With 12 songs, and running just over 34 minutes, Sabrina Carpenter’s new album, Short n’ Sweet, has a very fitting title. Carpenter released her sixth studio album on August 23rd as summer came to a close.
The album title also references the height of the former Disney Channel star. Carpenter, who stands five feet tall, starred in Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World. Carpenter’s start on Disney Channel helped jump-start her career. With Disney, she released her debut single, “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying,” in 2014. Since then, she has continued releasing music, including “emails i can’t send” in 2022. One track, “because i liked a boy,” was believed to be about her speculated past relationship with singer and former Disney Star Joshua Basset receiving a lot of attention from the media.
Following Carpenter’s singles off of the new album, “Espresso,” and “Please, Please, Please,” Short n’ Sweet was highly anticipated. After eight weeks at number one on the Billboard Global Excluding the United States, most people couldn’t seem to get the chorus of “Espresso” out of their heads. “Espresso,” which was released in April, was followed up in June with, “Please, Please, Please,” which topped the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excluding the United States charts, becoming Carpenter’s first number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album, though mostly filled with upbeat, ‘classic’ pop songs — tracks such as “Lie to Girls,” “Dumb and Poetic,” and “Don’t Smile” — also offer listeners slower pop ballads. “Sharpest Tool,” “Coincidence,” and “Slim Pickins,” have country and folk influences, with string instruments at the forefront of the instrumentals.
“My favorite song on the album is ‘Sharpest Tool,’ because the chorus is so good and the lyrics are very clever,” stated senior Karenna Seltman. “Her voice is maturing,” noted senior Fernando Castro, when comparing her new album to her last release. “I think I enjoyed her previous album a little more,” added Castro. “Her older music just connected with me more. She was very vulnerable in her last album and I felt like I could relate to her in many ways.”
“The whole album has the same vibe to it, which I think is important,” said Seltman. The album deals with topics of heartbreak, love, and self-confidence, which is relatable to a lot of girls and young women. The album has variety and creative lyrics, but ultimately feels like a traditional pop album. So, do you think the album lives up to its name?
