So many singers strive for a rise to stardom their entire lives — hoping for the one day their music finally lands a larger audience and they hit it big. For others, they’re lucky on the first try. From Olivia Rodrigo to Billie Eilish, keep reading to see the musicians who made it big after one song.
Who can forget when “driver’s license” was pretty much the only song on the radio after its release on January 8, 2021? Following its rise to the top of the charts, Olivia became an overnight sensation.
“The song I think came out about a week ago and it’s been the craziest week of my entire life. It’s funny how, like, everything has changed but also, like, nothing has changed at the same time,” Olivia revealed in an interview with the UK’s Big Top 40 in January 2021.
“I’m still doing the same thing that I always was,” she added. “It’s just like, all of these people are listening to my music and knowing who I am and hearing about what I have to say, which is just so surreal. I feel so grateful.”
Since her rise to fame, Olivia released one of the most streamed albums of all time, SOUR, won multiple Grammys and gone on her first tour.
“All of these people who I’ve looked up to since I was like, 11 years old are reaching out being like, ‘Oh, I love this song! This is so great!'” Olivia continued. “That’s just so beyond anything I could’ve ever dreamed of.”
Another musician who launched to stardom is Billie with her song “Ocean Eyes” on November 18, 2016.
“We put it on SoundCloud with a free download link next to it,” Billie told Teen Vogue in February 2017. “We had no intentions for it, really. But basically overnight a ton of people started hearing it and sharing it. Hillydilly, a music discovery website, found it and posted it and it just got bigger and bigger. It was really surreal. Then, Danny Ruckasin, who is now my manager, reached out to my brother and was like, “dude, this is going to get huge and I think you’re going to need help along the way. I want to help you guys.’ We were like, ‘that’s swag!'”
Scroll through the gallery below to see a list of musicians who hit it big after their first song.
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