Joshua Bassett Dropped A New Single ‘Lie Lie Lie’ — Is It A Response To Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’?

For those who are just getting on the Olivia Rodrigo fan train, and might not know some of the backstory that (maybe, possibly?) helped inspire her debut single “Drivers License,” buckle up. On the Disney+ show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Rodrigo plays Nini Salazar-Roberts alongside her co-star Joshua Bassett, who plays Ricky Bowen, and the two characters are dating on the show. As is often the case, life imitates art, and rumors that Olivia and Joshua were more than friends off camera have been circulating for a while.

However, even a cursory listen of “Drivers License” reveals that if lyrics are to be believed, things aren’t going so smoothly in Olivia’s love life. Rodrigo refers to an older, blonde girl in her song, and Bassett has since been rumored to be dating Sabrina Carpenter, who fits the bill. So that sets the stage for the IRL context of “Drivers License” — now, consider, that an hour after the release of “Drivers License” was announced, Bassett announced that his own new single, “Lie Lie Lie” would be out January 14.

Today the song dropped and though there aren’t a lot of specific references, it could very easily be a response to, say, a very sad song about a breakup being someone else’s fault! “So they told me all the things you said, running all over my name,” the song begins, and just gets juicier from there. Yesterday in an Instagram story Joshua explained the backstory of the song: “I wrote ‘Lie Lie Lie’ after I found out a friend had been lying about me behind my back for a long time,” he said. “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.”

Remember, this is all speculation, but so far, but it seems like the storyline tracks. Well, if this potential little pop drama isn’t a nice distraction from the political upheaval of this year, I don’t know what is. Check out Joshua’s video above and watch for more in this developing saga.

Joshua Bassett is a Warner Music artist. .