Inside the Messy Disney Love Triangle Dominating the Pop Charts
In the span of just two weeks, three Disney stars have engulfed the old and young in their bizarre love triangle.
On Jan. 7, Olivia Rodrigo, known for her acting and singing on Disney’s Bizaardvark and Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, released “drivers license,” a heartbreak song that not only immediately shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 but also twice broke Spotify’s record for most daily streams of a non-holiday song. The song quickly became an overnight phenomenon, with TikTok users creating millions of videos recreating the music video or explaining the drama behind it.
The song’s ripped-from-the-headlines backstory only added to the public’s obsession. Rodrigo has been a Taylor Swift fan since she was a kid, and Swift’s songwriting style has clearly inspired Rodrigo, who’s mined specific details of her life to tell the universal story of love lost. “I got my driver’s license last week, just like we always talked about / ‘cause you were so excited for me to finally drive up to your house,” she sings, later crooning about seeing the guy everywhere, especially in all the white cars. Fans quickly picked up on this, pointing out that Rodrigo said in an interview that her rumored former flame (and High School Musical co-star) Joshua Bassett taught her how to drive in his white car.