Bad Idea Right

"Bad Idea Right?" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from her second studio album, '' Guts'' (2023). It was released by Geffen Records as the second single from ''Guts'' on August 11, 2023. Rodrigo co-wrote the song with its producer, Dan Nigro. An accompanying music video directed by Petra Collins was also released on August 11.

Commercially, "Bad Idea Right?" reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Background

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 its title were announced 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, where it became her third number one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

On May 21, 2023, to celebrate the two year anniversary of ''Sour'', Rodrigo uploaded a 1-second snippet of a new song, later revealed to be "Bad Idea Right?". On July 6, 2023, Rodrigo played a few tracks from the album for '' Vogue''; Jia Tolentino remarked that "on one, which brought to mind Le Tigre, Charli XCX, and the ''Josie and the Pussycats'' soundtrack, Rodrigo careened toward an ill-advised and irresistible night with an ex." On July 31, 2023, Rodrigo revealed a video clip which 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 the song "Bad Idea Right?" as the second track.

Released on August 11, 2023, "Bad Idea Right?" was the second single from ''Guts''. In an email announcing the song to her fans four days prior, Rodrigo stated "the song is pretty different from 'Vampire' & shows another side of ''Guts'' that's a little more fun & playful", expressing excitement for its release. Its artwork, shared the same day, is a hazy image of Rodrigo posing behind a glass wall with the song title scrawled in red lipstick in front of her face. George Griffiths of the Official Charts Company suggested that Tolentino's description might be about "Bad Idea Right?" because of its title.

Composition

"Bad Idea Right?" is three minutes and four seconds long. Nigro handled production and vocal production. He engineered the song with Sam Stewart, Dan Viafore, and Sterling Laws. Nigro plays guitar, percussion, vocal production, bass, and drum programming, Stewart plays electric guitar, and Laws plays drums. Spike Stent mixed it with assistance from Matt Wolach.

"Bad Idea Right?" is a rock song with "major '90s pop rock energy" according to ''Stereogum''. Lindsay Zoladz of '' The New York Times'' described the song as "a bright, kaleidoscopic head-rush of a pop song" and identified several influences in it—"the chatty call-and-response hooks of '60s girl groups, the gum-smacking sass of Toni Basil's ' Mickey,' the chugging guitars and elastic bass lines of early aughts pop-punk".

Critical reception

'' Pitchfork'' named "Bad Idea Right?" as the "Best New Track", Rodrigo's second one of the year following "Vampire"; Shaad D'Souza stated it was "miles away from 'Vampire'" and praised Rodrigo's performance: "Rodrigo, a capital-P performer, barrels into the song with profound commitment to playing the role of sloppy main character. ..The glue holding this genre Frankenstein together is Rodrigo, whose cheekily feigned innocence provides one of the best pop performances of the year."

'' Time'' magazine ranked "Bad Idea Right?" as the best song of 2023.

Music video

Petra Collins directed the music video for "Bad Idea Right?", which was released alongside the song. It features appearances by Iris Apatow, Rodrigo's '' Bizaardvark'' co-star Madison Hu, and fellow music star Tate McRae, whom Rodrigo described as "my favorite girlz". In it, Rodrigo attends a house party with Hu, Apatow, and McRae, but later leaves to visit an ex-boyfriend. She sneaks into a pickup truck in the rain, which breaks down, and she eventually makes her way to a shuttle bus, where a large red soda is thrown at her dress. Before the guitar solo, she arrives at his apartment, knocks on his door, and gets in before lying on his bed. A glowing white silhouette hides his true identity as fireworks are shown in the room. After a short-circuiting, his spot is empty with some flames burning, and Rodrigo notices a nearby spider.

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from Qobuz.
*Olivia Rodrigo – vocals, songwriter
*Dan Nigro – producer, songwriter, engineering, guitar, percussion, vocal production, bass, drum programming, background vocals
*Sam Stewart – engineering, electric guitar
*Dan Viafore – engineering
*Sterling Laws – engineering, drums
*Spike Stent – mixing
*Matt Wolach – mixing assistance

Track listing

All tracks are written by Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro.

* Various Single (7")
# "Bad Idea Right?" – 3:04
# "Bad Idea Right?" (first demo) – 1:00

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

* List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2023
* List of UK top-ten singles in 2023
* List of top 10 singles for 2023 in Australia

References

{{Authority control

2023 songs
2023 singles
Olivia Rodrigo songs
Songs written by Dan Nigro
Songs written by Olivia Rodrigo
Song recordings produced by Dan Nigro
Geffen Records singles
American pop punk songs
American power pop songs
Rap rock songs
category:punk rock songs