Olivia Rodrigo released her debut single “drivers license” on Jan. 8, 2021. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of “drivers license,” Rodrigo released a special reimagined cover by David Byrne, following her 2025 Governors Ball performance where Byrne appeared as a surprise guest.
Since the debut
In the five years since her debut, Rodrigo has released multiple chart-topping singles, two studio albums, as well as embarked on two world tours. She has also received awards across major institutions, including the Grammys and the People’s Choice Awards. The release of “drivers license” coincided with Rodrigo’s shift from Disney Channel actress to pop singer-songwriter. Its release also aligned with a highly publicized breakup that drew substantial media attention early in her music career.
Upon its release, “drivers license” experienced rapid media traction for a debut single. It opened with record-breaking streaming numbers on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, placing it among the most streamed songs globally during that period. These metrics contributed to its No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 within its first week — a chart widely regarded as the industry’s leading measure of U.S. nationwide popularity. Tiktok accelerated its rise, as large volumes of user-generated videos incorporated the song’s audio and expanded its reach across audiences. The level of attention it received positioned “drivers license” as an early milestone in Rodrigo’s career.
Anniversary Vinyl
Rodrigo’s website features a limited first-pressing 7-inch red translucent vinyl, currently available for pre-order. The record includes Byrne’s version of “drivers license” on side A, while side B features Rodrigo and Byrne’s live performance of “Burning Down the House” from the 2025 Governors Ball. In Byrne’s “drivers license” cover, one lyric is altered: the line “blonde girl” is replaced with “blonde boy.” In an Instagram post revealing Byrne’s cover, Rodrigo stated that it is the first release in an upcoming series of reimagined “SOUR” covers by artists she admires — signaling a broader anniversary project is to come beyond this initial collaboration.
David Byrne’s Legacy
Byrne is a highly regarded musician, writer, visual artist and filmmaker. Emerging from the late-20th-century art-rock scene, he is among the artists from that era who continue to release work and appear in pop culture. As one of the founding members and the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist, he helped record in “Talking Heads” albums throughout the late 1970s and 1980s — a period in which the band became associated with the art-rock and new wave movements. Following the band’s dissolution, Byrne has remained active through solo albums, musical installations like “Playing the Building” and stage productions, including the Broadway show “American Utopia.”
This reimagined version of “drivers license” with Byrne presents an interaction between two artists whose careers developed in different musical eras and industry conditions. Their joint recording and live performance created a notable example of a current mainstream release reinterpreted by an artist linked to an earlier experimental tradition. Byrne’s career — beginning with “Talking Heads” and extending through his solo work — is characterized by unconventional song structures. His participation introduced a stylistic framework not typically applied to pop ballads, making the reinterpretation notable within both artists’ catalogs. This is evidenced in Byrne’s song “Once In a Lifetime,” which critics describe as “esoteric” and “strange.”
Cross-Generational Collab
The project also generated coverage across media outlets that typically followed each artist separately — such as USA today, Rolling Stone and Variety — resulting in reporting that connected their respective audiences and professional histories. With its official inclusion in the anniversary vinyl, the collaboration contributes to the continued cultural presence of “drivers license” while highlighting Byrne’s relevance to younger generations.
This type of cross-generation collaboration is not unique to Rodrigo, as other pop artists have similarly partnered with established musicians who shaped earlier eras of the industry. Such collaborations include Sabrina Carpenter and Dolly Parton, whose performance together on the song “Please Please Please” connected Carpenter’s release to Parton’s long-standing presence in country music and pop culture. Another early collaboration occurred at the 2010 Grammy Awards, where Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks shared the stage for performances of “Today Was a Fairytale,” “Rhiannon” and “You Belong With Me.”
Taken together, Rodrigo and Byrne’s collaboration situates “drivers license” within a longer lineage of artists revisiting and reframing pop through earlier musical traditions. As Rodrigo marks the song’s fifth anniversary, the project underscores both the durability of her debut single and the ways in which younger artists continue to engage with predecessors whose work shaped past eras of the industry.