"DRIVERS LICENSE" BLEW UP so quickly it rocketed Olivia Rodrigo out of a starring role in Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and into the rare air of chart-topping singer-songwriter on the first attempt. This doesn't usually happen. Graduating from the junior division takes years of fine-tuning. A No. 1 single eluded Miley Cyrus prior to "Wrecking Ball, Selena Gomez got there a decade into her career with "Lose You to Love Me," and Ariana Grande wouldn't take the crown until "Thank U, Next." The ubiquity of Rodrigo's 2021 debut album, Sour, is a uniquely 2020s phenomenon: a byproduct of the power of social media to spread trends like aerosols and a classic case of music connecting with the public off the strength of its unvarnished emotion. With TikTok as the accelerant, "Drivers License" and "Good 4 U" drifted across demographics, and what hooked people was their agonizing honesty, righteous rage, and convincing delivery. Having grown up on Taylor Swift, Rodrigo used her upper register like a weapon the same way "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" drilled its point into your head. Sour offered massive hooks and dynamic tension-the frustration released in the choruses of "Good" and "Brutal," the patient crescendos and bridges in "License" and "Deja Vu"-that suggested even greater depth on the horizon.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Trapped in Time
A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.
Polyphonic City
A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.
The Pluck of the Irish
Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"
Houston's on Houston
The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.
These Jeans Made Me Gay
The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Deli Meat Is Rotten