The Best Friend
“All my friends are tired of hearing how much I miss you,” Olivia laments in “drivers license.”
Breakups don’t exist in a loneliness vacuum, and some TikTok creators wanted to provide the friend’s perspective. Creator Giselle Gutierrez, 16, noticed among the several POVs coming out of “drivers license” that there weren’t any from an outsider’s viewpoint. Reworking the song not only gave her a platform for her songwriting passion, but provided room for healing.
“Personally, I related [the song] to a friendship that became one sided and broke me,” Giselle says. “This song has helped me grow in many ways and it allowed me to move on from past relationships, so thank you, Olivia.”
The Literal Driver’s License
”I got my drivers license last week,” Olivia states in the opening lines of “drivers license.”
The perspective no one saw coming was the actual drivers license itself, and one creator saw an opportunity to add a musical theatre touch to the hit song. Jeremy Crawford, 21, had seen so many POVs and wanted to give a lighthearted rewrite from an angle no one had explored yet.
After all, fans have come to the conclusion that a song like this was so necessary, even if you can’t directly relate to the pain of a breakup. “I feel like so many people like the song, even if they’ve never been in that situation, because we all need a good cry right now,” Jeremy says.
His version tells an unfortunate story of Olivia leaving her license on the couch while she drives through the suburbs. “And I know you’re heartbroken, but you really shouldn’t drive without me,” the license sings. “I guess I’m just the token of all the things he told you you could be.”
Older Olivia
“How could I ever love someone else?” Olivia questions of her future self in “drivers license.”
The final POV that almost makes the pain seem worth it is a rewrite five years in the future. 21-year-old Caroline Pernick wanted to join the viral trend simply because she’d been there before. “I started singing the song from the perspective of Olivia’s older self because I have been through multiple breakups and one really devastating one that felt very similar to what ‘drivers license’ feels like,” Caroline says. “I came out of it three years later realizing that everything that was meant to be, happened. I’ve ended up exactly where I was supposed to and I’m happier than I could ever imagine.”
Caroline says viewers have reached out to her exclaiming that her older version was exactly what they’d needed after hearing the original. The rising artist herself enjoys the art of songwriting and appreciates being able to connect to Olivia’s music on all levels.
“The song means a lot to me because it means a lot to everyone,” Caroline says. “It’s so exciting to see music that can reach and touch so many people in so many ways. The success from Olivia’s song is just telling that she has a voice that invites people to be present where they are, and feel wherever they are.”
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