Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl

"Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl"
Song by Olivia Rodrigo
from the album Guts
ReleasedSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)
Genre
Length3:23
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dan Nigro

"Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo for her second studio album, Guts (2023). Rodrigo wrote it with Dan Nigro, who produced it.

Background[edit]

After the commercial success of her debut studio album, Sour (2021),[3] Olivia Rodrigo continued collaborating with Dan Nigro, who had produced all of the tracks on it.[4] 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".[5] The album and its title were announced on June 26, 2023, and its lead single, "Vampire", was released four days later.[6][7] The song reached number one in various countries,[8][9] including the United States, where it became her third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100.[10] "Bad Idea Right?" was chosen as the follow-up single.[11]

Rodrigo wrote "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" with Nigro.[12] It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.[13]

Composition[edit]

"Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" is three minutes and 23 seconds long.[14] Nigro produced the song, and he engineered it with Sam Stewart, Sterling Laws, Dave Schiffman, and Jasmine Chen. He plays guitar, percussion, and drum programming; Erick Serna and Stewart play electric guitar; Ryan Linvill plays bass; and Laws plays drums. Spike Stent mixed the song, and Randy Merrill mastered it.[12]

Commercial performance[edit]

"Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" debuted at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[15] The song peaked at number 25 on the Canadian Hot 100.[16] In the United Kingdom, it charted at number 20 on the Official Audio Streaming Chart however was ineligible to chart on the main UK Singles Chart due to a rule which permits a maximum of 3 songs per artist on the chart.[17][18][19] In Australia, "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" reached number 22.[20] The song peaked at number 18 in New Zealand.[21] It charted at number 21 on the Billboard Global 200.[22] Elsewhere, "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" reached national record charts, at number 17 in Ireland,[23] number 51 in Portugal,[24] and number 53 in Greece.[25]

Live performance[edit]

The song was first performed in an acoustic version at an exclusive show at the Ace Theater as part of Amex Member Week together with its co-writer and producer Dan Nigro on October 9, 2023.[26] On October 24, she performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[27]

Accolades[edit]

Awards and nominations for "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl"
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2024 Grammy Awards Best Rock Song Nominated [28]

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Guts.[12]

  • Dan Nigro – producer, songwriter, engineer, guitar, percussion, vocal producer, drum programming
  • Olivia Rodrigo – songwriter
  • Erick Serna – electric guitar
  • Ryan Linvill – bass
  • Sam Stewart – electric guitar, engineer
  • Sterling Laws – drums, engineer
  • Dave Schiffman – Engineer
  • Jasmine Chen – engineer
  • Randy Merrill – mastering
  • Spike Stent – mixing
  • Matt Wolach – mixing assistance

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart positions for "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[20] 22
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 25
Global 200 (Billboard)[22] 21
Greece (IFPI)[25] 53
Ireland (Billboard)[23] 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 18
Portugal (AFP)[24] 51
UK (Billboard)[19] 20
UK Streaming (OCC)[17] 20
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 24
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[29] 5

Year-end charts[edit]

Year-end chart performance for "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl"
Chart (2023) Position
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[30] 73

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Gold 40,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Zhang, Cat (September 11, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo: Guts Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (September 8, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo's Guts: All 12 Songs Ranked". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  3. ^ Blistein, Jon (June 13, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo Is Finally Ready to Release New Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  4. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (February 23, 2022). "Woman of the Year Olivia Rodrigo Is Writing New Music (and Reuniting with a Big Collaborator)". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Dailey, Hannah (June 26, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo Announces Sophomore Album Guts: Here's When It Arrives". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Shafer, Ellise (June 26, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo Announces Sophomore Album, Guts, Coming in September". Variety. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Denis, Kyle (June 21, 2023). "Fans Think Olivia Rodrigo Shared a Snippet of New Song 'Vampire': Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  8. ^ Brandle, Lars (July 7, 2023). "Taylor Swift Sets Chart Record in Australia with Top-Five Sweep". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: Week of July 15, 2023". Billboard. July 11, 2023. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  10. ^ Trust, Gary (July 10, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo's 'Vampire' Debuts as Her Third Billboard Hot 100 No. 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  11. ^ Dailey, Hannah (August 7, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo Announces Next Guts Single 'Bad Idea Right?': Here's When It Arrives". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c Geffen Records (2023). Guts (Media notes). Olivia Rodrigo.
  13. ^ Bloom, Madison (November 10, 2023). "Taylor Swift, SZA, and Lana Del Rey Nominated for Album of the Year at the 2024 Grammys". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  14. ^ Rodrigo, Olivia (September 8, 2023). "Guts". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Olivia Rodrigo Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Olivia Rodrigo Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Official Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  18. ^ "Official Charts Company introduces singles chart revamp". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Olivia Rodrigo Chart History (U.K. Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. September 18, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 18, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Olivia Rodrigo Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  23. ^ a b "Olivia Rodrigo Chart History (Ireland Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Olivia Rodrigo – Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  25. ^ a b "IFPI Charts". www.ifpi.gr. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  26. ^ Willman, Chris (October 10, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro Use Intimate Storytelling Show in L.A. to Recall the 'Toil and Jubilation' of Making 'Guts': 'I Was Really Scared'". Variety. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  27. ^ Brandle, Lars (October 25, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo Freaked out Jimmy Kimmel's Kids on the School Run: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  28. ^ Horton, Adrian; Lee, Benjamin (February 5, 2024). "Grammy awards 2024: list of winners". The Guardian. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  29. ^ "Olivia Rodrigo Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  30. ^ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  31. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Olivia Rodrigo – Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl". Music Canada. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
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