If you don’t watch High School Musical: The Musical: The Series., you probably have not heard of 17 year-old actress/singer/song-writer Olivia Rodrigo. She currently has the world’s most popular song by far, almost doubling her closest competitor on streaming platforms in Canada, USA, and UK. Here are my five initial observations about a song that will be one of the most influential in 2021. But first, if you haven’t heard it yet, take a listen below.
1) Drivers License is a break-up song. Though there are millions of songs that have covered the same topic, Olivia Rodrigo does an excellent job of capturing the sad emotions in a way that many of today’s teenagers can relate to.
2) Music companies are surprised at how popular this song is. Initially, they gave this song luke-warm support and placed this song on only a few playlists but quickly reacted when they saw how many streams it was receiving. The music industry is riding the wave of it’s popularity. They are not driving it.
3) Olivia Rodrigo uses profanity in the song. This is unprecedented for someone associated with Disney. Usually Disney is very careful to control the “image” of their “properties.” For example, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and Miley Cyrus all started their music careers with innocent music that could be marketed as safe for children. They slowly morphed into the pop stars they are today so as not to anger parents of their original audience. Olivia Rodrigo is taking a different route.
4) This song will shape how millions of children and teenagers view love. This song is connecting with teenagers, many who are feeling alone and unloved. They look up to Olivia Rodrigo for being vulnerable and sharing her soul with them. Many are also aware of how this song fits in with rumours of her romance with co-star Joshua Bassett and the love-triangle with Sabrina Carpenter.
5) We can help youth grow into healthy cultural discerners. Even though we may not be familiar with the music, we can ask good questions that will foster thought. We can get curious and invite youth to do the same. Every popular song reflects culture. We must discern whether it reflects it in helpful ways or is distorted in ways that are harmful.
How are you reacting to Drivers License? Does it remind you of other break-up songs that you know? How do you think teenagers view this song? What positive purpose can you see a break-up song like Drivers License having on culture?
ABOUT MICAH
Micah received a Masters of Popular Music Studies from the University of Glasgow and has worked several years in the music industries as a musician, critic, and band manager. He has a passion for helping audiences find better through discernment, critical-thinking, and empathy-development. He integrates the work of several Christian scholars such as Dr. Al Wolters and Andy Crouch alongside the latest research in behavioural psychology, sociology, and popular music studies.