If you’ve listened to the radio at all within the past few weeks, chances are you’ve heard “Drivers License.” “Drivers License,” the debut single by 17-year-old actress and singer Olivia Rodrigo, has gained massive praise and attention ever since its release on January 8th, 2021. Having been number one on the Billboard Top 100 Chart for the past five weeks and breaking the Spotify record for the most streams of a song in a single week, “Drivers License” proves that a power ballad about a girl’s heartache and haunted memories are both relevant and relatable.
One of the best parts about the song is its simplicity in storytelling and lyrics. Rodrigo wrote the song herself along with Daniel Nigro. She begins the song slowly, mentioning how she just received her driver’s license and shared the excitement of that life-changing day with her boyfriend at the time. However, as the song continues, listeners find that Rodrigo is singing to someone she’s no longer close to. They broke up, and now she drives through the suburbs, where presumably her former boyfriend lives, alone and crying. The story is so simple yet done in such an intimate and emotional way. Rodrigo’s message is that she’s still in love with her former boyfriend. Even though they might not have necessarily been perfect together, she felt happy when she was with him. Although her former flame said they’d be together forever, they aren’t, and now Rodrigo experiences loneliness and lost memories as she imagines herself driving home to that former boyfriend.
Although “Drivers License” might seem like a typical breakup song at first glance, it’s so much more than that. At its essence, it’s a song about lost love, of grieving a relationship you thought would last forever. But above all, it’s relatable. So many people can connect to feeling alone, isolated, and sad, especially given how the pandemic has affected all of our lives. A specific line from the song references how Rodrigo’s ex has moved on with someone who is “so much older than [her”] and “everything [she’s] insecure about.” Most people can relate to feeling like they aren’t good enough like there’s always someone better, more confident, prettier, etc. Rodrigo’s lyrics, mixed perfectly with both slow and fast tempos throughout the song, create the perfect anthem to define heartbreak, heartache, and doubt at a stage when many people are still trying to figure out who they are. “Drivers License” is the type of song you not only want to sing along to but shout to, especially when the nostalgic and disillusioned bridge hits. A lot of the draw to the song comes from Rodrigo perfecting capturing a feeling that many people align themselves with.
Overall, “Driver’s License” is already a top hit of the year due to its story, dreaminess, relatability, along with Rodrigo’s passion. You can feel her pain and emotion as she starts off singing quietly and builds to this bridge where she just releases all of her feelings and memories that continually haunt her. She knows things may never be the same again but says her peace with the song. “Drivers License” is a way of healing, a comfort when you too feel alone or isolated, perhaps insecure. That’s why “Drivers License” is not only a song we want to listen to, but a song we need.