After breaking streaming records, inspiring memes and TikTok challenges, and leading to many speculations about the true story behind it, Olivia Rodrigo’s viral hit “Drivers License” did what all the experts predicted—debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“Drivers License” was released on January 8th, receiving critical acclaim and drawing comparisons with Lorde and Taylor Swift. Shortly after its release, it broke Spotify’s record for most one-day streams for a non-holiday song and became the fastest song to reach 100 million streams on this platform.
Its success on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was expected, and it easily topped it with 76.1 million U.S. streams during its first week on the chart. It’s the first no. 1 debut single of 2021, and it now holds the record for most streams for a first promoted single by a female artist.
Before releasing this song, Rodrigo was best known as the star of Disney’s High School Musical: The Series, and she said it’s “quite insane” to find such enormous success with the first song she put out.
“I truly loved the song always. I didn’t really expect it to chart or do anything, I was just so happy with it. So the fact that it’s No. 1 in the world right now is absolutely mind-blowing. I can’t believe any of it,” Rodrigo previously told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.
