Olivia Rodrigo‘s new song “driver’s license” has taken over the music charts, but almost equally as enthralling is the potential inspiration behind the track. Fans have been wondering if Olivia’s lyrics hint at her High School Musical: The Musical co-star Joshua Bassett, and the fact that he’s been hanging out with actress Sabrina Carpenter. We’ve got more details, including breaking down the possible love triangle, below.
What’s this about a love triangle?
If you’ve been following Olivia’s career, then you obviously know her from her role as Nina in the Disney+ series, High School Musical: The Musical. Her co-star Joshua Bassett portrays Ricky, and together the two take on their school’s musical, of course getting the parts of “Gabriela” and “Troy.” Rodrigo and Bassett’s onscreen chemistry was so good, people started to wonder if they were dating offscreen too.
When the series first began filming, Olivia was still in a relationship with her now ex-boyfriend Ethan Wacker. The two called it quits sometime in 2019, which further fueled the rumor that she and Joshua would get together. They never admitted to being in a relationship, but they did grow close as friends on set of their show. Olivia and Joshua even wrote a song together for the HSM: The Musical soundtrack.
Now, how does Sabrina Carpenter fit into all of this? Well, amidst rumors of Olivia and Joshua’s romance, fans latched on to a new theory when he and Sabrina began hanging out – that they were the ones dating! The gossip is that Olivia and Joshua’s “relationship” ended in early 2020, which then left Joshua to move on with Sabrina this past fall.
The reason why people think this is because Sabrina and Josh posted TikTok videos of each other as they re-did The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl movie.
So, how does Olivia’s song fit into all of this?
Olivia released her debut single, “driver’s license” on Jan. 8, accompanied by a music video, which has since garnered over 4 million views. She even received praise from her “mom” Taylor Swift, as her single topped the charts next to Swift’s evermore bonus tracks.
When Olivia was writing the song, she released a snippet of it to her Instagram page. Fans have now noticed that she changed a line in the song from that “brunette girl” to that “blonde girl.” You can hear Olivia’s original lyrics for yourself in her IG post from July.
Other lyrical interpretations include: “You said forever, now I drive alone past your street” which is obviously about a breakup. When Olivia sings: “Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me,” fans took it to be about Joshua.
According to E!, Bassett wrote two tracks about losing love in 2020: “Common Sense” and “Anyone Else.” The former is about trying to get a second chance, the latter about a girl moving on with another guy.
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Joshua is also releasing new music this month. His newest single is titled “Lie Lie Lie” and will be out on Jan. 14. This begs the question: does it have anything to do with Olivia?
If you solely go by social media cues, then it’s worth noting that Sabrina and Joshua follow each other on Instagram; Joshua also follows Sabrina’s sister Sarah, and her Girl Meets World co-star Corey Fogelmanis.
While Olivia still has traces of Joshua on her Instagram (they both still follow each other too), he has deleted his HSM photos. Course, it’s possibly because he wants to focus more on his music.
Since none of their representatives have been reached for comment, all of this drama is speculation. But, in this day and age, everything means something, you know? You can always take a listen to “driver’s license” and hear for yourself.
MORE OLIVIA RODRIGO NEWS
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Are High School Musical‘s Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett Dating?
Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett Talk Co-Writing a High School Musical Series Song
Kari Highman is a Beauty and Fashion Blogger at Feeling the Vibe Magazine. Otterbein Alum (2017) – English & Psychology. Always learning & creating. Avid fan of mid 2000’s TV & pop music. Comments or tips, email [email protected]
