Rising pop star and ex-Disney actress, Sabrina Carpenter, released her sixth studio album on August 23, 2024. The new album, “Short n’ Sweet,” led the young musician to her first #1 on the Billboard 200, placing her among the ranks of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Carpenter’s album even created “Short n’ Sweet Fall,” a trend following up “Brat Summer,” named after the popular album,“Brat”, released earlier this year by Charli XCX. In late September, she will begin her fifth overall tour for the new album, with multiple special guests including Amaarae and Griff.
The album showcases a distinct blend of pop and R&B rhythm and vibe. All 12 songs released feature a catchy melody and a vibrant, upbeat rhythm, perfectly complementing Carpenter’s vocals. Her songs are a flirty and humorous version of a position she’s been in over the past two years. Lyrically, her music contains self-discovery and a youthful playfulness that encapsulates Carpenter’s personality and perfectly blends the new album with the rest of her discography. The dark humor and naive outlook her music emanates is what seems to entice her audience, including the different “Nonsense” outro she creates every time she sings it. “Espresso,” a single on the album, now has over 1.2 billion streams and won a Moon Man for “Song of the Year” at the VMAs, due to its clever comparison of Sabrina to a caffeine addiction. Teenage girls around the world connect with her music and bubbly personality.
“Short n’ Sweet” bounces around from downcast and heartbroken to high-energy and exciting, with tracks like “Don’t Smile” and “Taste.” My personal favorite song on the album is “Sharpest Tool,” a song pertaining to a man lacking intelligence within his actions and words towards her. My favorite music is something I find relatable, like this song. It explains the feelings behind a confusing and rough situation many teenage girls struggle with. However, Carpenter also adds perspective and knowledge that many teenagers don’t have. A song that did really well lyrically with her listeners was “Slim Pickins,” a song poking fun at men’s lack of grammar skills. This is shown with her line, “This boy doesn’t even know the difference between their, there, and they are.” The best part of the new album and the rest of her music is the diverse experiences she writes about, meaning there’s a song for everyone to relate to and appreciate.
Sabrina Carpenter’s rise to fame has been slow, even though she has put out multiple albums with hit songs like “Thumbs” and “Sue Me.” Due to the release of the new album, “Short n’ Sweet,” I can only imagine her monthly listeners will increase majorly, she will continue to win awards, and she will become one of the biggest pop stars of the new generation.
5/5 Stars
