How did 'Drivers License' become the song of 2021? By exalting in the power of teen-girl melodrama
Before she's even sung a word, Olivia Rodrigo — newly heartbroken and eager to wallow in it — has beckoned the listener deep into her personal space.
"Drivers License," the smash debut single by this 18-year-old actor and singer, opens with the sound of a car engine revving to life. As we hear the driver swing her door shut, the dinging of the car's alarm morphs into a gently pulsing piano figure, and suddenly we're in the passenger seat next to Rodrigo, who proceeds to unspool her tale of sorrow.
"I got my driver's license last week/ Just like we always talked about," she sings, "'Cause you were so excited for me/ To finally drive up to your house." Here a slightly sinister bass line enters the mix, promising trouble like a patch of black ice ahead. "But today I drove through the suburbs," she continues, "Crying 'cause you weren't around." For that last line, her voice drops to a mournful whisper, each ripple and crack suffused with the sting of betrayal.
"It's almost too intimate, right?" asks Daniel Nigro, who co-wrote "Drivers License" with Rodrigo and produced the song.
