'She’s the real deal. And that’s why she’s going to be a global superstar who’s going to be around for a long time. Because she gets it – but she also has the drive and wants to win.” Read Olivia Rodrigo's full Billboard cover story below.
, but few pop singer-songwriters, and no one with a hit the size of “drivers license.” “As we rebuild it, it’s hyperfocused on her and turning her into a global act,” says Janick. “[She’s one of] those artists who move culture and are going to be career artists.”
Writing one of the most popular songs of all time on the subject of driving tends to mean you’ll forever be associated with motor vehicles. For her part, Rodrigo’s fine with her pop cultural place behind the wheel — some young fans even write to her asking for advice about their own driver’s tests. “Driving in the car is like my favorite thing — any time I’m stressed out, I just get in the car and drive around aimlessly and listen to music or something,” she says.
“Drivers license” wasn’t a song that needed much of a promotional boost from Rodrigo. It received countless covers and reinterpretations, both through scores of amateur musicians on TikTok and more established artists like pop-punk social media star Jxdn.to the song — on Rodrigo’s 18th birthday, no less — with a bar full of male cast members discussing the song’s lyrics and belting along to its towering bridge.
That buzz was hardly quashed by Rodrigo’s follow-up single in April, the wistful but seething “deja vu,” which appeared to be a thematic continuation of her breakout hit — down to Rodrigo’s disappointed sighs in the second verse about her ex’s new girl: “another.” Returning to that subject matter was not necessarily a safe choice: It further churned the gossip mill and risks typecasting her as, in her words, “the heartbreak girl.”, which has no shortage of additional heartbreak on its 11 tracks.