Olivia Rodrigo debuted at #1 with “Drivers License”

Drivers License Olivia Rodrigo

Writer(s): Olivia Rodrigo, Dan Nigro (see lyrics here) Released: January 8, 2021 First Charted: January 23, 2021 Peak: 18 US, 15 BA, 13 DG, 14 ST, 16 RR, 9 AC, 14 A40, 19 UK, 17 CN, 16 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 1.8 UK, 12.68 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 710.97 video, 2293.45 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Olivia Rodrigo was only 17 years old when she hit #1 with “Drivers License.” She had previously been known for roles on Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The “atmospheric power ballad,” WK produced by Dan Nigro, was the lead single from her first album, Sour. Billboard magazine’s Gab Linsberg and Jason Lipshutz called it the kind of debut single “that aspiring artists dream of.” WK The song mixes “bedroom pop, indie pop, and power pop” WK and is characterized by “a minimalist, piano-led production, incorporating kick drums, harmonies, syncopated hand-claps, and a dreamy bridge.” WK Rodrigo has said the song has Taylor Swift and Lorde influences. WK Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos echoed this, saying the production of the song “is reminiscent of Lorde’s Melodrama…while the lyrics and detailed storytelling channel Swift’s Fearless.” WK She was inspired to write the song after breaking up with her boyfriend. They used to talk about how exciting it would be once she had her driver’s license and could drive to his home. Instead, she ended up driving aimlessly around the suburbs of Los Angeles listening to sad songs and longing for him. SF She said, “Putting all those feelings into a song made everything seem so much simpler and clearer – and at the end of the day, I think that’s the whole purpose of songwriting. There’s nothing like sitting at the piano in my bedroom and writing a really sad song. It’s truly my favorite thing in the world.” UR On its fourth day of release, the song set a record on Spotify for the most single-day streams for a non-holiday song. It also had the biggest first week for a song on Spotify (65 million) SF as well as Amazon Music. The song debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, making her the youngest artist to achieve that feat. The song’s eight weeks at the pinnacle made it the longest-running number-one debut single in the history of the chart. WK It also hit #1 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Resources: SF Songfacts UR Uproxx.com (1/8/2021). “Olivia Rodrigo Proves She’s in a Lane of Her Own in Her Lovelorn ‘Drivers License’ Video” by Carolyn Droke WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/26/2021; last updated 10/12/2024.

2007: Top 25 Albums

First posted 1/8/2021.

Dave’s Music Database: Top Albums of 2007

Based on a combination of year-end lists and overall status in Dave’s Music Database, these are the top 25 albums of 2007: Radiohead In Rainbows LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raising Sand Rihanna Good Girl Gone Bad Bruce Springsteen Magic Kanye West Graduation High School Musical 2 (TV soundtrack) M.I.A. Kala Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare Alicia Keys As I Am Arcade Fire Neon Bible Eagles Long Road Out of Eden Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace Norah Jones Not Too Late Burial Untrue The White Stripes Icky Thump The National Boxer Leona Lewis Spirit Miranda Lambert Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Britney Spears Blackout Michael Bublé Call Me Irresponsible Linkin Park Minutes to Midnight Mika Life in Cartoon Motion Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Josh Groban Noel Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Top 25 Albums by Year” Dave’s Music Database: “Other Year-End Album Awards”

High School Musical premiered on TV

High School Musical Various Artists

Released: January 10, 2006 Charted: March 11, 2006 Peak: 12 US, 1 UK, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.2 UK, 9.44 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop

Tracks: Song Title (Performers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Start of Something New (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens) [3:17] (2/11/06, 28 US) Get’cha Head in the Game (Zac Efron) [2:26] (2/4/06, 23 US) What I’ve Been Looking For (Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel) [2:04] (2/11/06, 35 US) What I’ve Been Looking For (Reprise) (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens) [1:20] (2/11/06, 67 US) Stick to the Status Quo (Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Chris Warren Jr., Kaycee Stroh, Dutch Whitlock) [4:28] (2/11/06, 43 US) When There Was Me and You (Vanessa Hudgens) [3:00] Bop to the Top (Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel) [1:47] (2/11/06, 62 US) Breaking Free (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens) [3:27] (2/4/06, 4 US, 9 UK) We’re All in This Together (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman) [3:51] (2/11/06, 34 US, 40 UK) I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel) [2:51] Get’cha Head in the Game (B5) [2:43] Start of Something New (instrumental) [3:16] Breaking Free (instrumental) [3:27]

Rating: 3.739 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Disney “struck platinum with High School Musical, a made-for-cable movie that was mega-popular on the Disney Channel before spawning a mega-popular soundtrack. Echoing Grease, the plot involves two students” EV who meet at a New Year’s Eve party while their families are on vacation at a ski lodge over winter break. “During a karaoke contest at the teen party, they discover their love for singing... and an interest in each other.” AZ However, Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) is a “shy transfer student who excels in math and science” WK1 and Troy (Zac Efron) is the captain of the basketball team. When they discover they go to the same high school, they try out for the lead parts in the high school musical “and challenge the status quo of their cliques in the process” AMG as they “resist peer pressure and rivalry, inspiring others along the way not to ‘stick to the status quo’.” WK1 “The movie’s soundtrack isn’t exactly challenging;” AMG “the songs are typical Disney pop: on the bland side but also very well-crafted.” EV “It does feature a pretty engaging mix of music and empowering messages, most of which can be found in earnest ballads such as Start of Something New, When There Was Me and You, and Breaking Free. Meanwhile, We’re All in This Together sets lyrics like ‘Everyone is special in their own way/ We make each other strong’ to music inspired by ‘Hollaback Girl’s marching-band/cheerleader motif.” AMG “Among the standouts are Get’cha Head in the Game, which incorporates” EV “an urban pop melody” AMG with “noises from a basketball game (squeaking sneakers, bouncing balls, whistles) to great effect.” EV There’s also “the fab tribute to 1970s piano-pop What I’ve Been Looking For” EV which “flirts with satire” AMG because its “melody is so bright and the vocals so relentlessly cheery, it sounds like a parody of a show tune.” AMG It is “sung by the theater kids who are threatened by these upstarts from other cliques invading their territory.” AMG Similarly, the “big chorus” AMG on “the old-school show-tuney Stick to the Status Quo” EV “urges everyone to just ‘go with the flow’.” AMG “The music falters” EV when it “comes closer to sounding like the usual teen pop product issued by Disney, especially on I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You and the Latin-flavored Bop to the Top.” AMG “Still, the album has enough personality to set it apart from the status quo of the studio’s other releases” AMG and can “get kids to bounce and sing along nicely.” EV

Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon.com (product description) AMG All Music Guide review by Heather Phares EV Elisabeth Vincentelli, Amazon.com WK1 Wikipedia page about the musical WK2 Wikipedia page about the soundtrack Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 1/20/2012; last updated 11/30/2022.