Song of the Week: Driver's License

About the Artist

Olivia is a talented singer-songwriter and actress who was born on February 20, 2003, in California. Her father is a family therapist and her mother is a school teacher. Rodrigo started taking voice lessons in kindergarten and learned to play piano soon after. She began taking acting classes at age six and started acting in theater productions in elementary school. In 2016, Rodrigo starred as Paige Olvera, a guitarist in the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark, a role she played for three seasons. In February 2019, she was cast in the starring role of Nini Salazar-Roberts on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,. She signed her first music deal in 2020 and negotiated to ensure that she maintained ownership of her music.

About the Song

This song was released in January of 2021 and is Olivia’s first hit single from her first album. In my opinion, it is the quintessential teen heartbreak song. It artfully expresses the emotions endured after a heartbreak. The official music video was posted to YouTube alongside the song’s release, in which Rodrigo drives around a suburban area after receiving her driver’s license and reminisces about her memories of the song’s subject, (rumored to be based on a former boyfriend/costar) who encouraged her to obtain the license. “Drivers License” was met with widespread critical acclaim; praise centered on Rodrigo’s cathartic songwriting, emotional vocals, and the song’s stirring production, with many underscoring its Taylor Swift and Lorde influences.

Other Perspectives

The Blonde Girl: Blonde#1 Blonde#2 Blonde#3

The Guy: Drivers license-TikTok-the guys perspective

The Driver behind her: Jax – Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” (From A Different Perspective)

10 Years Later: “Driver’s License” but 10 years later

Lyrics

Genius.com Songfacts.com

Notable Lyrics

And you’re probably with that blonde girl
Who always made me doubt
She’s so much older than me
She’s everything I’m insecure about

And all my friends are tired
Of hearing how much I miss you, but
I kinda feel sorry for them
‘Cause they’ll never know you the way that I do, yeah

And I know we weren’t perfect
But I’ve never felt this way for no one, oh
And I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay, now that I’m gone

I guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me
‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

Random Facts

Olivia Rodrigo is of Filipino descent on her father’s side, and German and Irish on her mother’s side.
Her announcement of Driver’s License on TikTok has over 60 million views.
In July of 2021, Olivia visited the White House to help promote vaccinations for young people.
Olivia describes herself as a ‘Swiftie’ (fan of Taylor Swift) and apparently, the feeling is mutual.

Additional Links