| "Drivers License" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Olivia Rodrigo | ||||
| from the album Sour | ||||
| Released | January 8, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2020 | |||
| Studio | Amusement (Los Angeles) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:02 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Dan Nigro | |||
| Olivia Rodrigo singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Drivers License" on YouTube | ||||
"Drivers License" (stylized in all lowercase) is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. It was released on January 8, 2021, by Geffen and Interscope Records, as the lead single from her debut studio album Sour. She wrote the song alongside producer Dan Nigro. Containing poignant lyrics detailing heartache, "Drivers License" is a power ballad blending bedroom pop, alt-pop, and power pop styles. It is characterized by a minimalist, piano-led production, incorporating kick drums, harmonies, syncopated hand-claps, and a dreamy bridge. One of 2021's most successful songs, "Drivers License" launched Rodrigo's music career.
The song documents the "multifaceted" emotions Rodrigo endured after a heartbreak. She teased the song on her social media for many months in 2020, before announcing it on January 4, 2021. The official music video was posted to YouTube alongside the song's release, in which Rodrigo drives around a suburban area after receiving her driver's license and reminisces about her memories of the song's subject, who encouraged her to obtain the license. "Drivers License" was met with widespread critical acclaim; praise centered on Rodrigo's cathartic songwriting, emotional vocals, and the song's stirring production, with many underscoring its Taylor Swift and Lorde influences. The song won Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards, where it was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
"Drivers License" broke a string of records, including the Spotify record for the most single-day streams for a non-holiday song (achieved on its fourth day of release) and the biggest first-week for a song on Spotify and Amazon Music. The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and made Rodrigo the youngest artist ever to debut atop the chart. The song spent eight consecutive weeks at number one. It has been certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Elsewhere, "Drivers License" reached number one in 25 countries, as well as spending multiple weeks atop the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It also peaked within the top ten in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa and various others. As of November 2024, the song has over 2.31 billion streams on Spotify,[1] ranking amongst the 100 most streamed songs on the platform.
- ^ drivers license, May 21, 2021, retrieved October 1, 2023