Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “Driver’s License” has fans obsessed – it’s even captured the attention of one of the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star’s heroes: Taylor Swift. And fans have a ton of theories about what the song is about – particularly, the rumored romance of a certain HSMTMTS co-star and his new lady love.
The 17-year-old actress dropped her new track “Driver’s License” on Friday (January 8). The track quickly went viral on social media and landed her right next to Taylor on the US iTunes chart – something she was super stoked about.
“next to taylor on the us i tunes chart i’m in a puddle of tears 😭😭😭😭,” she wrote on Instagram over the weekend.
Taylor hopped on the comments section of the post to write: “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud.”
The sweet praise appears to have thrilled Olivia so much, she went on Instagram to post a follow up video, quoting Taylor’s 2007 CMA’s speech when she accepted the Horizon Award: “I can’t believe this. This is definitely the highlight of my senior year.”
But that’s not all that’s got fans buzzing – many think the song is about rumored ex-BF Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter, whom he’s been hanging out with a lot lately.
ICYMI, Olivia and Joshua star as onscreen love interests Nini and Ricky in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series – and their onscreen chemistry totally had fans speculating whether it’s spilled over IRL. The two never confirmed they were dating though.
But, last August, fans wondered if the two may have called it quits when Olivia posted a TikTok featuring snippet of a song that she wrote for the series. It was captioned: “and that’s on failed relationships.”
In November, Sabrina and Joshua started posting videos together on TikTok – including a spoof “audition tape” for Sharkboy and Lava Girl.
Fast-forward to present day, fans are theorizing Olivia and Joshua may have gone through a big breakup based on the lyrics of the track: “Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me / ‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street.”
And fans are also speculating that there’s a Sabrina reference in there with the 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.”
“i’m not even an olivia rodrigo fan but her nEW SONG???? joshua basket or whatever ur name is how dare u hurt her like that wtf,” one fan wrote.
“Uh Olivia Rodrigo really came for Joshua Bassett’s neck with drivers license and I am LIVING for it,” another tweeted.
“THE WAY OLIVIA RODRIGO LITERALLY CALLED OUT JOSHUA BASSET AND SABRINA CARPENTER IN HER SONG,” yet another fan posted.
“Olivia Rodrigo/Sabrina Carpenter/Joshua Bassett love triangle drama is giving me Selena Gomez/ Miley Cyrus/ Nick Jonas love triangle vibes,” a fan shared.
Some fans also noted that Olivia changed the song’s original lyrics from “that brunette girl” to “that blonde girl” for the official release.
“olivia changing the lyrics from “with that brunette girl” to “that blonde girl” when i tell you i screamed girl scream that truth queen,” one fan tweeted.
“the original lyrics from drivers license was “that brunette girl” and it’s changed to blonde girl and now i’m finding out tea about sabrina carpenter??? i’m confused,” another wrote.
FYI, Joshua has been dropping songs about lost love as well throughout last year – including “Common Sense” in April, which seems to be about wanting a second chance after breaking up, and “Anyone Else” in July, that hints about an ex moving on with a new love. In December, however, he dropped the live version of “Heaven Is You,” which fans think signals that he’s very much in love. And, soon after Olivia dropped “Driver’s License,” he announced he’s also releasing a new song on January 14th. The tea? It’s called “Lie Lie Lie.”
However, others are pointing out that Joshua has been supportive of Olivia’s music debut – he liked the cover art of the song a few days before it was released. He also shared it with his followers on his Instagram Stories, writing, “Such a great song! Congrats @olivia.rodrigo !!!”
And some also pointed out that “Lie Lie Lie” had been written long ago.
“everyone saying olivia’s song is ‘exposing’ joshua but they literally liked each other’s posts when they were promoting the songs. Seriously y’all don’t even know what’s going on their lives. Also josh wrote ‘lie lie lie’ a long time ago. He posted a bit on is Instagram,” one fan tweeted.
Well, it’s tough to say if the songs really are about them – their reps haven’t responded to requests for comments, and neither have outright addressed any of the rumors. And, if Olivia is taking cues from Taylor, she won’t ever publicly name who the songs are about. But all these alleged behind-the-scenes drama could make for an interesting season 2 of HSMTMTS.
