On January 8th, Disney star Olivia Rodrigo released “Driver’s License,” a pop single widely speculated to be about her colleague from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Joshua Bassett. The track first reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 19th and maintained that spot for 4 weeks. 

Rodrigo first gained the musical spotlight with her single “All I Want,”  released in November 2019, as part of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. As teenagers across the nation empathized with the song, it gained popularity, especially across TikTok.

TikTok users mimicked and intensified the same response with “Driver’s License.” Either being invested in the speculated drama behind the song, relating to the emotional lyrics, or just enjoying the addictive melody has caused fans to stream the song over 321 million times on Spotify, currently. TikTok has been a substantial aspect of the song’s increasing success through its high prevalence, recurring trend, and general love and enthusiasm towards the track.

The song is sung from the perspective of someone going through losing a person they cared for romantically and struggling to move on from what once was. Rodrigo is 17 years old, a similar age to the average TikTok user, which adds to the track’s relatable appeal and the experience she describes.