Sabrina Carpenter’s rise to pop stardom is sort of an anomaly, growing up a Disney star her singing and acting abilities were always activated with her solo music career starting back in 2014. 10 years later she’s broken through mainstream and is surpassing billboard records with her singles “Espresso” - coined song of the summer - and the catchy “Please Please Please” her forward message to her current lover, begging him not to embarrass her if they were to ever breakup. 

Carpenter’s music prior to her latest anticipated album Short n Sweet was lacking in strong concept. Songs like “Sue Me” and “Nonsense” were scratching the surface of hits but never making the mark, while they are catchy and vivacious, they simply emulate Ariana Grande reject tracks. 

Carpenter was inserted in the middle of Olivia Rodrigo’s relationship drama with Joshua Bassett amongst Rodrigo’s record breaking 2021 debut “Sour” in which she’s rumored to refer to Carpenter on songs like “driver’s license” and “deja vu” as “that blonde girl” with whom her ex has moved on with. This era definitely put some negative tension on Sabrina Carpenter’s career painting her as “the other woman”. Following Rodrigo’s “Sour”, Carpenter released “emails I can’t send” some would say this album was her explanation of the Rodrigo-Bassett drama she was put in the crosshairs of, which did not leave as significant an impression as Rodrigo’s narrative did on “Sour”. 

Despite all that she’s been through in the past, 2024 is Sabrina Carpenter’s year. Opening for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour - with their friendship budding - this has opened a new world for the Disney alum’s mainstream career. Working with Jack Antonoff (Producer for Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, etc) on “Short n Sweet” - she offers the audience a refreshing 80s pop influenced album that’s cheeky, glamorous and fun. The pop star finally embraces her perky Barbie aesthetic and runs with it. 

Releasing the album with a new music video of the track “Taste” alongside actress Jenna Ortega, it’s satirically gory and steamy with a quick shot of the two kissing after trying to kill each other over the same guy (“I heard you're back together and if that's true you’ll just have to taste me when he's kissin' you”). Similarly, the music video for her single “Please Please Please” she enlists “Saltburn” actor and boyfriend, Barry Keough, to tell an equally satirical tale of trying to keep her criminal boyfriend in check, begging him not to make a fool of her. 

Carpenter creatively infuses satire to encapsulate the feelings of a pop star going through major heartbreak and change. The album glides over ABBA and disco inspired synth and tongue in cheek lyrics.

In “Good Graces” she informs her lover that it’s not that complicated to stay in her good graces but if “you do something sus kiss my cute ass bye” - an extension of the message she relays on “Please Please Please”. “Sharpest Tool” and “Coincidence” are soft pop songs referencing her man cheating on her with his ex - similar to the theme of “taste” - with a style matching Gracie Abrams  - “we never talk about how you found god at your ex’s house (Sharpest Tool) “This week your holding space for her tongue in your mouth (Coincidence).” 

On the sexy “Bed Chem” she details a steamy imaginative sexcapade with a “cute boy with the white jacket and thick accent” most likely referring to her current boyfriend Barry Keough. The pop singer feels more freely explorative on this album when it comes to playful sexual innuendo. On “Juno” (a reference to the 2007 film) she keeps ears perked with sexually proactive and cheeky lyrics “hold me and explore me I’m so fucking horny”. On “Slim Pickins” the pop singer brings out her folksy country influence singing over a banjo - it’s a bluesy track about how her dating life has proven that it’s slim pickings due to the fact that most of the guys she’s been with turn out to be assholes. A common theme on “Short n Sweet”  is poking fun at this idea of the perfect guy - “This boy doesn’t even know the difference between "there," "their" and "they are”… a boy who’s nice that breathes I swear he’s nowhere to be seen.” On “Dumb & Poetic” she confesses to being attracted to the smart-ass aesthetic boy who’s read every self help book and jacks off to Leonard Cohen lyrics, but still can’t seem to find his way to healthily communicating with a woman - “fuck with my head like it’s some kind of fetish”. She delves deeper into this theme of being deceived by men on the slow emotional jam “Lie To Girls” - where she admits that girls typically give into this toxic cycle of lying to themselves that a guy is good for them when they know deep down they are not -  “You don't have to lie to girls / If they like you, they'll just lie to themselves.” Closing the album is “Don’t Smile” a spacey slow R&B infused track similar to the style of Sade and Raveena - the chorus “don’t smile because its happened, cry because it’s over” means the opposite of the original saying - proposing that she regrets the relationship and lost sight of the good parts of it. 

 Short n Sweet debuts a new era of success for Sabrina Carpenter. It’s filled with juicy caveats, lessons on heartbreak, bold and humorous lyrics, and full circle moments for the pop star. It’s a wonderful album, showcasing some of Sabrina Carpenter's best work and finally cementing her name in mainstream pop. 

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