Crisis by Joshua Bassett

Album: Crisis / Secret / Set Me Free (2021)

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Songfacts®:

Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo first met on the set of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series back in 2019. The pair allegedly began dating before splitting up in early 2020, and rumor has it Bassett moved on to Sabrina Carpenter. When Rodrigo blew up in early 2021 with her breakup anthem, "Drivers License," Bassett was not best pleased. Though she didn't name names, the consensus is the song is about her love triangle with Bassett and Carpenter. As Rodrigo portrayed him as "the bad guy" who dumped her, the actor had to endure the ensuing media storm. Here, Bassett gives his side of the story, accusing his ex of twisting the truth for profit.
"Crisis" is the first track of Joshua Bassett's EP Crisis / Secret / Set Me Free, three songs that address his past with Rodrigo. "I've been up, down, and everywhere in between," said the singer. "Each of these songs pinpoint a different moment in time, in my processing."
This is the most hard-hitting of the three tracks as Bassett charges his former girlfriend of messing with his life as a career move, and being the one who broke up with him.

Bassett starts of the song by implying it wasn't his choice to address his ill-fated relationship with Rodrigo.

My label said to never waste a crisis
And here I am, guitar in my hand, in the middle of one, hmm
And, honestly, I didn't wanna write this

After "Drivers License" broke the Spotify record for most streams of a song in a single week, Bassett's label wanted him to take advantage. Initially he was reluctant to do so, but after Rodrigo continued "fannin' the fire for the headlines" and he received death threats, the actor recognized he needed to stand up for himself. Bassett came up with this song, where he tells Rodrigo that by continuing to propagate her hit single, she is putting her career before the truth.

I can't help but wonder why you won't make it end
Guess you would never dare
You would never dare to waste a crisis
Bassett wrote the song with Derrick Southerland (Ingrid Andress' "More Hearts Than Mine" and "Lady Like") and its producer, Mikey Reaves (Brandon Lay's "Yada Yada Yada," Caylee Hammack's "Small Town Hypocrite").
Bassett is donating 100% of the earnings from "Crisis" to mental health organizations in perpetuity.

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