Buckle up! 17-year-old “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” star Olivia Rodrigo made waves when she released her single “Drivers License” on Friday, and the internet has been swirling with theories about the emotional new track ever since.
At the center of the drama is a rumored love triangle—fans speculate that Olivia was dating 20-year-old co-star Joshua Bassett, who plays her on-screen love interest in the Disney+ series.
While the stars never confirmed their relationship, many took Olivia’s August TikTok mentioning a “failed relationship” as a subtle sign.
In Olivia’s new song, she croons about a failed relationship with the person who taught her to drive. “Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me,” she sings.
The lyric may reference Joshua’s songs “Common Sense” and “Anyone Else,” which fans believe to be written about Olivia.
In the song’s first verse, Olivia also references her romantic interest moving on with someone else. “And you’re probably with that blonde girl/ Who always made me doubt/ She’s so much older than me/ She’s everything I’m insecure about,” she sings.
It’s rumored that Joshua is dating “Work It” star Sabrina Carpenter—they even dressed in matching costumes for Halloween last year. 21-year-old Sabrina is both blonde and older than Olivia, further fueling the speculation.
Joshua’s set to release new music this week as well—the internet is already buzzing about his single “Lie Lie Lie,” guessing that the song may be a response to Olivia’s apparent shade.
However, Joshua seemed to support Olivia’s new music, sharing it to his Instagram story and writing, “Such a great song! Congrats @olivia.rodrigo!!!”
Fans can’t stop talking about the drama, with many comparing it to the infamous rumored love triangle between Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Nick Jonas.
Olivia has earned high praise for her new track, even getting a shout-out from her idol Taylor Swift. Olivia excitedly shared a screenshot of her song at number 3 on the iTunes charts on Instagram, writing, “Next to Taylor on the US iTunes chart I’m in a puddle of tears.”
Taylor responded, “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud,” referencing a widely-meme’d moment when her own mother Andrea Swift praised her in an interview.
Olivia excitedly reacted to Taylor’s praise, tweeting, “thinking about legally changing my name to ‘Taylor Swifts baby.’”