Summary
- Olivia Rodrigo's latest single "bad idea right?" is speculated to be a sequel to her hit song "Drivers Licence" and explores the aftermath of her relationship with Joshua Bassett.
- Fans believe that Sabrina Carpenter played a role in the breakup of Rodrigo and Bassett, as hinted in the lyrics of Rodrigo's songs and Carpenter's own single "Skin."
- The internet thinks that "bad idea right?" is about Joshua Bassett, with users drawing conclusions from easter eggs in Olivia's TikTok videos and merchandise.
Move over Taylor Swift, because singer and actress Olivia Rodrigo seems to be a contender for the music industry pop princess throne. With a talent for writing catchy songs that revolve around heartache, along with sprinkling her lyrics and videos with easter eggs, she's carving out her own place in the pop music realm.
After the huge success of her debut album "Sour," which birthed hits like "Drivers Licence" and "Good 4 U," her latest single and accompanying music video is titled "bad idea right?"
Interestingly, a lot of fans believe that this new single is like a sequel to "Drivers Licence." The speculation arises from the fact that this new release explores the aftermath of Olivia Rodrigo's well-known ex-boyfriend Joshua Bassett.
In a manner similar to the dedicated fans of Taylor Swift, the online pop culture community is already analyzing the verses of the new single to unveil the truth behind the lyrics of the song. Is "bad idea right?" based on Olivia Rodrigo's failed relationship with Joshua Bassett?
Olivia Rodrigo's Relationship With Joshua Bassett Began On The Set Of High School Musical
Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett are rumored to have sparked a real-life romance on the set of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series back in early 2019. It was speculated that Olivia, then 16-years old, and Joshua, then 18 years old, first met as their on-screen personas, Nini and Ricky.
Showrunner Tim Federle presented the duo with an opportunity to compose an original song for the series. A collaboration between Olivia and Joshua was born in the form of the song "Just For a Moment." It is said that the pair continued to grow even closer after collaborating on the fan-favorite track.
"I think we understood each other. It was really neat how well we really did work creatively together," Joshua shared with the Los Angeles Times.
Joshua went on further about their collaboration, "every single time, I would change it to something else that was specific to her and I, and getting her reaction out of it was the best thing in the world," Joshua reflected.
Olivia, too, was clearly sentimental about their work together. When speaking on her experiences with writing a song with Joshua, she said: "That one made me cry because I just remembered sharing those memories with him. I love him so much. He's my best friend … It was like I wasn't acting."
Did Sabrina Carpenter Get In Between Olivia Rodrigo And Joshua Bassett's Relationship?
Fans heavily speculate that Sabrina Carpenter played a big role in the breakup of Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett. In January 2021, when Rodrigo's first song, "Driver's License," went viral, rumors about possible drama involving Rodrigo, Bassett, and Carpenter became widespread on the internet.
Sharp-eyed fans quickly noticed a subtle change in the lyrics of Rodrigo's song. In one part, she replaced "brunette" with "blonde" in a verse from her 2020 preview track. This tweak seemed to point towards Sabrina Carpenter: "And you're probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt / She's everything I'm insecure about."
Rodrigo's song carries a message of longing and betrayal: "I just can't imagine how you could be so OK now that I'm gone / Guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me." While there's no official confirmation, many fans suspect that Rodrigo and Bassett were a couple in 2020.
Adding more layers to the story, both Bassett and Carpenter released their own songs, sparking speculation that they might have been sources of inspiration for the now super hit song "Driver's License."
Bassett's song "Lie, Lie, Lie," released in January 2021, came just a week after Rodrigo's track gained massive popularity on social media. Reflecting on his creation, Bassett shared on Instagram Story, "I wrote 'Lie, Lie, Lie' after I found out a friend had been lying about me behind my back for a long time. It always sucks to hear that someone you thought you could trust would throw you under the bus when it benefits them."
In February 2021, Carpenter entered the scene with her single "Skin," which seems to touch on the drama between her and Rodrigo. The lyrics include lines like
"Maybe you didn't mean it / Maybe blonde was the only rhyme," and a direct reference to Rodrigo with "Don't drive yourself insane."
The Internet Thinks That Olivia Rodrigo's Single "Bad Idea Right?" Is About Ex-Boyfriend Joshua Bassett
Online pop culture communities swung into action when Olivia dropped her single "Bad Idea Right." Many believes that it was a musical ode to her former flame, Joshua Bassett.
In the music video, we find Olivia processing her post-breakup broken heart at a house party where the idea of reconnecting with her ex becomes an irresistible thought, but her circle of friends are quick to wave red flags. She doesn't heed their warning and goes out into the rain, hitching rides on a pickup truck and a bus, determined to reach his hotel room.
The lyrics of the single finds Rodrigo's desire to rekindle flames with an ex-lover. Her chorus echoes, "Yes, I know that he's my ex / But can't two people reconnect? / I only see him as a friend / The biggest lie I ever said."
“Right here with all my friends I stand / But your new address is in my hand / We've moved on, it's all been said / Yet your presence messes with my head.”
“And I told my friends I was out cold / But kept mum on where, in his stronghold.” / “Meeting you tonight / It might be a terrible idea, right? / Meeting you tonight / Ah, let's just do it.”
Olivia's new single mirrors the allure of an ill-advised, yet irresistible night tangled with an ex. In her own words, it's a playful melody that unexpectedly evolved into something more. "‘bad idea right?’ started as a joke about reconnecting with an ex-boyfriend, but the punchline became a real tune," Olivia revealed.
Internet sleuths have already drawn conclusions that the song is written about Joshua Basset. TikTok's users dubbed the track "Drivers License: Part 2." Their reasoning lies in an interesting easter egg: a text overlay in one of Olivia's TikTok videos linked her Instagram Story image of a house party invitation to the very address featured on her driver's license in the merchandise for the original "Driver's License" hit.
However, at the time of this writing, the singer has not confirmed nor denied these rumors.
