Gen Z international popstar Olivia Rodrigo easily hurdles the dreaded sophomore slump and spills her innermost angst and dreams on her new album “Guts.”

For those in Rodrigo’s category, what is said next matters. Especially a big breakout album like “Sour,” whose success falls under exceptional popularity. So much so that all ears want to hear what she says next on her new album “Guts.”

And it’s all about the innermost workings of things and the yin-and-yang (balance) for Rodrigo on “Guts.” You’d think a successful 20-year-old pop star deals with it differently, but you’d be wrong. With those goggles, we dive into “all-American bitch”—seemingly effortless as it starts with acoustics as she sings in falsetto, “I am light as a feather, I’m stiff as a board / I pay attention to things that most people ignore.” And then goes on to kick it with urgent pop-rock energy in one of the choruses, “I don’t get angry when I’m pissed, I’m the eternal optimist / I scream inside to deal with it” with Paramore-like pop-punk energy. It’s hard to keep up appearances, even for pop stars.

And then she switches to 80’s Go-go’s-like pop on “bad idea, right?” Who knew pop-rock was a good fit for Rodrigo? The energy and upbeat tempo is a welcome breather from the piano-decked ballads she made her name on. Her lyrics still grapple with emotional dilemmas (for this one, hooking again with an ex). But mixing up her sonics keeps it all fresh. Especially coming from “Vampire,” with that big, dramatic piano intro that builds, eventually ending up as this big production with an EDM ending.

It's a stylistic free-for-all, so to speak, for Rodrigo on her just-released second album, and this early, critics agree that Rodrigo has surpassed expectations.

Those who want the chill version of Rodrigo will have enough to chew on in “Guts.” Songs like the folk-ish “Lacy,” or her Taylor Swift-level songwriting on “Making the Bed,” and the piano-driven ballad “Logical” are all introspective numbers where Olivia digs deep, writing about growing pains. The singer described, “I feel like I grew 10 years between the ages of 18 and 20” --the years she started blowing worldwide—saying, “it was an intense period of awkwardness and change” for her.

Conversely, “Guts” is a sonic signboard for Rodrigo as a pop artist. On “Get Him Back,” she lays it down (rapping) like Beck did on “Loser” but pairs it with Swift-esque choruses. And it’s the same energy on the driving, full-on pop-rock vibe of “love is embarrassing.”

New wave flavors appear on tuneful alt-pop rock-tinged “Pretty isn’t Pretty” and then return once again to the piano for album closer on apt-titled “Teenage Dream.”    

“Sour” producer Daniel Nigro returns at the helm. Other names in the production credits include Alexander 23 and Ian Kirkpatrick, backing vocalist Chappell Roan, and songwriters Amy Allen and Julia Michaels.

In one of her interviews pre-album release, Rodrigo also mentioned that she had received excellent advice from her musical heroes, St. Vincent (Anne Clark) and Jack White.

The latter’s advice mainly stuck with her: her “only job is to write music that she would want to hear on the radio.”

Rodrigo checks the boxes on those points on “Guts,”  plus a couple more.

Already think she'll be more significant this time out.