Less than a week after Olivia Rodrigo dropped her chart-topping debut single "drivers license," her rumored ex-boyfriend released what appears to be his fiery response.
Joshua Bassett dropped his new song "Lie Lie Lie" on Jan. 14, and it adds a new layer to the supposed love triangle between Joshua, Olivia and Sabrina Carpenter.
Fans have speculated that Joshua and Olivia, who co-star in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series together, previously dated and split sometime last year.
It didn't seem like a coincidence when Olivia, 17, announced earlier this month she was putting out her first single and, within hours, Joshua shared he was releasing "Lie Lie Lie."
In the heated new track, the 20 year old accuses a former flame of "lyin' through your teeth" while "actin' all so innocent." He sings, "So they told me all the things that you said/ Runnin' all over my name."
He later adds, "So you tellin' them it's all my fault/ Yeah, I'm the victim this time." The explosive song also reveals the speaker is completely over his ex, according to the lyrics "I've had enough of it this time" and "I kiss your ass goodbye."
In a press release, Joshua said he wrote "Lie Lie Lie" after he "found out someone close to me had been lying about me behind my back for a long time." The star continued, "It always sucks to hear that someone you thought you could trust would throw you under the bus when it benefits them. It happens to all of us, and I think all you can do is seek out people that build you up rather than tear you down."
If it is, in fact, about Olivia, it definitely sounds like their relationship is over for good.
Compared to "Lie Lie Lie," her song "drivers license" is much more forlorn and reflective. The actress sings, "And I know we weren't perfect, but I've never felt this way for no one/ And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone."
Online sleuths speculated the uber-popular ballad was about Joshua, thanks to the lyrics, "Guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me/ 'Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street," which hints at her ex being a musician.
Drama ensued when fans tried to uncover the mystery girl Olivia was referring to in the verse, "And you're probably with that blonde girl/ Who always made me doubt/ She's so much older than me/ She's everything I'm insecure about." The person who ticks all the boxes? Sabrina, 21, who hung out with Joshua in November and made TikTok videos with him.
However, we can't get too ahead of ourselves, because there's another very important piece of the puzzle. Though "Lie Lie Lie" was only just now released, Joshua actually wrote it all the way back in 2019. He shared a clip on Instagram of himself singing the bridge, pre-chorus and chorus on Nov. 7, 2019.
That means he didn't initially write it as a direct response to "drivers license." It's still unknown whether it was originally about Olivia a year ago, but that would raise the question of why he decided to release it now, amid rumors of their feud.
For perspective, Olivia penned "drivers license" in July 2020, when she shared a video of herself playing piano and singing an early version. She called the tune "vv close to my heart."
The next month, she revealed on TikTok she had experienced a "failed relationship," which inspired her to write the HSMTMTS song "All I Want."
Fast forward to this week when "drivers license" became an overnight sensation and hit No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes singles chart, Apple Music's Top 100 list and Spotify's Global and U.S. Song Debuts charts.
Olivia celebrated the moment by writing on Insta, "uhhhhhh so drivers license is the number one song in the world rn. never in my wildest dreams did I expect this. thank u guys so much for listening. I can't believe this is real life."
In an interview with Apple Music, she went into detail about the inspiration behind the tear-jerker. The Disney+ star explained she was "literally crying in my living room" before taking a drive and listening to sad music. "It kind of happened that way but it was really like natural and organic, like, very much me writing in the depth of my emotion and I think that's apparent," the breakout artist said.
Naturally, Taylor Swift helped her turn that frown upside down by praising the teen's songwriting skills. Olivia, a Swiftie, expressed how stunned she was that her song was charting next to Taylor's evermore album. The pop star commented, "I say that's my baby and I'm really proud."
Olivia wrote back, "thinking about legally changing my name to 'Taylor Swifts baby.'" We wouldn't blame her if she did!