Rodrigo's debut studio album, SOUR, topped the charts globally and was met with widespread critical acclaim. She was nominated in seven categories at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, Album of the Year for SOUR, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year for "drivers license". Time named her the 2021 Entertainer of the Year and Billboard named her the 2022 Woman of the Year.
Rodrigo signed with Interscope Records and Geffen Records in 2020. She negotiated the record deal to secure for herself ownership of the masters of her music. On January 8, 2021, she released her debut single, "drivers license", which she co-wrote with producer Dan Nigro. Within the week of its release, "drivers license" was critically acclaimed, and broke Spotify's record twice for most daily streams ever for a non-holiday song with over 15.7 million global streams on January 11 and over 17 million global streams the next day. It went on to break another Spotify record for the first song in history to hit 80 million streams in 7 days. The song debuted at number one on Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one in numerous other countries. Rodrigo stated in an interview that "It's been the absolute craziest week of my life … My entire life just, like, shifted in an instant."
On April 1, 2021, Rodrigo released her follow-up single, "deja vu", which debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist to debut their first two releases in the top 10 of the Hot 100. The third single preceding her debut album, "good 4 u", followed on May 14, 2021, and became her second single to debut at number one on the Hot 100. SOUR, her debut studio album, was released on May 21, 2021, to critical acclaim. Charlie Gunn of The Forty-Five called it "the greatest coming-of-age album since early Taylor Swift or Lorde". Slate's Chris Molanphy said its first three singles alone established Rodrigo's "early status as Gen-Z's most versatile new artist". According to Clash critic Robin Murray, Rodrigo is regarded as one of Generation Z's finest artists, while Variety dubbed her "the Voice of her Generation" in its cover story of Rodrigo. SOUR debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and spent a total of five weeks at the spot, becoming the longest-reigning number-one album by a female artist in 2021.
In June 2021, Rodrigo premiered SOUR Prom, a prom-themed concert film on YouTube. On December 6, 2021, Rodrigo announced a world tour, including tour stops in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Three days later, she was named Entertainer of the Year by Time. In an Instagram post on December 24, 2021, Rodrigo uploaded a snippet of a Christmas song called "The Bels" that she wrote and recorded at age five. According to Billboard, Rodrigo closed 2021 as the best-selling singles artist worldwide, placing eight songs on the year-end Global 200 chart, including "drivers license" at number four, "good 4 u" at number nine, and "deja vu" at number 27. In the US and UK, SOUR was respectively the third and fourth best-selling album of 2021. SOUR and "drivers license" were also respectively Spotify's most streamed album and song globally. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) ranked Rodrigo as the tenth best-selling artist of 2021 and SOUR as the second best-selling album of 2021.
On February 17, 2022, Rodrigo announced and released the trailer of her Disney+ documentary film 'Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u', which was released on March 25, 2022.
On June 30, 2023, Rodrigo released the lead single to her sophomore album, "Vampire." The single would debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and several other countries' music charts, and her record "GUTS" released on September 8, 2023. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 among other countries' charts, and its singles "Bad Idea, Right?" and "Get Him Back" debuted in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 — making Rodrigo the first female artist to chart all of her singles in the region. "GUTS" was nominated for six GRAMMYs — Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, with "Vampire" being nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, and "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" being nominated for Best Rock Song. The record was promoted through a Tiny Desk contest, RSD exclusive vinyls, among other mediums.
Rodrigo would also release the single "Can't Catch Me Now" as the soundtrack song for "The Hunger Games: Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes," which was met with critical acclaim for its lyricism, imagery, and connection to the novel and film. The song was performed at select "GUTS World Tour" dates as well as the shows she headlined for iHeartRadio's annual Jingle Ball, which included venues she would later tour on the "GUTS World Tour," such as Los Angeles' Kia Forum and New York City's Madison Square Garden.
The "GUTS World Tour" would kick off on February 23, 2024 in Palm Springs, California, with Chappell Roan as its special guest. The tour was met with virality and critical acclaim for Rodrigo's vocals, stage presence, and visuals — dubbed as one of the most impressive arena tours to date. The tour featured songs from "GUTS," "Sour," and the "GUTS" deluxe track "obsessed," which was only available on vinyl at the time. On tour, Rodrigo announced "GUTS (spilled)," a deluxe edition of "GUTS" which released March 22, 2024 and included five additional tracks. The five tracks debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 — to date, each song in Rodrigo's discography has appeared on the chart.
In April 2024, Rodrigo was a special guest to No Doubt's Coachella performance. The pop star continued her GUTS World Tour throughout 2024, where she performed six nights in Los Angeles, being the first woman to headline Intuit Dome, and is set to close off the tour internationally in Asia.
Driver's License
Olivia Rodrigo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just like we always talked about
'Cause you were so excited for me
To finally drive up to your house
But today I drove through the suburbs
Cryin' 'cause you weren't around
And you're probably with that blonde girl
She's so much older than me
She's everything I'm insecure about
Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs
'Cause how could I ever love someone else?
And I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone
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 all my friends are tired
Of hearing how much I miss you, but
I kinda feel sorry for them
'Cause they'll never know you the way that I do, yeah
Today I drove through the suburbs
And pictured I was driving home to you
And I know we weren't perfect
But I've never felt this way for no one, oh
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone
I guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street
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 (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
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 (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone
'Cause you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street
Yeah, you said forever, now I drive alone past your street
In "Drivers License," Olivia Rodrigo sings about the pain of a breakup and the difficulty of moving on. The song begins after the singer has just received her driver's license, which was a shared dream between her and her ex. She drives around crying, imagining that she is driving to her ex's house, but she knows that he is with another girl who has always made her feel insecure. The song's chorus is a lament for the loss of the relationship -- the singer can't imagine ever loving someone else the way she loved her ex. She's hurt and confused that he seems to be doing just fine without her, even though he had promised her forever. She can't understand how he could write a song about her and then move on so easily.
The second verse reveals that the singer's friends are growing tired of hearing her talk about her ex, but she can't help it. She thinks they'll never truly know him the way she does. The bridge of the song brings the listener back into the car with the singer as she drives past familiar landmarks, wishing she could turn back time and fix things with her ex. She still loves him despite the pain he's caused her.
Overall, "Drivers License" is a song about heartbreak and the difficulty of moving on from a past love. It's a universal theme that many people can relate to, especially those who have recently experienced a breakup.
Line by Line Meaning
I got my driver's license last week
I recently obtained my driver's license
Just like we always talked about
As we had discussed previously
'Cause you were so excited for me
You were anticipating my success and were thrilled for me
To finally drive up to your house
To come over to your home and visit
But today I drove through the suburbs
But instead of coming over, today I drove through a residential area
Cryin' 'cause you weren't around
While doing so, I couldn't help but cry because you were not there
And you're probably with that blonde girl
You are most likely with that other girl who has blonde hair
Who always made me doubt
This person has caused me to be uneasy or hesitant
She's so much older than me
She is significantly more mature than I am
She's everything I'm insecure about
She embodies all of my insecurities
Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs
So today, I drove through the suburbs again
'Cause how could I ever love someone else?
Because I can't comprehend loving anyone else other than you
And I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one
I acknowledge that our relationship had flaws, but I have never loved anyone like I have loved you
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone
And I can't grasp the fact that you are doing fine now that I'm not in your life anymore
Guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me
I suppose the lyrics in the song you wrote about me were insincere
'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street
Because you promised forever, but now I find myself driving alone past your street
And all my friends are tired
My friends are exhausted by my continuous talk about you
Of hearing how much I miss you, but
But I can't help expressing how much I miss you to them
I kinda feel sorry for them
I sympathize with them for having to deal with my constant talk about you
'Cause they'll never know you the way that I do, yeah
Because none of them will ever understand you the way I do
And pictured I was driving home to you
As I drove, I imagined driving home to you
Red lights, stop signs
As I drove, I encountered many red lights and stop signs
I still see your face in the white cars, front yards
Even now, I still see your face in the white cars and front yards I pass by
Can't drive past the places we used to go to
I can no longer bear to go to the places where we used to visit together
'Cause I still fuckin' love you, babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Because I still love you very much
Sidewalks we crossed
Along my drive, I walked the same sidewalks that we once walked together
I still hear your voice in the traffic, we're laughing
I can still hear your voice amidst the traffic sounds as we laughed together in the past
Over all the noise
Over all the racket around me
God, I'm so blue, know we're through
I feel so sad; I know that we are over
But I still fuckin' love you, babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
But I still really love you
Yeah, you said forever, now I drive alone past your street
Yes, you promised forever, but now I find myself driving alone past your street
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Daniel Nigro, Olivia Rodrigo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PRESTOofficial
why am I here every hour
@leahcabrera4891
Same This is like the 10th time I’ve listened to this today😭
@sophiacasto7481
me here after rewatching all of hsmtmts
@zadela4507
i have it on a loop
@jessicaking5954
SAme lol
@sophiastone2440
lol sameee
@OliviaRuby
yeah ive been playing this since it came out im addicted
@imabreadcatandyoucantdonot5141
YES!!! OLIVIA STANNING OLIVIA!!! QUEENS
@voicelessbeing
cool!
@d3layna
same