Love triangle provides ‘license’ to vent for teen songstress

No red lights or stop signs can stop 17-year-old Olivia Rodrigo from breaking more records with her debut single, “Driver’s License.” Within the first week, “Driver’s License” reached over 65 million streams on Spotify, smashing the record for the most streams for the first week on the platform. Also in the first week, the song made it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. This marks Rodrigo’s first number one, and the song continued to stay in its place for its third week, as of February 7.

Joshua Bassett and Rodrigo both met through filming and starring in the Disney+ series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and their chemistry both on and off the screen created a popular rumor of a relationship between the two Disney stars, yet neither declined nor confirmed this rumor, causing more speculation. Even with a rumor of a possible relationship between the two, Bassett and Rodrigo were still incredibly close, both seen liking each other’s Instagram posts, as well as Rodrigo supporting Bassett on the release of his first single, “Common Sense,” in April of 2020. 

From Olivia Rodrigo's Instagram Page

Not long after, these interactions came to a halt. Rodrigo had shared a picture of herself on her Instagram account, mentioning how she earned her driver’s license and she can now “drive around the suburbs alone and cry,” foreshadowing “Driver’s License.” On July 23 of 2020, Rodrigo shared a preview of “Driver’s License,” still having no interactions with Bassett, and a month later, Bassett added more fuel to the rumored breakup by sharing pictures and videos of him and singer and actress, Sabrina Carpenter. These videos and pictures continued, with Rodrigo’s only response to this change being a TikTok of her sitting, with the caption: “You think u can hurt my feelings?”

On January 8, Rodrigo shared “Driver’s License,” a song that has broken the hearts of many. The song gained 82,000 downloads, drew more than 178.4 million streams in the United States (as of February 3), and even earned the title of “Biggest Airplay Gain” on Billboard. It is no lie that Rodrigo’s debut single was a success, with special thanks to the heart-shattering lyrics and Rodrigo’s pain-stricken vocals, along with a mixture of belting and falsettos. 

From the preview Rodrigo shared on July 23 to the finished product, one lyric change sparked new rumors: Rodrigo had originally sung about a brunette, but now she sings about a blonde. The change possibly occurred during the same time Bassett and Carpenter were seen together, hanging out. From the long-gone chemistry to the new blonde girl and now the lyrics in “Driver’s License,” many people are speculating about a love triangle between the three stars.

But the story doesn’t end there; less than a week later, Bassett released his single, “Lie Lie Lie,” a song rumored to be directed towards Rodrigo. Even with fans speculating this new single to be about Rodrigo, Bassett came clean and admitted to writing the song in 2019 after splitting with an ex-friend.

On January 22, more fuel was added to the flames once again; Carpenter had released her latest single, “Skin,” a powerful song directed to people and events that have bothered the singer in the past year. The song includes references to “Driver’s License,” like mentioning a blonde girl in the song to Carpenter reminding Rodrigo not to drive herself insane, causing many to speculate “Skin” to be Carpenter boasting about her new relationship. Still, just like Bassett’s situation, Carpenter came out and stated that it wasn’t directed towards Rodrigo but towards other people and events that have, just as she sings about, gotten under her skin, such as the hate she received from the situation.

No one besides these three stars can come out to claim this whole situation as a love triangle or indeed, the truth. It wouldn’t be the first time that three Disney stars were caught in a love triangle together. But even if it were staged, why would Disney allow their celebrities to be shamed and earn hate because of rumors about hurting others’ feelings? Like every piece of drama, there are multiple sides to the story and context that remains hidden between the people involved. Celebrity drama will always bring attention, as the media enjoys getting in the personal life of stars and shaming them for making mistakes, dating, or doing something the public would do. This love triangle is, in fact, the most complicated news in the entertainment industry of this year so far, and it has earned these three stars legions of new fans. 

The life of a celebrity is viewed as entertainment to the public. It can make the average person feel better for themself knowing that these celebrities go through the same thing they may be facing. Attention can be good or bad, shining a light on a situation or forcing hate on a person. Even when these stars get themselves in a dating scandal or caught doing something that would otherwise be deemed as “normal,” it is essential to realize that they are still humans. It is important to know the context before placing an opinion on the matter.

Just like it has for the past month, “Driver’s License” is a popular song, breaking the hearts of many and topping the charts week after week. With Rodrigo’s talented songwriting ability and vocal skills, there is only excitement towards her debut EP, which she has mentioned will be released sometime this year. Besides Rodrigo releasing more music, Bassett will be dropping an EP on March 12, including a duet featuring him and Carpenter. There is only excitement to the futures of these three young stars. Rodrigo’s heartbreak in “Driver’s License” may not be a new emotion for the listener, but it is one to sympathize with. She has a story to tell of a failed relationship, showing she is just as human as the rest of us.

By Ruby Pluchinsky
February 26, 2021

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