Olivia Rodrigo: The next taylor swift?

By Logan Wolff, 2021

Published 1/19/21

Olivia Rodrigo's career in the entertainment industry started about a year ago with her debut role as Nini in the new Disney show, High School Musical: the Musical, the Series. Since the release of this show, Rodrigo and her co-star, Joshua Bassett, have gained popularity over the course of the year. In 2020, Joshua has released 2 singles of his own, Common Sense and Anyone Else, and is set to release another titled: Lie Lie Lie.

There’s been plenty of drama among fans over a rumored relationship between the two actors. Olivia’s new breakup anthem, Driver’s License, has only sparked more conversation. Released on January 8, 2021, within less than a week her song has become a viral sensation. Like many pop songs these days, TikTok has been a platform that has heightened the song's popularity. Within one week, the music video for Driver’s License already has 45 million views on YouTube.

She sings with a raw emotional maturity while capturing the youthful drama that comes with teen romance. Many listeners believe the song to be about her rumored relationship with her co-star Joshua Bassett. With lyrics such as “You’re probably with that blond girl, who always made me doubt,” possibly referring to singer/actress Sabrina Carpenter, who has been seen spending a lot of time with Joshua on social media. This theory is fueled by the pre-chorus “Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me,” which could be a reference to his single Common Sense or the song his character wrote for her character in HSMTMTS.

On all platforms listeners have been reacting to the song with a shared emotional connection. Her singer-songwriter style feels inspired by artists such as Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lorde. The song itself breaks the typical pop structure, explaining why so many people are gravitating towards it. If her style will develop in a similar way as these artists, she has a very successful career ahead of her, with the potential to pave the way for a new generation of artists.

She earned praise from Taylor Swift herself on an Instagram post where Olivia captioned, “Next to Taylor on the U.S. iTunes chart I’m in a puddle of tears.” Taylor responded with “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud.”

The song has already hit No. 1 on Spotify’s U.S. chart as well as both Apple Music's and Amazon Music’s overall top song charts. Olivia has announced she plans to release her debut EP this year, and if the success of this song is any indication of how she’ll perform, she’s set herself up for a very successful career.