It’s been five years since singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo took the world by storm with her debut single ‘drivers license’. To celebrate, the global sensation has released a new version of the track, a cover performed by Talking Heads member David Byrne.
Earlier this week, Olivia took to social media to pay tribute to the song that changed it all. She said: “this song has totally changed my life in ways I still can’t totally wrap my head around. I’m forever grateful for this magical chapter and I can’t wait to scream red lights stop signs with u guys at every concert I play for the rest of my life!”
To mark the track’s fifth birthday, as well as the forthcoming fifth birthday of her debut album SOUR, Olivia has announced an upcoming series of reimagined covers from the album. These covers will be performed by some of her favourite artists, starting with a reworking of ‘drivers license’ from one of her all-time heroes, David Byrne.
David Byrne – ‘drivers license’
‘drivers license’ was released on January 8, 2021, and launched Olivia to stratospheric heights within the music industry. The track broke a string of records including the Spotify record for the most single-day streams for a non-holiday song (achieved on its fourth day of release) and the biggest first-week for a song on Spotify and Amazon Music.
The chart-topping hit spent eight weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making Olivia the youngest artist to debut on the chart. It also reached number one in 25 countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Olivia also won Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards for the song.
The David Byrne version of ‘drivers license’ is available now on streaming services. Alternatively, you can pre-order a 7-inch vinyl which features his cover and Olivia and David’s version of ‘Burning Down The House’ from Gov Ball.
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