Sabrina Carpenter may be topping charts and stealing the spotlight now, but rewind a few years. Her rise to pop stardom had a very unexpected catalyst, an Olivia Rodrigo song she didn’t even sing in. Drivers License might’ve been Rodrigo’s heartbreak anthem, but it lowkey launched Carpenter into the fame stratosphere.
Fans dissected lyrics, pointed fingers, and suddenly, Carpenter became the most talked-about “blonde girl” in pop culture. No verse, no chorus, just pure internet-fueled drama, and like it or not, that wave of attention cracked open doors her music alone hadn’t at least, not yet.
Sabrina Carpenter blew up thanks to a song she wasn’t even in
Sabrina Carpenter may be working late, but it was Olivia Rodrigo who unknowingly clocked her in for fame. Back in 2021, Drivers License turned Rodrigo into a household name and low-key gave Carpenter a viral storyline she didn’t even sing a word in (via Vox).
Rodrigo’s lyric, “you’re probably with that blonde girl,” was enough to spark a social media frenzy. That “blonde girl” was what most signs pointed to Carpenter, who was rumored to be dating Joshua Bassett, Rodrigo’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star and maybe-ex.
While Drivers License soared, Carpenter clapped back with Skin, crooning, “Maybe blonde was the only rhyme.” It wasn’t a smash, but it planted the seed. Then came “Because I Liked a Boy”, where she fully leaned in: “Now I’m a homewrecker, I’m a sl*t…” And just like that, a pop persona was born.
Fast forward to Espresso and her new album Short n’ Sweet, and Carpenter’s now the tongue-in-cheek queen of cool-girl chaos. She even got Jenna Ortega to play her unhinged ex-bestie in the Taste video, a nod to Death Becomes Her, but make it bisexual.
What sets this apart from your typical pop feud? Rodrigo and Carpenter both flipped the drama into career rocket fuel. One made a heartbreak of her brand. The other was a glittery middle finger to the narrative.
The real winner was not Sharkboy. Just two pop stars writing chart-toppers about how dumb boys are.
Sabrina Carpenter’s done singing about that drama
Sabrina Carpenter isn’t losing sleep over Drivers License anymore. In her new Rolling Stone cover story, the Short n’ Sweet singer flat-out said, “I don’t think about it, ever.” That infamous Olivia Rodrigo love triangle was ancient history.
Back in 2021, she was rumored to be the blonde girl in Rodrigo’s breakout hit. Cue internet chaos. But Carpenter didn’t fold. Reflecting on how that moment shaped her resilience, she added,
All I knew was that it wasn’t going to stop me from doing what I loved, ever,” she told the publication. “That’s kind of how I’ve always felt. Sometimes, it’s about how you are able to be resilient. What that era taught me was to just trust myself, and trust that everything is going to work out the way it’s supposed to, and trust that relationships are put into your life for a reason. You might not see that in the moment, but you see it later.
Now riding high on chart-toppers like Please Please Please, Carpenter’s not here to play it safe (via Billboard). She just announced a new album, Man’s Best Friend, dropping August 29, barely a year after Short n’ Sweet.
Carpenter’s not rewriting the narrative; she’s living her own wig, wit, and all.
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