Maintaining her momentum with her sixth album launch, 25-year-old Sabrina Carpenter, formerly a Disney teen sensation, has tastefully navigated her way to pop music stardom. After initiating her career with several albums that lacked notable success, the American singer seems to now be the most sought-after artist in the pop genre. Contributing factors to her rapid ascendency include shrewd advertising, her publicised affair with Irish actor Barry Keoghan, and being an opening act for Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour. Evidence of her skyrocketing fame can be seen in the anticipation and extraordinarily-high prices for her forthcoming global tour.
What differentiates Carpenter from the growing number of pop female singers is her distinctive charm of being a sensuous and humorously creative lyricist. Her latest album, ‘Short n’ Sweet’, has already produced two chart-topping singles, ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please’ (which is rumoured to be inspired by her relationship with Keoghan). There’s more to the album though, with each track revealing different facets of the singer’s personality. Carpenter’s approach to songwriting is simple; if something amuses her enough to provoke laughter, it warrants a place in her lyrics, irrespective of it being cheerful or melancholic.
The album predominantly showcases humour, overshadowing sorrow, as seen in ‘Sharpest Tool’, a comical criticism of an unsuspecting lover, and ‘Slim Pickins’, an enjoyable country-pop imitation demonstrating her wit and sarcasm. The risqué glam-pop single ‘Taste’ feeds into Carpenter’s renowned salacity; ‘Bed Chem’ sees her flirtatiously ponder on her physical attraction towards a charismatic guy with an attractive accent. ‘Dumb & Poetic’ and ‘Confidence’, on the other hand, are scathing criticisms targeted at an ex-lover.
This album might not be adventurous, innovative or daring. Carpenter seems comfortable with her peers adopting these traits. Regardless, Carpenter’s latest release is a light-hearted and typically delightful compilation of tracks, walking a fine line between enjoyable and forgettable – which to many, is precisely the nature of a successful pop album.