Catapulted into controversy-induced fame in 2021, Sabrina Carpenter has held the spotlight and continued to shine.
Though she has always been prominent in Hollywood for her roles in Disney shows and Netflix movies, Carpenter’s passion for music shines the most in her career. Her success in the music industry has been long-awaited.
The scandals in 2021 — consisting of a hate train due to her affiliation with Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo’s heartbreak ballads with references to her — only served as the perfect opportunity for her to showcase her abilities.
As a result, her fifth album, emails i can’t send, was released to critical acclaim, perfectly balancing playful, bouncy tracks with raw, honest ones. It opened many doors for her, allowing her to open for Taylor Swift at the record-breaking Eras Tour. Now, in 2024, she has released Short N’ Sweet, fresh off of her winning streak—and it does not disappoint.
At thirty-six minutes with twelve songs, Short N’ Sweet is a phenomenal project, aesthetically, lyrically, and sonically. Carpenter returns with a sharp pen, expert vocals, and a clear vision for what she wanted for this album.
Her lead singles, “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” were instantly met with appreciation. With intoxicating melodies and stimulating music videos, the two were constantly being played on the radio and used in many different media trends.
Aside from these, the main tracks that stood out were “Lie To Girls,” “Don’t Smile,” and “Dumb & Poetic.” They are slow and contain some jazz and R&B influences, standing out amid the list of more pop-sounding songs.
Very reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s “False God,” “Don’t Smile” contains a play on words that alters the original saying “don’t cry because it happened, smile because it’s over” by stating “don’t smile because it happened, baby, cry because it’s over.” This song was just another example of how amazing Carpenter is at word play. Her lyrics tend to be very cheeky, with double meanings that are delightful to decode.
Overall, I would give this album an 8/10. While very strong, the songs tend to lean more on the playful side, lacking any real lyrical honesty and vulnerability, which would have taken it to a 10.
