At 21, Olivia Rodrigo is rapidly becoming a standout star in American music, a fact she cemented with her powerful performance of “Drivers License” on Austin City Limits. Rodrigo’s emotional delivery captivated the young audience, who sang along to every word.
Before starting the song, Rodrigo shared with the crowd, “This is the first song I ever released. It’s really special to me. So sing along if you know it.” Accompanying herself on the piano, she performed her chart-topping hit, a heartfelt lament about lost teenage love. The performance resonated deeply, amassing 31 million views and becoming her most popular live video on YouTube.
The audience’s enthusiastic participation was a highlight, with fans online praising moments like her smile in response to their singing. Comments included, “Her smile when she hears the audience singing and clapping along says everything you need to know. She truly loves doing this,” and “Her voice has so much emotion that it’s impossible not to feel the pain within the song.”
Rodrigo’s Austin City Limits appearance struck a chord with fans. Another performance from the same show, “Traitor,” also garnered significant attention, with 9.7 million views on YouTube. This song, from her debut album *Sour*, became her fourth hit single. Rodrigo ended “Traitor” by leaving the piano and engaging closely with the crowd, energizing the performance.
Released on January 8, 2021, “Drivers License” marked Rodrigo’s debut single and launched her music career spectacularly. Co-written with producer Dan Nigro, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100, a feat last achieved by a female artist’s debut single with Carrie Underwood’s “Inside Your Heaven” in 2005. “Drivers License” became a global sensation, ranking as the eighth best-performing song of 2021.
Reflecting on the song’s creation, Rodrigo told Uproxx, “I was going through a heartbreak that was so confusing to me, so multifaceted. 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.”