Sabrina Carpenter performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 12, 2024. Photo credit: Christina House/Los Angeles Times via TNS
Even if not all music lovers are familiar with pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s earlier music, there is no doubt that the singles “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please” have been blaring from their stereos more than once in the past few months.
Now she’s done it again. Carpenter’s latest album, “Short n’ Sweet,” which includes the two record-breaking singles plus 10 other pop hits, is full of her iconic, frivolous and often ribald lyricism, which has already made quite an impression since its release on Friday.
The pop star, who has been repeatedly compared to Polly Pocket due to his small stature and doll-like facial features, has already decided to invoke the legend in the first line of his sixth studio album.
In the cheeky lyric on the album’s first off-track, “Taste,” Carpenter sings, “Oh, I make quite an impression, five feet to be exact,” the first of a series of non-serious phrases that have given listeners pause since they first pressed play on Friday.
It’s safe to say that Carpenter proves once again that the best things do indeed come in small packages, although her lyrics suggest she disagrees with that view in her personal life – take “missing all the things he’s missing, God knows he isn’t living large” from “Slim Pickins,” for example. You’ll just have to listen for yourself.
“Juno” – the album’s tenth track – is possibly one of Carpenter’s raunchiest songs to date. If you’re familiar with the 2007 comedy “Juno,” a coming-of-age story about a pregnant teenager, even the track’s title leaves little to the imagination.
The chorus, “I know you want my touch for life. If you really love me, who knows? Maybe I’ll let you turn me into Juno,” left me speechless the first time I heard it. If there’s one thing about Carpenter, it’s that she doesn’t believe in subtle lyricism.
For those who are unclear about the meaning of the song or don’t know its namesake, the following lyrics, “One of me is sweet, but is two so?” will surely answer any remaining questions.
While Short n’ Sweet is chock-full of hilarious one-liners—my personal favorite is the clever wordplay in “Bed Chem,” in which she sings, “Come right on me, I mean camaraderie”—Carpenter herself is neither a one-note writer nor a one-note performer, and the record’s many more serious songs prove that.
“Sharpest Tool,” “Dumb and Poetic,” “Lie to Girls,” and “Don’t Smile” offer insight into Carpenter’s experiences with toxic relationships.
The chorus of “Sharpest Tool” flows seamlessly, weaving words into an optimistic sound juxtaposed with heartbreaking honesty: “We went right, then you turned left and left me a lot of crap to think about. Guess I’ll waste another year wondering if I’m an idiot if that was casual.”
The bridge of “Lie to Girls” is one of the most heartbreaking on the album, with Carpenter exclaiming, “Girls will lie and girls will cry and girls will do it until they die for you,” something that is unfortunately all too familiar to many female listeners.
The release of an album – especially by a young woman from the pop world – does not take place without an analysis of the artist’s private life and relationships.
“Taste,” which includes a hilarious music video starring actress Jenna Ortega, alludes to Carpenter’s experiences with a man who is unable to keep his hands off his ex, and who Carpenter has to “taste” with every kiss.
Many fans associate this with the time when Carpenter was dating singer Shawn Mendes in early 2023; the affair ultimately did not last long, as he was seen at the Coachella festival with his ex-girlfriend Camila Cabello just a few months later.
Mendes and Cabello quickly split up, something Carpenter references in “Coincidence” with the playful lyric, “Your car drove from LA to her thighs. Palm Springs looks nice, but who’s by your side?”
Carpenter isn’t known for shying away from being overtly confident. In “Taste,” she comes out and sings, “I know I’m known for sharing,” which many fans are speculating is a humorous throwback to her extremely public love triangle with Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo in 2021.
Carpenter even went so far as to include her rumored current boyfriend, Irish actor Barry Keoghan, in the music video for “Please, Please, Please,” released on June 6, while jokingly threatening him not to embarrass her with the lyrics and video.
At a time when many celebrities shy away from dramatic media coverage, Carpenter brings a refreshing, casually serious energy to her music that pop culture didn’t realize was missing until she arrived on the scene.
“Please, Please, Please” isn’t the only Keoghan reference on the album. On the R&B-inspired track “Bed Chem,” she also sings, “Who’s the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent?” Carpenter fans online are hilariously referring to the song as one of the many “ovulation songs” on Short n’ Sweet.
There are also hints of inspiration from other pop icons on the album: many fans have compared “Good Graces” to Ariana Grande’s “Positions” era and “Coincidence” to Harry Styles’ “Canyon Moon.”
Although many of the songs are pure pop with a hint of R&B, Carpenter also incorporates some country sounds, most notably on the amusing and extremely relatable “Slim Pickins,” in which she emphasizes how hard it is to find a good guy because they’re all “dead or taken,” accompanied by a banjo-heavy, Dolly Parton-esque sound.
Overall, Short n’ Sweet has all the ingredients needed for album of the year: humor, impressive vocals, incredible lyricism, varied sounds, and most importantly, it’s teeming with nods to Carpenter’s utterly lovable and hilarious personality.
