The songwriter and Disney star was met with incredible praise for her lyricism and emotional delivery from the likes of Rolling Stone, Billboard and even the queen of lyrics herself, Taylor Swift.
A poignant delivery of the all-too-familiar mess of achieving personal goals amidst tough, background sadness, Olivia Rodrigo has created a song that captures youth and heartbreak in the most beautiful way.
The Internet agrees—as of the morning of Jan. 12 (when this is being published), the music video for “drivers license” has racked up over 12 million views and the track has been streamed on Spotify over 18 million times since its Jan. 8, 2021 release date.
Rodrigo’s lyrics are specific to her personal situation, but lay out her emotional state to the listener with such honesty. Listeners can find pieces of their past heartbreaks within the swells of the song.
The music video for “drivers license” brings the listener more into Rodrigo’s head—utilizing closed-in angles and shots of Rodrigo on a late-night drive to further “drive” home her breakup situation. We get an intimate reflection of her emotional state.
After Rodrigo shared a snippet of the song on her Instagram, fan reaction inspired her to get into the studio to finish the track. She tapped producer Dan Nigro (Conan Gray, Lewis Capaldi, Carly Rae Jepsen) to help bring out the track’s percussive and harmonious backing.
The result is a heartbreak anthem for the new era.
“When I came up with ‘drivers license,’ I was going through a heartbreak that was so confusing to me, so multifaceted,” Rodrigo said. “Putting all those feelings into a song made everything seem so much simpler and clearer—and at the end of the day, I think that’s really the whole purpose of songwriting.”
Photo via Twitter @Olivia_Rodrigo
Matching the track’s title, “drivers license” joins songs like Lorde’s “Green Light,” Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” even Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down” as songs perfect for scream-singing in the car while driving aimlessly, contemplating life.
Olivia Rodrigo has made it clear that she has so much prowess to bring to the table. She’ll be one to watch.
For me personally, “drivers license” is going to be on repeat on my commute to work this morning.
Stream “drivers license” now:
