Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' has turned one. Image Source: Allure
Singer Olivia Rodrigo has a lot to celebrate!
The 18-year-old singer, Olivia Rodrigo, who rose to fame with her breakthrough single, ‘Drivers License' is celebrating the song's turning one. She wrote on her social media, "Happy first birthday to the little song that changed my whole life. I made this video a day or two after I wrote drivers license in my living room (with a very squeaky sustain pedal lol). crazy to think how quickly life changes. Thank you to everyone who has supported me so tenderly. Music is the most magical thing in the world."
In the post, Olivia shared a black-and-white throwback video of herself in which she can be seen at her home singing the song that became one of the biggest hits in 2021 as it debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100. ‘Drivers License’ held onto the No. 1 spot for eight weeks, and eventually, her debut album, ‘Sour’came out and topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks. ‘Sour’ was also picked by the Billboard staff as the Best Album of 2021.
In ‘Drivers License’, Olivia sings about her heartbreak over a breakup, and in the song, she mentions a ‘blonde girl who is much older than she is and everything she is insecure about. Interestingly, according to a lot of speculation, ‘Drivers, License’ by Olivia Rodrigo is believed to be inspired by Joshua Bassett, who is believed to be her ex and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star. None of the two have accepted their romance, but it was believed and reported at the time that they were dating, and the ‘blonde girl mentioned in the song is rumored to be Sabrina Carpenter, who is rumored to be dating Joshua Bassett currently.
After ‘Drivers License’ was released, Olivia Rodrigo became an internet sensation, and when she spoke to NME, she said that seeing her song become so popular was surreal to her. She said at that time, "I truly don’t feel like my brain can process all of it. I see all the numbers, but it doesn’t really sink in totally, I’m sort of in a state of disbelief. But the craziest thing to me is also seeing the song being heard in real life. People send me videos of them driving and they get to a stoplight and the person next to them is blasting ‘Drivers License’ in their car, and I’ve got a couple of videos of people who’ll be on walks around their neighbourhood and a specific house will be blasting ‘Drivers License’ through the windows! "
But, talking about her inspiration for the song, Olivia told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, "I wrote the bulk of the song literally crying in my living room, and I think that it definitely has that feel to it. I was driving around my neighborhood, actually listening to really sad songs and crying in the car, and I got home and I was like, 'Maybe I'll write a song about this, crying in the car.' So, I just sat down at my piano and plucked out some chords that I liked and it kind of happened that way. But it was really, really natural and organic. [It was] very much me writing in the depth of my emotion."
Olivia Rodrigo further said in her conversation with Zane Lowe, "The pain is definitely real in that song. I definitely think I try to approach recording all of my music from a place of emotion. I think the emotional performances are the best, even if they're not technically the best sound."
"Drivers License" has also been nominated for a Grammy Award in 2022, joining global superstars such as Abba, Billie Eilish, and Lil Nas X. Olivia Rodrigo was also named as Time Magazine’s Entertainer of the Year in 2021.
Congratulations, Olivia!
