Breaking Down “driver's license” Drama: Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, and Sabrina Carpenter
Olivia Rodrigo’s new single, “driver’s license” is not the coming-of-age story many think it is. The single released by the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series songstress has made its way to the number one spot globally across major streaming platforms. However, since its release on January 8, 2021, it has gained recognition not only for its sound and gut-wrenching lyrics but because of the story and conspiracies regarding the song’s backstory.
Fans on social media seem to think that the heartbreak ballad is about her HSMTMTS co-star, Joshua Bassett, and his supposed girlfriend and Disney alum, Sabrina Carpenter. They’ve taken to TikTok and Twitter to express the convoluted backstory to this song, and I’ve gathered all the info for anyone who may not be in the loop. Grab a snack, and let's dive in.
BACKGROUND INFO
Filming HSMTMTS
Olivia Rodrigo turned 16 a few days after the series began filming season one and was in a relationship with her boyfriend and ex-Bizaardvark co-star at the time. However, shortly after filming commenced, the two split for unknown reasons. Joshua Bassett, her on-screen love interest, was 18 at the time of filming and wasn’t romantically connected to anyone.
At first, the two seemed to be close friends and nothing more. However, following Rodrigo’s breakup, the two were seen more often together. As their storyline in the series progressed, and the show gained popularity, the two were rumored to be dating. The two even wrote a song together that was used in the Disney+ show (more on that later!), and their live Vevo performance of it is often used by fans to prove the two’s chemistry.
According to Rodrigo in an ET interview, the infamous “I love you” monologue from Bassett’s character, Ricky, to her’s, Nini, was mostly improvised. This revelation is what solidified the idea of the two’s romantic partnership.
Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter Spotted Together
The pair were seen together on multiple occasions throughout quarantine. They were first seen together during a Black Lives Matter protest in which Bassett kissed the 21-year-old singer on the forehead. Since then, they’ve been seen out to lunch along with Sabrina Carpenter’s sister and out shopping together. Bassett also posted a TikTok in which you can hear the ex-Disney star’s laugh in the background.
However, what really got people suspicious of the two was when they dressed as Sharkboy and Lavagirl for Halloween and posted TikTok’s with each other on their accounts. This also confirmed that Carpenter had fully split from her "Tall Girl" co-star and ex-boyfriend, Griffin Gluck, who she had matched Halloween costumes with the year prior. This seemed to be a rite of passage for the two since he and Rodrigo also matched costumes the year prior.
Most recently, they were seen by fans on a date together last week.
BREAKING DOWN “DRIVER’S LICENSE” LYRICS
“I got my driver’s license last week just like we always talked about. ‘Cause you were so excited for me to finally drive up to your house.”
When talking about co-writing with Bassett, Rodrigo revealed that when their song, “Just for a Moment” was chosen to be in the series, the two celebrated by going to In-and-Out. There Bassett taught her how to drive within the parking lot. This made fans immediately think that the song was dedicated to him.
“And you’re probably with that blonde girl who always made me doubt.”
By the end of the first verse, Rodrigo had given hints regarding who she’s singing to and introduced the idea that this person is currently with someone else. The songwriter previously posted her singing her new single, but the original lyrics were, “You’re probably with that brunette girl” but has since changed the line. This made fans speculate that this was about Bassett’s current romantic connection, Sabrina Carpenter, who is blonde.
“She’s so much older than me. She’s everything I’m insecure about.”
Sabring Carpenter is four years older than Rodrigo. It is rumored that Bassett and Rodrigo didn’t work out or even didn’t date due to their age differences but promised each other that they would wait until Rodrigo turned 18. Assuming this is true, it would go along with age being one of her insecurities, as that’s one of the only reasons why they were not able to be together.
“And I know we weren’t perfect, but I’ve never felt this way for no one.”
In January 2020, a few months before Rodrigo got her license, Bassett posted a snippet of an original song, “Do it All Again,” in which the lyrics, “We weren’t perfect, but you were worth it all” seem to be paralleled with Rodrigo’s new ones.
“Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me.”
Bassett’s second single, “Anyone Else” was released in July 2020. Fans speculate that this could also be about Sabrina Carpenter, seeing as they were first rumored to be together in June 2020. Fans also noticed that the nails shown in the song’s music video matched Carpenter’s nails at the time of filming. However, others think it could be about Olivia Rodrigo considering he wrote the song during filming for HSMTMTS. The lyric, “Is he the guy you want to hold ya” and “It kills me every time he’s with you” seems to reference Rodrigo’s boyfriend at the time, Ethan Wacker. In the second verse, he sings, ”I’m still waiting for my happy ever after. When you’re ready I’ll be ready too,” which can allude to their inability to be together due to Rodrigo’s age.
Another song that this could’ve been referencing is Bassett’s unreleased song, “Not Right Now,” which has lyrics that are similar to that of “Anyone Else” in which he talks about trying to find a way to be with someone else even though they may not be able to be together at that moment.
In addition to this, this lyric was also changed from the original version, which read, “and I don’t believe you when you say I did nothing wrong.” So it seems like Rodrigo changed multiple lyrics to reference a more specific situation.
“Red lights, stop signs. I still see your face in the white cars, front yards. Can't drive past the places we used to go to ‘cause I still fuckin' love you, babe. Sidewalks we crossed. I still hear your voice in the traffic, we're laughing over all the noise. God, I'm so blue, know we're through, but I still fuckin' love you, babe.”
Throughout the bridge, she lists multiple things that have to do with driving, and it’s believed that this is because she associates driving with a person. This would make sense to contribute to the song being about Bassett, considering he’s the one who first taught her how to drive. Furthermore, people have noticed that she says that she sees this person in “white cars,” and Bassett is known to drive a white car, as featured on his Youtube channel. In this part of the song, she also states that she and the person she’s speaking about are no longer together, which would be another direct link to Bassett.
POST RELEASE
Instagram Posts
An hour following the song’s release, Bassett took to Instagram to promote his new single, “Lie Lie Lie.” However, he later took this down after getting flack for not letting Rodrigo have her own day of success to herself. The actor then showed his support for his co-star and potential ex by posting an Instagram story saying, “driver’s license is out now!!! Such a great song! Congrats @olivia.rodrigo!!!” [Read the room, Josh. The song is about you.] Many fans thought this was a passive-aggressive post, but Rodrigo didn’t pay much mind to it, considering that she didn’t repost it to her story.
Sabrina Carpenter’s ex-boyfriend also took to Instagram to praise the song, claiming it to be a “bop.” He originally posted a story with the part of the song where Rodrigo sings, “You’re probably with that blonde girl” playing, but later reposted it at a different timestamp in the song.
Support
The cast of HSMTMTS seems to be very supportive of Rodrigo with all of them commenting, liking, and posting about her music. However, on Bassett’s posts regarding his birthday, new album, and upcoming single, only a few cast members have been seen interacting with his posts. This leads fans to believe that the cast is siding with Rodrigo on this one.
“Lie Lie Lie”
Fans are hoping that Bassett’s new single, “Lie Lie Lie,” which is set to be released tomorrow, will be a response to “driver’s license.” However, it’s worth noting that he had previously posted a snippet of this song back in November 2019, so it’s probably not about her. In addition to this, Bassett posted on his story about the song’s origins, stating, “I wrote ‘[Lie Lie Lie]’ after I found out a friend had been lying about me behind my back for a long time. It always sucks to hear that someone you thought you could trust would throw you under the bus when it benefits them. It happens to all of us, and I think all you can do is seek out people that build you up rather than tear you down.” That being said, there could be some new lyric changes! While the song may not have originally been about Rodrigo, we won’t know much until its release.
THE MUSIC VIDEO
Finally, the music video itself has so many easter eggs that relate to the song being about Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter. Things such as her clothes, the setting, the car used in it, imagery, etc. all are speculated to mean something. But unfortunately, that’s for another time.