Olivia Rodrigo Seemingly References Joshua Bassett Romance and Ongoing Drama in ‘Driving Home 2 U’

Credit: Interscope Geffen A&M; NINA PROMMER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Olivia Rodrigo Seemingly References Joshua Bassett Romance and Ongoing Drama in ‘Driving Home 2 U’

Turning back time. Olivia Rodrigo reflected on her past relationship and alluded to the Joshua Bassett drama in her SOUR film Driving Home 2 U. Released nearly one year after her debut album dropped in May 2021, the Disney+ documentary — which hit the streaming service on Friday, March 25 — followed the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star on a road trip from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles. Rodrigo, 19, explained to viewers that this was the same route she took while writing and recording SOUR. Along the way, the songstress made various stops to play new arrangements of her songs “in these places that meant so much to me.” The 77-minute-long film took fans through the process of making SOUR from the first song she wrote for the record — “Happier” — to the last — “Hope Ur OK.” Of course, she also reflected on the worldwide success of her debut single “Drivers License” and the drama that followed. Professionally, Rodrigo explained that “one week” after the song was released, she made the decision to record the full album. Personally, she could have never imagined what would come as fans decoded the lyrics. Eagle-eyed HSMTMTS fans had theorized that the song was about her split from costar Bassett, 21. Although the Disney+ stars never publicly confirmed their relationship, viewers were convinced that they were together while starring in the show's first season. Specifically, listeners homed in on one line of lyrics that read: “And you’re probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt.” [jwplayer uxaFsXjc-zhNYySv2] At the time, Bassett had been spotted with Sabrina Carpenter — who happens to be blonde — so fans were convinced Rodrigo was singing about her apparent ex and his rumored flame. “I totally understand people’s curiosity with the specifics of who the song’s about and what it’s about, but to me, that’s really the least important part of the song,” Rodrigo told Billboard after the song came out. “It’s resonating with people because of how emotional it is, and I think everything else is not important.” As Rodrigo, Bassett and Carpenter, 22, (her song “Skin” was rumored to be a direct response) continued to release new music, the drama didn’t die down. In fact, months after SOUR came out, she spoke further after the aftermath of “Drivers License.” “I put it out not knowing that it would get that reaction, so it was really strange [when] it did. I just remember [everyone being] so weird and speculative about stuff they had no idea about,” Rodrigo told Variety in August 2021. “I don’t really subscribe to hating other women because of boys. I think that’s so stupid, and I really resent that narrative that was being tossed around.” Bassett, for his part, waited nearly a year to tell his truth. He appeared to address the entire situation, noting “it’s not as recent as it seems,” in a December 2021 interview with GQ amid the release of his songs “Crisis,” “Secret” and “Set Me Free.” In the same magazine article, he claimed, “[Rodrigo] hasn’t spoken to me since ‘Drivers License’ came out.” In Driving Home 2 U, Rodrigo may not have addressed anyone by name, but she did speak at length about the past relationship that inspired SOUR and talked about the “Drivers License” drama head on. Keep scrolling for the biggest takeaways. [podcast_block]

Credit: Interscope Geffen A&M; NINA PROMMER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Olivia Rodrigo Seemingly References Joshua Bassett Romance and Ongoing Drama in ‘Driving Home 2 U’

Turning back time. Olivia Rodrigo reflected on her past relationship and alluded to the Joshua Bassett drama in her SOUR film Driving Home 2 U. Released nearly one year after her debut album dropped in May 2021, the Disney+ documentary — which hit the streaming service on Friday, March 25 — followed the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star on a road trip from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles. Rodrigo, 19, explained to viewers that this was the same route she took while writing and recording SOUR. Along the way, the songstress made various stops to play new arrangements of her songs “in these places that meant so much to me.” The 77-minute-long film took fans through the process of making SOUR from the first song she wrote for the record — “Happier” — to the last — “Hope Ur OK.” Of course, she also reflected on the worldwide success of her debut single “Drivers License” and the drama that followed. Professionally, Rodrigo explained that “one week” after the song was released, she made the decision to record the full album. Personally, she could have never imagined what would come as fans decoded the lyrics. Eagle-eyed HSMTMTS fans had theorized that the song was about her split from costar Bassett, 21. Although the Disney+ stars never publicly confirmed their relationship, viewers were convinced that they were together while starring in the show's first season. Specifically, listeners homed in on one line of lyrics that read: “And you’re probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt.” [jwplayer uxaFsXjc-zhNYySv2] At the time, Bassett had been spotted with Sabrina Carpenter — who happens to be blonde — so fans were convinced Rodrigo was singing about her apparent ex and his rumored flame. “I totally understand people’s curiosity with the specifics of who the song’s about and what it’s about, but to me, that’s really the least important part of the song,” Rodrigo told Billboard after the song came out. “It’s resonating with people because of how emotional it is, and I think everything else is not important.” As Rodrigo, Bassett and Carpenter, 22, (her song “Skin” was rumored to be a direct response) continued to release new music, the drama didn’t die down. In fact, months after SOUR came out, she spoke further after the aftermath of “Drivers License.” “I put it out not knowing that it would get that reaction, so it was really strange [when] it did. I just remember [everyone being] so weird and speculative about stuff they had no idea about,” Rodrigo told Variety in August 2021. “I don’t really subscribe to hating other women because of boys. I think that’s so stupid, and I really resent that narrative that was being tossed around.” Bassett, for his part, waited nearly a year to tell his truth. He appeared to address the entire situation, noting “it’s not as recent as it seems,” in a December 2021 interview with GQ amid the release of his songs “Crisis,” “Secret” and “Set Me Free.” In the same magazine article, he claimed, “[Rodrigo] hasn’t spoken to me since ‘Drivers License’ came out.” In Driving Home 2 U, Rodrigo may not have addressed anyone by name, but she did speak at length about the past relationship that inspired SOUR and talked about the “Drivers License” drama head on. Keep scrolling for the biggest takeaways. [podcast_block]

Credit: Disney/Harper Smith

Remembering Her Past Romance

When discussing her past relationship that seemingly inspired the SOUR album, Rodrigo called it “heartbreak that kept on giving.”

She told viewers: “I was in the situation where I had to see him — he was with someone else, which was devastating to me. I felt like my world was ending almost every day. Nobody understood how I was feeling or related to it. By writing songs about exactly how I felt I was creating a friend for me.”

Credit: Scott Kirkland/PictureGroup for/Shutterstock

Reflecting on Her Split

Rodrigo explained that the song “1 Steps Forward, 3 Steps Back” was written “the day before this guy broke up with me.”

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Why She Got Her Driver’s License

Reading a diary entry about the day that she got her driver’s license, Rodrigo wrote, “I realized part of the reason I wanted to get my license so bad was because of … this boy. I always felt bad about being too young to drive to see him. Too young to have any real freedom. I always felt like he should be with some girl who had those liberties.”

Credit: Shutterstock (3)

The Drama

Following the success of “Drivers License,” Rodrigo released the song “Déjà Vu,” but she was worried fans would think she was “playing into this drama, love triangle, let’s hate on other girls thing,” which she noted, “I just did not want to do that.”

The songstress explained that she “never writes any of my songs from that point of view ‘cause that’s not something that I feel.”

Credit: Interscope Geffen A&M

Looking Back

When writing “Brutal,” Rodrigo was at a point in her life when “I looked through what people said about me.”

She added, "I was still reeling from this heartbreak and all of the drama that went all around it. Finishing up the album. So much was happening. Everything was coming to a head.”