- 2026-01-10
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MUSIC
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David Byrne Covers Olivia Rodrigo's “drivers license”
American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo has announced an upcoming series of reimagined tracks from her debut album “SOUR” to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its release.
She has recruited some of her favourite artists to reinterpret songs from the album.
The first release is a cover of her debut song “drivers license” by Scottish-American singer-songwriter David Byrne, best known as the frontman of American new wave band Talking Heads.
The song will appear on a special-edition 7-inch vinyl, which also includes a cover of Talking Heads' 1983 classic “Burning Down the House”, performed by David Byrne and Olivia Rodrigo at the 2025 Governors Ball.
The original version of the song was released in January 2021. The song reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK singles Chart.
She won Best Pop Solo Performance for the song at the 2022 Grammy Awards.- Olivia Rodrigo said, “SOUR is turning 5 years old this year! and to celebrate, I'm so excited to announce an upcoming series of reimagined SOUR covers from some of my favorite artists ever. We're starting off insanely strong with an incredible reworking of 'drivers license' from one of my all-time heroes, David Byrne. David is nothing short of a legend and I actually cried when I heard his version of this song. You can stream it now or pre order a 7 inch vinyl with his cover and our version of 'Burning Down The House' from Gov Ball. I'm stoked!! Go give it a listen.”
David Byrne said, “My new friend Olivia invited me to interpret her 1st single to be paired with a release of our live cover of Burning Down The House. I discovered that her song resonates (I changed a few words!) and is universal - we all have those feelings and have had that experience... I recorded this while on tour in Atlanta and Miami with the incredible musicians, singers and dancers who are with me. We all had a great time!” -
Before, David Byrne told The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon about Olivia Rodrigo, “I saw her show here at Madison Square Garden and met her. I'm a fan. And she stayed in touch. She said, 'Hey, wanna join me?' I did say, 'Hey, if you're in town for a couple days, maybe we can work out a little choreo.' I had to pinch myself and go, 'Yeah, I'm really doing this.'” - source : Apple Music
