How ‘Drivers License’ Gave Olivia Rodrigo Confidence in Her Songwriting ‘Voice’
Red lights and stop signs can’t stop this award-winning artist. In 2021, Olivia Rodrigo released her first original single — “Drivers License.” Since then, Rodrigo became a Grammy-nominated musician. She earned recognition for her album Sour and the “Good 4 U” music video.
Part of what gave Rodrigo confidence in her songwriting, she said during one interview, was the success of “Drivers License.”
Olivia Rodrigo debuted her song ‘Drivers License’ ahead of ‘Sour’
First debuting original songs on social media and the Disney+ mockumentary High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Rodrigo released her single “Drivers License” and its corresponding music video.
Within weeks, the song racked up millions of plays on the music platform Spotify. As of March 2022, “Drivers License” has over 1.3 million Spotify plays. The music video also picked up an impressive number of views, earning thousands of likes.
On the one-year anniversary of this song, Rodrigo took to Instagram. She posted a live version of her chart-topping track, captioning the post, “happy first birthday to the little song that changed my whole life.” Although it pinpointed a specific emotion, this track became a favorite of many listeners. Even Rodrigo shared her appreciation for “Drivers License” and the impact it had on her songwriting.
‘Drivers License’ helped Olivia Rodrigo learn what makes her songwriting special
As one of her first original songs, “Drivers License” showcased Rodrigo’s unique songwriting style. The thousands of streams and praise informed Rodrigo’s music and gave her confidence regarding her songwriting.
“I thought, actually, when [Drivers License] came out and when it, you know, started getting to be really successful I thought that I was going to get in my head about my writing and be like, ‘Oh I’m never gonna write anything as good as “drivers license”’ and fret about everything,” Rodrigo said during an interview with MTV News.
“But I actually really think it gave me a lot of confidence in my voice and in what makes my songwriting special, which I feel like is my vulnerability and honesty,” she continued. “And so kind of learning that that’s what people resonated with, kind of helps me with writing all of my other music.”
‘Sour’ and ‘Drivers License’ earned several Grammy Award nominations
Celebrities like Taylor Swift shared their support for Rodrigo. United States President Joe Biden invited Rodrigo to the White House to promote the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
The most-streamed album of 2021, according to the music platform Spotify, is Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour. Rodrigo also earned several awards and nominations at the MTV Music Video Awards, later receiving recognition from the Grammy Awards.
Sour earned nominations in the Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year categories. Rodrigo received the nomination for Best New Artist. “Drivers License” snagged a few Grammy nominations. That includes the nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
