Listen: David Byrne Covers Olivia Rodrigo's 'drivers license' for 5th Anniversary

In celebration of the fifth anniversary of Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license," David Byrne, Tony Award-winning creator of Broadway's American Utopia and Here Lies Love, has covered the song with a brand-new reimagining, now available below.

This new version by Bryne is the first in a series of covers tied to the fifth anniversary of SOUR, Rodrigo’s debut album, which was released on May 21, 2021. Upon its initial release, “drivers license” went on to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. At 17, Rodrigo became the youngest artist in history to debut in the top spot, a record she holds to this day. 

Pressed on translucent ruby vinyl, the 7” vinyl features Byrne’s version of “drivers license” on Side A, while Side B captures the moment when Byrne joined her onstage for a performance of Talking Heads’ classic “burning down the house" during Rodrigo’s Governors Ball 2025 set. Pre-order HERE.

The Target Exclusive Tiny Vinyl, pressed on fruit punch color vinyl, features Rodrigo’s original album version of “drivers license” on Side A and her live performance of the song at Governors Ball on Side B. Pre-order HERE.

Since its release on January 8, 2021, “drivers license” has amassed over 4.7 billion combined global streams and has been certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA. The track spent its first eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – the longest-running No. 1 song by a solo artist at the time. “drivers license” ranks among the top 100 most-streamed songs of all time on Apple Music, among the top 10 most-streamed solo female songs in Spotify history and in the top 20 of Rolling Stone’s Best Female Songs of the Century.

“drivers license” was the lead single from SOUR, Rodrigo’s debut album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. In 2022, Rodrigo took home GRAMMY awards in three of the seven categories she was nominated in – Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album for SOUR and Best Pop Solo Performance for “drivers license.” SOUR is the first and only album in Spotify history to have four songs (including “drivers license”) each surpassing two billion streams.

GUTS, her 2023 follow-up album, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, coinciding with lead single “vampire” returning to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and Rodrigo’s No. 1 ranking on the Artist 100, thereby giving her a chart triple. The GUTS World Tour found Rodrigo playing 100 sold-out headline shows in 64 cities across more than 21 countries. Adding Rodrigo’s headline performances at 18 festivals around the world, the tour reached a total of 75 cities, 27 countries and five continents.

David Byrne’s recent works include his latest critically acclaimed album Who Is The Sky? (2025), Theater of the Mind, an immersive journey co-created by Byrne and writer Mala Gaonkar (Denver, 2022/23, Chicago 2026), SOCIAL! At The Park Avenue Armory, the Broadway production of David Byrne’s American Utopia (2019), as well as the Spike Lee-directed film version (2020), the launch of his Reasons to be Cheerful online magazine (2019) and the solo album American Utopia (2018). To date, Byrne has published five books, including How Music Works (2012). 

Olivia Rodrigo Photo Credit: CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. 

David Byrne Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez