Unless you have been living under a rock, I am sure you have heard of the Bardot look-alike it-girl that is Sabrina Carpenter. The ex-Disney actress, Pennsylvania raised singer sky-rocketed to stardom over the summer with her mega-hits “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please.” Sabrina Carpenter boasts through rhyming lines and playful sweetness about her love life being full of coffee-loving partners and reputation-threatening encounters. On Friday, August 23, Carpenter released her sixth studio album titled “Short ‘n Sweet.” The 25-year-old singer teamed up with New Jersey’s favorite producer, Jack Antonoff. If you have seen this name on every top album, this is because Antonoff collects pop music It-girls like Infinity Stones. Lana Del Ray, Gracie Abrams, Lorde, and Taylor Swift are just some of the music masters that Jack Anatnoff has produced.
Sabrina Carpenter has always been comical and innocently promiscuous in her songwriting through the years. One of her viral songs is called “Nonsense” which features an improvised outro that has consistently excited audiences across the world. This song is her internal dialogue directly unfiltered and raw. She is fun, young, and honest in everything she writes.
Her most recent project “Short ‘n Sweet” capitalizes on Carpenter’s experience navigating her world of fame, relationships, and the early 20s experience. Highlights of this album include track nine, “Slim Pickins.” This song marries Dolly Parton’s twang with the modern-day 20-something’s relationship issues. She emphasizes the struggle of never finding “the one” and romanticizing the heartthrobs of the past. She says “Since the good ones are deceased or taken…” she will just end up alone in this online loving culture. I love how she is so beautifully frustrated that she simply rhymes and riddles
this melody about wishing she could find the perfect boy. Carpenter seriously explains how her most recent boy doesn’t even know the difference between the trio of homophones, “there, their, and they are.” She is hilarious and honest, doing a great job at accurately explaining the current dating pool.
Sabrina Carpenter is highly adored for her catchy beats and witty lyrics. She has a sensitive side that nicely contradicts her more provocative facets. Carpenter highlights the dichotomy of her songwriting when she partners her flirtatious phrasing with her vulnerability. Track four, “Sharpest Tool,” talks about an ended relationship involving an unreliable partner. She navigates this relationship by accepting that her partner isn’t perfect and seeing past their faults. However, when she starts to give up parts of herself to this relationship, her partner becomes distracted. She phrases this unfortunate occurrence by singing “then a bird flies by and you forget.” While continuing to remain a couple, Carpenter says that she’ll just “waste another year on wonderin’ if that was casual.” They go on never talking about their issues or sorting things out. Ending in stress and resentment, her partner is still at the top of her mind despite the confusion and discomfort they brought upon her.
Sabrina Carpenter writes strong California hits and romanticizes the “good old days” of love. She is consistent in her efforts to speak to the 20-somethings who are experiencing love in its most saturated form. Carpenter is sitting at the top of the music charts and is unwavering in her determination to become a worldwide sensation. If you have the time this week to listen to some of her music, be sure to listen to it with your bestest of friends. An album about relationships calls for a night-in with your best friends and lots of fun! This pop album is perfect for everyone even if you don’t purposefully stream her music, you will be sure to hear Sabrina Carpenter’s new album anywhere and everywhere you go!
