Olivia Rodrigo Was ‘Ill-Equipped’ for ‘drivers license’ Fallout

Olivia Rodrigo is gearing up for the release of her sophomore studio album, Guts, and this time around, she’s doing things differently.

In an interview with fellow singer Phoebe Bridgers for Interview, Rodrigo opened up about the fallout from her viral debut single, “drivers license,” and how it affected her songwriting.

“Have you ever felt the responsibility to send the subject of a song the song before it comes out, especially now that you have such a giant platform? Or are you just like, ‘F–k it, they’re going to hear it with the world?'” Bridgers asked.

“I feel like last time there was so much weird media s–t, and I had no idea how to deal with any of it. Literally, it was the first song out of the gate, and all of that s–t happened. I felt so ill-equipped,” Rodrigo explained.

“That was an overwhelming experience, but now I definitely feel a responsibility. I just try not to think about it during the writing process,” the “vampire” singer continued.

Rodrigo’s debut single “drivers license” became a viral hit in 2021 and launched her career as a pop star, sending her personal life under the microscope as fans scrutinized her lyrics and over-analyzed the supposed love triangle between Rodrigo, her High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star Joshua Bassett, and Sabrina Carpenter.

Per Billboard, Bassett was even hospitalized due to the intensity of the stress he experienced due to the backlash following the release of the song.

READ MORE: What Is Olivia Rodrigo’s Song Vampire About?

“When I first started writing this record, I would sit at the piano and pretend other people were hearing what I was writing, which is so awful and counterproductive to any creativity, so I had to just write what I wanted to write and think about the social implications after. It’s tricky. I don’t think anyone has it down to a science. I can’t even believe that people listen and talk about my music as it is, so it’s crazy to think about. I guess I’m still learning how to deal with all that stuff,” Rodrigo went on.

“It just means that the media attention and the scrutiny of your social life didn’t stop you from writing this cutting song [‘vampire’], which f–king rocks,” Bridgers replied.

Furthermore, Bridgers asked, “Do you think about the types of people that are listening to your songs or do you also have to completely get that s–t out of your brain when you’re writing?”

“It’s interesting because I have a very young fan base, so that’s something I think about a lot, especially when I say something weird, or when I say a swear word or something. But I also think that people yearn for that. I think kids love that,” Rodrigo shared.