Of all the viral moments to emerge from Sunday night’s Grammys, perhaps the most earth-shattering one took place off-camera.
A pop princess peace treaty, grainy fan videos caught a hug between Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter. The two women, both now major names in the music industry, emerged as two points of a notable love triangle in 2021 when Rodrigo’s smash hit “Drivers License” broke the drama wide open.
On the track, Rodrigo chronicled a painful breakup in which the third point of the love triangle − rumored to be actor and singer Joshua Bassett − left her for an older, “blonde girl” (rumored to be Carpenter).
Who did Olivia Rodrigo write ‘Drivers License’ about? Explaining the past Sabrina Carpenter drama
The single, and its accompanying album “Sour,” catapulted Rodrigo into super-stardom and Carpenter fast became the “other woman” in well-worn media narratives aimed at pitting the two against one another.
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In a seeming response to “Drivers License,” Carpenter released a single “Skin” with an accompanying video featuring her sitting atop a vintage Mercedes car similar to the one in the music video for “Drivers License.”
That wasn’t the only parallel. With lyrics like “You been telling your side / So I’ll be telling mine” and “Maybe ‘blonde’ was the only rhyme,” fans were quick to tie the two tracks together.
Bassett, who met Rodrigo on the set of their Disney+ show “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” did not emerge unscathed either, enduring an online battering from fans who took the 11-track project as an exposé of the teen star’s alleged behavior. On songs like “Traitor” and “Deja Vu,” Rodrigo channeled anger and heartbreak, casting doubt on a lover’s loyalty and hinting at an overlap between relationships, allegedly with her and Carpenter.
Carpenter then released an album of her own the following year, also rumored to be partially about Bassett. Taking a more earnest tone than her current “Short n Sweet” era, Carpenter’s 2022 project “Emails I Can’t Send” painted a more innocent picture of her and Bassett’s entanglement and lamented briefly being the internet’s most-hated woman.
“I got death threats filling up semi-trucks / tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice / all because I liked a boy,” she sings on “because i liked a boy,” one of the album’s early tracks calling herself “a rebound gettin’ ’round stealin’ from the young,” in an apparent reference to Rodrigo’s dig.
Three years later, Carpenter and Rodrigo have only become more famous, either woman penning new hit singles, this time about different men and life experiences – and cultivating die-hard fanbases with significant overlap in the process.
Their embrace at the Grammys signaled to some that there was no love lost.
Carpenter won big at the ceremony, taking home awards for best pop solo performance and best pop vocal album. She was nominated in four additional categories.
Rodrigo, who was not nominated but has won several Grammys herself, was a presenter at the show.
CORRECTION 2/4/25: Mercedes says that the GT63 S E Performance sedan has been on sale in the U.S. since the 2024 model year and arrived at dealerships in summer 2024. Mercedes says that the model year changeover for 2025 is currently underway, with the E Performance sedan gaining new optional MANUFAKTUR Signature paint choices for 2025.
UPDATE 2/3/25: The Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance sedan, originally set to reach the U.S. for the 2023 model year before being delayed to 2024, is now finally set to become available in the U.S. for the 2025 model year. The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 engine is still paired with a single electric motor. This story has been updated to reflect minor changes to specifications. Mercedes claims the sedan will go from zero to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and will top out at 197 mph. Pricing for the GT63 S E Performance will start at $200,100.
Lost in the horde of online commenters lamenting the replacement of the V-8 with a four-cylinder engine in the latest Mercedes-AMG C63 was a new nameplate, E Performance—and some of these new hybrid models do in fact still use V-8 engines. In the U.S., we’ve gotten the S63 super-limo so far, and this hybrid setup actually first appeared two years ago on the GT63 S E Performance. Originally slated to debut in the United States for 2023, the hybrid four-door has been delayed. When it finally does arrive stateside, however, it will sport a sharp new face, with Mercedes revealing a refreshed version for Europe.
When asked about the E Performance’s absence, Mercedes told us that it would reach the United States for the 2024 model year with more details to come as part of a future announcement. We have a strong feeling that the U.S.-bound E Performance will include the revised bodywork from the new European model.
The most obvious change is the grille, which now sits within a larger opening with a black intake below the chrome vertical strakes, drawing inspiration from the new Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe. The bumper looks cleaner, with thin air vents on the outside and a subtler lower grille opening. Mercedes also updated the features list, although it’s unclear how Mercedes will package U.S.-market models. There is now a standard electric sunroof and wireless phone charger for the rear seats, and the standard Burmester surround sound system incorporates Dolby Atmos spacial audio, like the new E-class and other updated Mercedes-Benz models.
The hybrid powertrain is unchanged, with the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 paired to an electric motor on the rear axle for a total of 831 horsepower and 1032 pound-feet of torque. That thrust is sent through a nine-speed automatic gearbox to all four wheels, with the electric motor powered by a 4.8-kWh battery. The E Performance also has air suspension as standard, and a new color, Opalite White Metallic, joins the lineup. Mercedes should reveal information about the U.S.-spec GT63 S E Performance in the coming months.
