Drivers License (song)

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 December 2023, the song has over 2 billion streams on Spotify,^[1] ranking amongst the 100 most streamed songs on the platform.

Composition and lyrics[edit]

Steered by piano, "Drivers License" is an atmospheric power ballad,^[9] that has been described as a bedroom pop,^[10] alt-pop^[11] and power pop song,^[12] with elements of folk and indie rock.^[13] It was inspired by the disorienting emotions Rodrigo felt after a recent breakup.^[3][2] She wrote the song with its producer, Daniel Nigro.^[14] The song is written in the key of B♭ major and has a fast tempo of 144 beats per minute, with double time kick drum and claps on the second verse and lead-in.^[15] Rodrigo's vocal range on the song spans from the low note of G₃ to the high note of F₅.^[16] Lyrically, the song has Rodrigo drive through a suburban area, upset and angry, pondering whether any of the subject's feelings were ever true.^[17]


The song begins with the sound of Rodrigo's mother's car engine starting,^[18] followed by a "door ajar" chime that fades into a pulsing piano key. Rodrigo delivers soprano vocals that grow into "cathartic howls of pain" as the song progresses, along with a swelling crescendo followed by an emotional chorus.^[13] The minimalist instrumentation^[13] also consists of syncopated hand-claps and stomping harmonies, and reaches its peak in a rich bridge of layered vocals with the catchphrase "I still fuckin' love you".^[19][17][12] As stated by Rodrigo, the song has Lorde and Taylor Swift influences,^[20] which was also noted by critics.^[21] Rodrigo also stated that the EP Minor (2020) by American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams inspired the musical style of "Drivers License".^[22]


In an interview with Vogue magazine, Rodrigo acknowledged the song had grammatical errors, including the lack of an apostrophe ("Drivers License" vs "Driver's License") and the contradictory double negative: "I've never felt this way for no one".^[23]