Disney’s Olivia Rodrigo released her debut single, “drivers license,” on January 8th.
Along with the song dropping on all streaming services, the “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” star released a music video along with it. Directed by Matthew Dillon Cohen, the video is simple but effective and shows Rodrigo, 17, driving aimlessly down a dark road, crying and sulking in her house, and longing for an ex-love.
Written by Olivia and Dan Nigro, “drivers license” talks about the singer finally getting her license after a break-up, when the former lovers talked about her getting it for so long, so they could go on adventures together.
“When I came up with “drivers license,” I was going through a heartbreak that was so confusing to me, so multifaceted,” Olivia stated in a press release. “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. There’s nothing like sitting at the piano in my bedroom and writing a really sad song. It’s truly my favorite thing in the world.”
This song has been a long time coming as she got her driver’s license back in July. The singer also first shared a clip of the song on Instagram in the summer, before going to the studio to complete it with Dan.
Olivia and the single were quickly trending on Twitter after the release and the music video is currently trending at number #4 on YouTube, whilst quickly rising on the iTunes chart. Along with the song, Rodrigo released merchandise on her website, which fans are quickly buying up.
The sad, teenage, driving lyrics reflects of “drivers license” one of Rodrigo’s idols, Taylor Swift, proving that the generation raised by Swift’s music are growing up to be powerful songwriters. Earlier in the year, Taylor even praised Olivia’s cover of ‘Cruel Summer’ by sharing it on her Instagram story.
For those who don’t know, Olivia got her start in the Disney Channel show, “Bizaardvark,” and starred in a few minor roles before landing the lead role of Nini Salazar-Roberts in “HSMTMTS.”
For “HSM,” Rodrigo has written a lot of songs, including her RIAA Gold song, “All I Want,” and she will continue to do so for this upcoming season.
Rodrigo is currently filming season two of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” safely, of course, with the rest of the cast, which should air on Disney+ this year. Recently, the cast released a holiday special on the streaming platform, showcasing their talents and bringing holiday cheer to their fans.
Olivia is also due to release her debut EP later this year. Written during quarantine, the collection of songs looks set to further showcase Olivia’s undeniable talent when it comes to crafting powerful and emotive lyrics, without forgetting her captivating vocals.
Make sure to follow Olivia on social media so you know what she is up to and when she releases next. This is just the beginning for her.