How the F*ck Did ‘Drivers License’ Become the No. 1 Song?

Everything we can’t stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture. [View in Browser]( [Subscribe]( [Image] with Kevin Fallon Everything we can’t stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture. This Week: - Congrats, you’re old. - J. Lo’s beautifully chaotic week. - The movie performance I can’t stop thinking about. - Pour one out for “Melania.” - The Bernie memes, obviously. The Most Popular Song in America Is One You’ve Never Heard There comes a time for every generation to acknowledge a painful reality: the youths are running things now. For many millennials, that turning point happened this week. You’d like to think you’re still able to connect with the Bradens and the Paxtons and the Madisons and Brynnlees. If something’s not exactly your taste, you can at least understand its appeal and why it’s popular. Things still make sense to you, even if you’re married to your ways. You’re not one of the kids, but you’re in touch with their spirits. And then that flipping “Drivers License” song comes out and you throw your hands up and admit defeat. [Lil Nas X was one thing](. It took a while, but you got on board. [TikTok was another](, and you were just starting to come around to that. [Euphoria terrified you](, but it was brilliant. But this? THIS?! Godspeed, children. It’s your world now. [Alternate text] In a bit of a shock this week, “Drivers License,” a new song from relatively unknown performer Olivia Rodrigo, debuted at No. 1 on [the Billboard Hot 100](. (The song title is technically styled in all lowercase letters, but I refuse.) I say relatively unknown because I actually know her; she stars on Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, [a deceptively sharp and entertaining sitcom]( spun off through the looking glass from the 15-year-old Zac Efron/Vanessa Hudgens franchise. She is a tremendous talent on the show, so the shock isn’t that she’s found more mainstream success. It’s that it happened in a way that is both under-the-radar and all-encompassing, and isolating to so many people who hear her name and the song and are completely clueless. The nuts-and-bolts explanation of how the song and Rodrigo skyrocketed so quickly is a fascinating microcosm of the entertainment industry in 2021, who it benefits, and who it leaves out (us olds too confused to bother to pay attention). Rodrigo, who is just 17, wrote the piano ballad herself about six months ago, previewing the writing process on her social media account. Among her millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram, there was rampant excitement for its official release on Jan. 8. Within a week, [it was streamed 76.1 million times](, the highest total since Cardi B and Meghan Thee Stallion’s “WAP.” It broke the single-day Spotify streaming record on Jan. 11, and then its own record again the next day. It now holds the service’s record for most worldwide streams in one week. In its first week, the number of TikTok videos that featured the song [doubled each day](. Its music video has over 55 million views on YouTube. That is a very high number. I am supplying all of these statistics because they are astonishing, breaking records left and right, and yet, anecdotally, many of my contemporaries are not even aware that this song exists. It’s incredibly rare for a song by a pretty much unknown entity, at least in the mainstream, to debut at No. 1 in such explosive fashion. In some ways, it’s benefitted from a feedback loop of confusion and astonishment that’s only amplified its success. One crucial key to its rise is the rampant speculation among fans of Rodrigo and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series that the breakup piano ballad is directly inspired by a long-rumored [relationship she had with her Disney co-star Joshua Bassett](. The lyrics are spectacularly and specifically teenaged when it comes to its depiction of love and heartbreak, which has only made more thrilling the parlor game among young fans to dissect it for more clues about their apparently dramatic romance. The gossiping brought more attention to the song, which earned more attention from news outlets, which brought more attention to the song, which made it more popular, which again brought more attention to the song. And now this nice girl you’ve never heard of is 2021’s biggest pop star. [Alternate text] This is one of those overnight success stories that keeps the romanticized perception of Hollywood and show business afloat in the clouds. It’s nice! How is the song? It’s fine! Like… fine. Does it sound like Taylor Swift is doing a Billie Eilish impression in order to amuse her fans during a concert? Could you be convinced that it is in fact Lorde sight-reading a ballad that Lana Del Rey decided not to include on her last album? Is it completely innocuous, “this sounds like ‘now,’ whatever the hell that means” inoffensiveness precisely why it’s gone viral? Yes, to all. The easily imitable blank slate is the point. I wish I could express to you how exhausting it was to figure out and make sense of all that information for you. The truth is, the most tiring part was getting up the energy to care in the first place. And that’s why I surrender. I’m too old. I’m on like my fourth or fifth driver’s license already. The world is for the youths now. Enjoy. J. Lo, “Let’s Get Loud” Icon, Had a Wild Week It’s been an eventful week for Jennifer Lopez. Granted, this is J. Lo. I would venture that her typical week boasts more highlights for the bullet-point recap than most, but even by that standard, it was a big one for the Most Egregiously Snubbed Oscar Contender in Cinema History. (I am contractually obligated as a gay to bring up [that Hustlers slight]( in a public forum at least once a month in perpetuity.) [Alternate text] To begin with, she narrowly escaped a harrowing encounter with an alleged sex cannibal. Heavens! Production was just about to begin on Lopez’s action rom-com Shotgun Wedding when alleged leaked messages began circulating revealing that her co-star-to-be [Armie Hammer counted cannibalism]( among his apparent sex fetishes. It’s a whole, complicated thing that is honestly too dark and demented—you can read [more about it here](—but the point is J. Lo said I will not be Jenny From the Butcher Block and got the hell out of that situation tout de suite. Josh Duhamel is [now in talks]( to replace Hammer. Later in the week when Lopez was promoting her new cosmetics line JLO Beauty, a foolish fan on an apparent kamikaze mission [commented on one of Lopez’s Instagrams](, saying that it’s hard to take the promotion for the products seriously when it looks like she’s clearly had Botox. Well, Lopez promptly ended this woman’s life, [essentially saying](, “Fuck you, Shrek, I’m flawless,” denying having ever had Botox, and delivered the epic kiss-off line, “And here is another JLO Beauty secret: try spending your time being more positive, kind and uplifting of others don’t spend your time trying to bring others down that will keep you youthful and beautiful too!” [Alternate text] But thwarting cannibalism and murdering a troll was just the lead-up to Lopez’s performance at [the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris](. That’s a big deal, even when you are Jennifer Lopez! She performed a patriotic mash-up of “This Land Is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful”—Glee is shook—and inexplicably slipped in a sample of her own hit “Let’s Get Loud” in the middle, major “here’s a link to my SoundCloud” self-promotion energy. It was absurd and iconic, which is to say I loved every minute of it. (And while Lopez, a powerhouse performer, has never exactly been feted for her vocals, it is the best she’s ever sounded.) In any case, this is a newsletter about the pop culture I am obsessed with, and obviously there was nothing that captured my attention this week more than the inauguration coverage. All jokes and snark aside, it was surreal in so many ways, from the unrecognizable starkness of it all in the pandemic to the triumphant return of exiled feelings like hope and comfort. Given the circumstances, it was all impressively produced. From an entertainment angle, the performances were great. And after spending Wednesday watching it all unfold on television, we can move forward with the tasks at hand: rebuilding America, and deciding which of the 14 fancy long winter coats I put in various shopping carts after the swearing-in ceremony I’m going to buy. I’m Still Thinking About One Night in Miami’s Ending If you haven’t had a chance to watch Regina King’s stirring [new film One Night in Miami]( on Amazon Prime, it’s one of those movies I like to consider a guarantee; there’s nothing about it I can imagine any viewer not finding perfectly enjoyable. It takes an event that really happened—Malcolm X, Cassius Clay (just before he changed his name to Muhammad Ali), Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathering in a hotel room to celebrate after Clay became heavyweight champ—and spins fan-fiction about what they may have discussed, chiefly their respective roles in the race and civil rights movement. The performances are all great, but it’s Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X and Leslie Odom Jr. as Cooke who are the standouts, the latter thanks especially to a last-act showcase in which Cooke performs “A Change Is Gonna Come” on TV for the first and only time. [Alternate text] The song became a civil-rights anthem and is a top contender for the finest American song ever written, but Cooke’s performance of it on The Tonight Show was his only televised performance before his death and, unfortunately, the footage no longer exists. There’s something extra poignant, then, about King’s decision to stage it as a climax to her film and its message. Odom’s performance, which he filmed live, is sensational. If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to hop on Amazon and check it out. The Epic Melania Farewell She Probably Didn’t Deserve The highest compliment anyone has ever paid Melania Trump is [casting Laura Benanti to play her](. [Alternate text] The Tony-winning actress and all-around delight has been a revelation playing the former first lady (that “former” felt good to type) on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert—this is literally what the guest acting Emmy category was created for; where is her trophy you heathens?—and this week she got a massive send-off befitting her hilarious work over the last four years. A parody of the “Belle” opening number from Beauty and the Beast, it centered around “Melania” being deluded into believing that New York City would at all welcome her back. Benanti gets to sing and dance. It’s shot in an empty Times Square. It’s so great. [You can watch it here](. Bernie Is Memed Again. Nature Is Healing. The most poignant sign that things are starting to get back to normal is that we’ve allowed ourselves to stop worrying about the end of the world just long enough to start making Bernie Sanders memes again. You have probably seen hundreds of Photoshops of Sanders looking cranky and cold on a folding chair at the inauguration at this point. These are my [two]( [favorites](, plus one I [can’t believe exists](. [Alternate text] [Alternate text] Not Sarah Jessica Parker even joking about replacing Kim Cattrall with 79-year-old Bernie Sanders!!! [Alternate text] [Alternate text] - Euphoria: The first quarantine special was PHENOMENAL. A high bar for this weekend’s second installment. (Sunday on HBO) - The White Tiger: India! Murder! Wit! Priyanka Chopra-Jonas! It’s a fun movie. (Friday on Netflix) - 76 Days: An astonishing, must-see documentary about the first days of lockdown in Wuhan. (Saturday for a [free virtual screening]() [Alternate text] - Walker: To have been at the CW pitch meeting where an exec said, “I know what the teens of today want: a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger. (Thursday on The CW) Advertisement [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( © Copyright 2021 The Daily Beast Company LLC 555 W. 18th Street, New York NY 10011 [Privacy Policy]( If you are on a mobile device or cannot view the images in this message, [click here]( to view this email in your browser. To ensure delivery of these emails, please add emails@thedailybeast.com to your address book. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, or think you have received this message in error, you can [safely unsubscribe](.