A parking ticket has brought "Drivers License" hitmaker Olivia Rodrigo back down to earth. The singer's career has been soaring since the recent release of her single, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but she has fast learned that being famous does not mean you are exempt from the rules of the road.
On Sunday, the "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" star posted a photo of a City of Los Angeles Parking Violation envelope she had received on her Instagram story.
"Damn this driving s**t isn’t all fun and games," the 18-year-old wrote alongside the image.
In her emotionally charged pop ballad, Rodrigo sings about obtaining her driver’s license, which a former love had encouraged her to do.
"I got my driver's license last week, Just like we always talked about," she sings. "'Cause you were so excited for me, to finally drive up to your house. But today I drove through the suburbs, crying 'cause you weren't around."
Fans have speculated that the song was written for former co-star Joshua Basset, who she reportedly had previously dated. Although she has not addressed the rumors, she elaborated on the song's meaning in an interview with Paper.
"There's anger that's in it, and there's this sadness and longing," she said. "But there's also this feeling of pathetic insecurity. This song, for me, captures a lot of those aspects of a breakup that I wasn't really able to verbalize before."
Speaking about the song's success, Rodrigo said she could never have anticipated the fame that would ensue.
"It's absolutely insane. What has happened has beat every single expectation I could have, possibly had, and is totally beyond my wildest dreams," she said.
"I've gotten a ton of comments from people being like, 'I've been married for 25 years, but this song still stings.' And I think that's incredible," she continued. "I think that that's one of the purposes of music is to really transport you to a deep feeling, even if it might not be one that you're feeling directly in your everyday life."
Rodrigo added that she was enjoying being able to break out of the pigeon-hole of being an actress. Her career launched after appearing in "High School Musical," but music was where she felt most at home.
"It's really exciting for me to put out a song like this for my debut single because it feels like it really captures who I am as an individual," she explained. "And I think for so long, I've been perceived as an actress, and I've been perceived as the characters that I play. And I'm so grateful for all the opportunities I've gotten in that sector of the entertainment industry. But this is the first time I've really put out something that feels like an extension of me and who I am as a person, and that's really empowering."
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