.[64] It debuted at number 16 in New Zealand.[65] "Lacy" charted at number 20 on theBillboard Global 200.[66] The song also reached national record charts, at number 18 in Ireland,[67] number 52 in Portugal,[68] and number 65 in Greece.[69]
Noah Kahan's (pictured in 2019) cover of "Lacy" was positively received by music critics.
Rodrigo performed a cover of American singer-songwriterNoah Kahan's 2022 single "Stick Season" atBBC Radio 1'sLive Lounge in October 2023. He responded favorably and sang a live cover of "Lacy" during the same segment on November 23, 2023, alongside a band andTiny Habits.[70][71] Kahan chose the song because he believed it highlighted his favorite aspects of Rodrigo's songwriting and its spirited nature made listeners "feel an emotion we've all experienced before".[72][73] He later described it as one of the most difficult songs he had ever covered in terms of emphasizing the lyrics subtly without letting his voice overpower them.[16]
The rendition received positive reviews from music critics.Billboard's Ashley Iasimone andAmerican Songwriter's Alex Hopper described it as lulling and gentle.[70][74] Sadie Bell ofPeople believed the cover made "Lacy" a "slowed-down lovelorn ballad", infusing it with longing and sorrow and being tender yet brimming with emotion.[71] Describing the rendition as heartfelt inConsequence, Jo Vito wrote that Kahan used a gentle falsetto while navigating the rise and fall of the melody, and the consistent backbeat, strumming banjo, and layered harmonies merged to create a folksy and robust soundscape during the climax.[75]Uproxx's Lexi Lane believed he emphasized the quieter notes of the song, making it more emotional, and the second verse had an up-tempo folk instrumentation.[72] On the other hand, Eli Ordonez ofNME thought the cover had influences ofcountry music.[76]Geffen,Mercury, andRepublic Records released a7-inch colored vinyl single with Rodrigo's cover of "Stick Season" and Kahan's cover of "Lacy" as theA-side and B-side, respectively, on April 20, 2024, to commemorateRecord Store Day.[77][78]
^Willman, Chris; J. Horowitz, Steven (December 28, 2023)."The Best Songs of 2023".Variety.Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. RetrievedDecember 28, 2023.
