On Jan. 8, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” star Olivia Rodrigo released the song “Drivers License,” as the lead single for her upcoming debut EP. The song first went viral on the widely used social media platform TikTok. Then, it soared to the top of the iTunes charts. It was at the very top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for several weeks. Rodrigo wrote the song about how her heart was broken, and how she’s longing to get back with the boy she loves, even though he’s with somebody else now. 

Aside from the amazing song, the story behind it is what really captivated the listeners. 

“I love the song. It’s beautiful and the story behind it is about her falling in love with a boy. Overall, the song made me feel like I broke up with a guy I’ve been dating for 10 years,”  said junior Alexis Tlilayatzi. 

 Many videos on TikTok were made on theories for the song. The song is rumored to be about her “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” co-star Joshua Bassett, who is currently in a relationship with singer Sabrina Carpenter. This is speculated because in the first verse of the song, Rodrigo sings the following lyrics: “And you’re probably with that blonde girl, who always made me doubt, she’s so much older than me, she’s everything I’m insecure about.”  These lyrics are clearly about Carpenter because she is blonde and she’s four years older than Rodrigo. As a result, many fans started criticizing Carpenter and bashing her on social media for “stealing” Bassett from Rodrigo. 

Meanwhile, Rodrigo herself was receiving so much love for her enormously successful song and stars such as Taylor Swift, Cardi B, and Billie Eilish reached out to her to offer their congratulations. People even started empathizing with her heartbreak and were rooting for her, putting her ex-boyfriend on the spot.

An OCSA student who wishes to remain nameless said, “Even if it’s not about Joshua, whoever the lyrics were about, like dang! I hope they feel bad,” they said.

However, some people weren’t so enthusiastic about the success she’s been receiving and called her out on how she indirectly addressed Carpenter in the song, saying it was unnecessary and uncalled for. 

Later, on Jan. 22, Sabrina Carpenter released “Skin,”  as a response to the drama surrounding them all. The song seems to be a callout to “Drivers License” because Carpenter featured the lyric “maybe blonde was the only rhyme” referencing the blonde remark Rodrigo made in the first verse of “Drivers License.”  The song received mixed responses, saying that she either did the right thing by putting Rodrigo “in her place” or that she had no right in attempting to undermine Rodrigo because she’s still a lot older and should be more mature. However, Carpenter denied all the accusations made that the song was about the situation, claiming that the song was a response to the immense amount of hate she received. 

Sophomore Ashley Santana shared her opinions on the situation. She believed that Carpenter had every right to release her song and express her side of the story. 

“I think everyone expresses their emotions in different ways. Some paint, some write poems, and some write songs. I believe that was her way of saying goodbye. She shouldn’t have called out Sabrina in her song but Sabrina did what she had to; put Olivia in her place,” said Santana.

Overall, whether you like the song or not, you have to admit that it was incredible how quickly “Drivers License” soared to the top of the charts. The public wishes the best for Rodrigo, and she plans to release a debut EP later this year.