Five–foot juggernaut Sabrina Carpenter is pop music’s new It Girl. The beachy rhythms “Espresso” and the glittering synths of “Please Please Please” were the sounds of 2024’s summer, and both grabbed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Their music videos have been successes in an age where videos seem less relevant than ever before—“Espresso” is summer fun given visual form, and “Please Please Please” features Barry Keoghan, who gives a fresh spin on the classic story of the bad boy in love. Replete with pieces of Ariana Grande’s sound, and sporting Taylor Swift’s seal of approval, Carpenter's new album Short n' Sweet delivers all the energy of her summer singles and then some.
Short n’ Sweet begins with “Taste,” a track that will certainly be compared to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu.” Like Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Carpenter’s track exclusively centers her ex–boyfriend's new girlfriend while chiding her for stealing her man, singing, “I bet you taste me when he’s kissing you.” The song’s larger than life music video confirms this, as Carpenter and her ex–boyfriend’s old flame spend about three minutes trading blows and throwing daggers just to leave their ex–boyfriend’s funeral laughing hand in hand.
“Taste” drips of the sexual rhythm and catchy fun that underpin both of Carpenter’s previous singles—and she knows how to choose a single. Like “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” “Taste” is incredibly true to her brand, with lyrics like “I leave quite an impression / Five feet to be exact,” and “You’re wondering why half his clothes went missing, my body’s where they’re at.” Her lyrics all contain sexual double entendres, vulnerable but not desperate. Each single also boasts a unique music video, equal parts beauty shots and narrative. She pokes fun at herself without feeling ridiculous or unsophisticated.
Carpenter has trapezed right off of the “other woman” accusations that accompanied her past feud with Joshua Bassett—Olivia Rodrigo in a way Ariana Grande, her sonic and aesthetic predecessor, was never allowed to. She almost soaks in the allegations with “Taste,” singing “I’ve been known to share.” That’s how all of her work feels: effortless and weightless. Carpenter’s musical career has skyrocketed in a few short months, which in pop culture terms feels like just a couple of minutes.
Other standout tracks include “Coincidence,” “Slim Pickins,” and “Juno.” “Coincidence” is a surefire karaoke hit, in which she sarcastically recounts all the ways her ex reuniting with his old girlfriend must just be a bizarre coincidence. “Oh what a surprise, your phone just died,” she muses. “Your car drove itself all the way from Palm Springs to her thighs!” “Slim Pickins” is a light country–inspired track, asking a timeless question: Where have all the good men gone? “Jesus, what’s a girl to do?” she asks the sky. “This boy doesn’t even know the difference between there, they’re, and they are. Yet he’s naked in my room.” The light fingerstyle guitar in the background makes it feel like a Kacey Musgraves track, and her candor about her love life make “Slim Pickins” feel rooted in Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn’s confessional songwriting. “Juno” sounds like the end credits track of your favorite high school coming of age movie, but its lyrical content is far from PG–13. True to the effortless flair of the album, she admits “I showed my friends, then we high-fived / Sorry if you feel objectified!”
Like Taylor Swift, Carpenter also values chart presence. Her track “Busy Woman”, added in the album's deluxe edition to boost her sales numbers against Travis Scott, is also infectious, with full production and a synth–driven dance pop melody. But Carpenter isn’t just an apprentice to Swift. “Bed Chem” will speak to Ariana Grande fans with its positions–esque vocals, proving again that despite Carpenter’s steadfast friendship with Taylor Swift, she remains a student of the Ariana Grande school of pop.
The album certainly isn’t perfect. Despite the song's cleverly woven vocal melodies, the guitars on "Bed Chem" are dry, and its chorus doesn’t have the same unique charisma and personality as the album’s standouts. The production on “Good Graces” is again dry, and feels premade rather than tailored to the song. With no catchy melody and an identical message to “Please Please Please,” the track just falls flat.
But even putting the music aside, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet is a branding triumph. As the singer flirts with A–list stardom and chart–topping success, it's hard to imagine a project that better captures the singer’s image: cute, clever, and forward. To cite “Juno,” she’s “so fucking horny” and not scared to admit it. All love, lace, and flirtatious zeal, Short n’ Sweet is Sabrina Carpenter in an album.
