On Aug. 23, 2024, Sabrina Carpenter released “Short N’ Sweet” following the release of her singles “Please Please Please” and “Espresso.” “Espresso” was launched as the first single and immediately became the song of the summer. Some lyrics were so catchy that they even got stuck in the minds of singers such as Adele, Camila Cabello, and the Jonas Brothers.
“Please Please Please” also became a big hit after the release of it’s music video. Carpenter’s real-life love interest, Barry Keoghan, was cast in the video, which depicted a complicated romance following the sunshine vibes of the “Espresso” tracklist. At the end of the “Espresso” music video, Carpenter was arrested by the cops, and in “Please Please Please,” she is released, but not before following one of the other convicts (Keoghan’s character). It follows her and him as they navigate life without the confines of prison, with Carpenter leaving him for dead at the end of the video.
The album consists of 12 songs, including an unreleased song named “Busy Woman,” which is available for purchase on her website. Track nine, “Slim Pickins,” was released early at a fan premiere and leaked onto Instagram. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that they are in the Billboard Top 100 this week, with “Taste” being second, “Please Please Please” being third, and “Espresso” being fourth.
“Taste,” specifically, rushed to the top of the Billboard after the premiere of its horror-themed music video. Inspired by “Death Becomes Her,” “Addams Family Values,” “Ginger Snaps,” “Kill Bill,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and “Halloween Ends,” online outlets had some fun picking apart these iconic occult references. Considering that Carpenter toured with Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour during the Latin America leg, she must have learned from the easter egg master. Unsurprisingly, Carpenter used Swift’s skills to add movie nostalgia to her song. Jenna Ortega, who stars in the new “Beetlejuice” film, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” was the co-love interest in the music video. Their dynamic was not only dark, but hilarious, and once September hit, it created Halloween costume ideas for friends who wanted to gossip about their toxic exes.
Sabrina’s previous hit, “Nonsense,” included individual outros per each live event, which sparked just as much buzz for concert-goers who were eager to see what their outro would be. “Feather” echoed the same dark narrative of the “dumb blonde” stereotype, as well as some controversy around her personal life and the location of “Feather.” Fans can see how “Short N’ Sweet” echoes the smart and sassy nature of growing up, falling in love, and then falling out of it, but also laughing at the insanity of the darker moments. It also puts the focus on the man for the ways things went wrong, instead of pinning it on the same narratives that promoted Carpenter’s previous song “All Because I Liked A Boy.” She’s vulnerable but, autonomous in the way the songs show the complicated nature of fame, settling at times in relationships, and learning lessons about what they stand for, even before they’re over, about hypocrisy.
Carpenter will be kicking off her “Short N’ Sweet” tour on Sept. 23 in Columbus, Ohio. It is her first headline stadium tour. Fans are rooting for covers, such as the ones she included in the setlist at the Eras Tour, like ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” but her tour will likely be all her new album. She will have a show on Sept. 29 at Madison Square Garden, one on Sept. 30 at the Barclays Center in New York, and one in Philadelphia on Oct. 8.
It’s safe to say that Carpenter will need some espresso for her sold-out tour dates this fall, and we will also need some to merely keep up with her shows and social media influence. Hopefully, she will continue on her road of fame where she can preach what it means to be a female breaking expectations and setting the stage for the rest of us who aren’t working late as singers.
