On August 23rd, the "Espresso" singer released her 6th studio album titled "Short and Sweet," and I must say, this album is nothing short of sweet.
Sabrina Carpenter has had a massive outbreak in popularity all beginning at her live performances of her song "Nonsense" from 2022 album, "Emails I can't send." Carpenter's silly, raunchy, unique, and clever outros at her concerts made each show that much different, fun, and special. She captured people online through clips posted social media to see what fun rhymes and lines she would come up with for that specific city and show. Carpenter smartly chased popularity through the release of a deluxe album that featured a song called "Feather." This song, similar to "Nonsense," was also going viral for the live performance featuring sassy dance choreography that many viewers learned at home. Carpenter also opened for Taylor Swift at her Eras Tour, gaining even more traction and attention towards her songs and performances. "Nonsense" and "Feather" were both standout songs on her fifth album that had clever lyrics, a silly attitude, and a synth pop beat that was very catchy.
The singer leaned into this very successful style of hers by releasing the lead single to "Short and Sweet" called "Espresso."
Debuted the night before her 2024 Coachella set, "Espresso," was performed live for the very first time. Another viral performance was in the book for Carpenter. The second single she released became the song of the summer and it was called "Please Please Please". This song featured even more catchy lyricism with sarcastic humor that Carpenter does best. While both singles were widely successful, fans were noticing a bit of a gap in style between the two. It was questioned how these two songs could appear and sound on an album cohesively and logically.
Despite conversations of confusion and/or doubt, the release of the entire album bridged the gap between the two songs beautifully and represented Carpenter's artistry wonderfully. "Short n' Sweet" is Carpenter's first album that truly feels like a Sabrina Carpenter album as we know her today. She has found the medium of fun, funky, lyrical and intentional perfectly. She has truly captured her essence of sassy and smart. Carpenter encapsulates the attitude of a classic dumb blonde bombshell, however, her lyricism and musicality demonstrate a clever girlboss. Moreover, proving that she is nothing close to a dumb blonde.
Some noteworthy pop moments on the album include songs "Taste," "Good Graces," "Bed Chem," and "Juno." These songs have uplifting and catchy beats with such meaningful lyrics. Carpenter does these songs well. Neither lyrics nor music over-shine the other, allowing both aspects to be represented in a contrasting yet fascinating way.
"Juno"'s lyrics feature a willingness to turn into the greek goddess Juno, the goddess of marriage and childbirth--- for just the right guy. This expert allusion proves Carpenter's artistry to be much more than what meets the eye. "Bed Chem"'s second verse says "Said you're not in my timezone but you wanna be. Where art thou? Why not uponeth me? See it in my mind, fulfill the prophecy." These genius lyrics of word play and catchy melodies really make this a stand out song. The silliness and outrage of certain lyrics and language in this song provides so much humor that the young generation correlates and responds so well with. This generation is fans of memes, irony, and word play and therefore enjoys this side of Sabrina thoroughly. You could even say some of those lyrics were "Dumb & Poetic."
While Carpenter truly shines in her funky and modern upbeat songs, she also shows her true diverseness on an album with slower more lyrically emotional songs like "Sharpest Tool," "Dumb & Poetic," and "Lie to Girls." Her vulnerability and lyricism flourishes in both deep and humorous settings. Acoustic moments like "Dumb & Poetic" feature constant digs at a past lover while singing with deep feelings of pain and anger. On this song, she says "Just 'cause you leave like one, doesn't make you a man." This deep cut lyric with blatant honesty is a remarkably successful contrast to songs like "Good Graces," while still complimenting the overall tone and vibe of the album.
Carpenter's vulnerability in the song "Lie to Girls" is one of my favorite moments of the album. The singer is not afraid to take blame for lying to herself about the goodness and value of a man in order to keep him. This is a widely popular state of mind for girls to excuse a man's actions with their own false narrative which is why the song works so well in today's society. One of my favorite lines is "All of your best excuses, no they don't stand a chance against all the chances I give you". This line includes that fun and familiar wordplay we are used to from Sabrina, however, it also includes the raw honesty and heart that we enjoy just as much.
Some other standouts from the album include "Slim Pickens" and "Coincidence" which differ from most songs featured on the project quite a bit, however still feel apart of the art. These two songs feature a country twang and upbeat guitar rhythms. But as always, we still keep Carpenter's clever lyricism. "Slim Pickens" has the esense of a Megan Moroney type country song while also keeping energy and lyrics with many puns. "Coincidence" shares a bit more similarities with the acoustic and vulnerable songs, however, also includes a chorus of extra voices singing along to the melody with lots of 'la la la's, showing a bit more of that country genre aspect.
With all genres, emotions, themes, and types of songs on the album, Carpenter still manages to make it all make sense in an album that tells a story. No matter how different two songs sound from one another on the same project, she still manages both to sound like a 'Sabrina Carpenter' song. She is truly the next icon for a reason. Her lyrics, voice, and performance skills prove her to not just be a one trick pony, but rather, a diverse and timeless pop star. So, to make it short and sweet, I believe Carpenter's stardom is not just a pit stop because her lyrics and fun energy will never be outgrown by the young generation who will always appreciate humor and emotion together. So now at every table of musical geniuses and iconic stars, you can always save a seat for Ms. Sabrina Carpenter because she is here to stay.
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