‘SNL’: Olivia Rodrigo Brings out the Emotion as Last Night’s Musical Guest

Olivia Rodrigo has the coveted Taylor Swift seal of approval and a firm grip on TikTok trends, so it made perfect sense for the singer to make her way to the Saturday Night Live stage as last night’s musical guest. The 18-year-old’s fame skyrocketed in recent months as the Internet obsessed over the behind-the-scenes “Drivers License” drama, name the real-life love triangle between herself, her High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costar Joshua Bassett, and actress/singer Sabrina Carpenter. Her first album, Sour, is set to release on Friday.

Rodrigo brought Gen Z pop to SNL with her two performances the first of which was, of course, “Drivers License.” Rodrigo spoke the universal language of romantic disappointment with each line, reminding fans and new converts why her first single was such a massive hit in the first place. (Her second performance was of fellow Sour track “good 4 u.”)

However, this wasn’t the first time SNL viewers heard the widely successful single. “Drivers License” was a central part of a skit from Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page’s episode in February as a group of grown men hilariously debate the emotional power of the song, highlighting how the musical stylings and dramatic took hold of the public consciousness and refused to let go.”DRIVERS LICENSE SNL SKETCH IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER IM SHAKING,” Rodrigo excitedly tweeted after the sketch aired. She also posted on her Instagram Story: “I’m losing my mind an snl sketch ab drivers license omg.”

According to Paper Mag, “Drivers License” was the fastest track to surpass 100 million streams in Spotify history. The publication spoke to Rodrigo and asked her about the runaway success of the single, to which she said, “It’s absolutely insane. What has happened has beat every single expectation I could have possibly had and is totally beyond my wildest dreams.”

Ultimately, Rodrigo credits the appeal of the song to its relatability. “I’ve gotten a ton of comments from people being like, ‘I’ve been married for 25 years, but this song still stings.’ And I think that’s incredible,” Rodrigo explained. “I think that that’s one of the purposes of music is to really transport you to a deep feeling, even if it might not be one that you’re feeling directly in your everyday life.”