It’s no secret Sabrina Carpenter has what it takes to stay in the spotlight.
Along with maintaining a prolific acting career, Carpenter signed a record deal with Hollywood Records at age fourteen. With the label, she released four studio albums, featuring charting tracks including “Why”, “Sue Me” and “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying”.
In 2021, Carpenter made the choice to switch labels, signing to Island Records in order to gain more creative control of her work.
“I was worried for a second that it wasn’t the fully confident pop record that fans who have been following me for a long time might be coming to my music for,” Carpenter said to Vogue Magazine in 2022, following the “Emails I Can’t Send” release. “I realized that there’s far more strength in vulnerability and insecurities, because they are the emotions that I think we’re all kind of scared to face.”
On the title track of the album, Carpenter recounts her father’s infidelity.
With lyrics like “Don’t make me cuss you out / Why’d you let me down? / Don’t say sorry now” the track is scolding and raw in a way Carpenter had never been before.
The release of “Emails I Can’t Send” set Sabrina Carpenter’s career apart from other pop artists and her past achievements. The album contained countless more viral moments, including “Nonsense” and “Feather”, which trended exponentially after Sabrina Carpenter began opening forTaylor Swift at The Eras Tour.
On April 11, 2024, Sabrina Carpenter released her viral surf-pop track “Espresso”, announcing it as the lead single off of her upcoming album “Short n’ Sweet”.
Peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, the standout track immediately became quintessential to her discography — and all eyes were on her.
In a 2024 interview with Variety, Carpenter details her relationship with her past work. “I personally feel a sense of separation from them,” Carpenter said. “It’s my second ‘big girl album’; it’s a companion but it’s not the same. When it comes to having full creative control and being a full-fledged adult, I would consider this a sophomore album.”
Carpenter’s use of vulnerable, yet confident writing shines on her newest release of “Short n’ Sweet”.
“Oh, I leave quite the impression / Five feet to be exact / You’re wondering why half his clothes went missing / My body’s where they’re at.”
Carpenter starts the album with a bold track titled “Taste”. Alongside the album release, Carpenter debuted the music video for “Taste” starring actress Jenna Ortega. On YouTube, the track has been labeled as #1 Trending for Music since its premiere on Aug. 23.
While the music video may feel reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s 2014 release of “Blank Space”, it is actually inspired by the Oscar-winning film “Death Becomes Her”.
In the music video, a jaded Sabrina Carpenter sneaks into her ex-boyfriends home with revenge in mind, only to find a decoy of his new lover laying next to him in bed. The video closes with the start of an unlikely friendship between the women.
Following “Taste” is the viral second single from the album, “Please Please Please”. The synth inspired track follows Carpenter begging her partner to prove rumors wrong and treat her right.
This track features some of the most iconic lyrics on the album, including, “I know I have good judgment, I know I have good taste / It’s funny and it’s ironic that only I feel that way.”
The next two tracks “Good Graces” and “Sharpest Tool” both feature repetitive post-choruses that are almost addictive to sing.
“Good Graces” was a standout track on the album. Coming from the perspective of a scorned lover, Carpenter warns a potential partner of boundaries she sets within a relationship.
The song feels like a Britney Spears and Ariana Grande track in one, with Carpenter ’s undeniable charm sprinkled throughout.
“‘Cause no one’s more amazing’ at turning’ loving’ into hatred / I won’t give a f**k about you”.
Track six on “Short n’ Sweet” is “Bed Chem”, a sensual pop track that feels reminiscent of an early 2000s song you’d hear on the radio.
On “Bed Chem”, Carpenter describes her fantasies about exploring chemistry felt with a newfound crush, alongside R&B synths.
“Are you free next week? / I bet we’d have really good bed chem.”
Is bubblegum pop not your thing?
Country, twee and folk lovers alike will adore the tracks “Coincidence” and “Slim Pickins”. Both songs have a campfire, singalong feel — different from anything Carpenter has done before.
After track seven, “Espresso,” the album seems to fall flat.
“Dumb & Poetic,” “Lie to Girls” and “Juno,” feel almost like “emails i can’t send” B-sides, and lack the personality that shined throughout the first few tracks.
Closing the album with the lo-fi inspired track “Don’t Smile”, Carpenter puts a twist on the common phrase, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
On the track, Carpenter asks a past lover to feel remorse and think of her fondly as she works through heartbreak.
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“Don’t smile because it happened, baby / Cry because it’s over / Oh, you’re supposed to think about me everytime you hold her.”
“I think as a songwriter I do romanticize,” Carpenter told Vogue in a 2022 interview. “But at the same time, those moments of innocence and humor are the moments that I find really special.”
Sabrina Carpenter is single handedly rewriting the “how-to” book on female pop stardom. With a mix of unapologetically feminine storytelling and visuals, “Short n’ Sweet” only further proves her artistic longevity.
