Written by Liz Garcia & Halle Kory

Photography by Hallie Lueking

Modeled by Rachael Mueller, Rachel Schmieder, & Kait Patton

Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth studio album, “Short n’ Sweet,” proves that pop brilliance comes in small packages — even in Carpenter’s five foot tall stature.

The album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 on Sept. 3 and is her first album to debut within the top 10. The airy nu-disco track “Espresso” was the first single to be released from the record, and it became an instant summer hit. The witty lyrics — a Carpenter signature — are a large part of what made “Espresso” so intoxicating. The rhyming phrases “Is it that sweet? I guess so” and “That’s that me espresso” made for an instant earworm. 

“Please Please Please” — the record’s second single — was produced and co-written by Jack Antonoff, who frequently works with other pop icons such as Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Lana Del Rey. “Please Please Please” pairs shimmery synths and electric guitar with acoustics and dreamy vocals, whilst possessing a certain unexpected country twang. Her wry humor and one-liners are a true artform, with the most memorable line from the single being “I beg you don’t embarrass me, motherfucker.”

Joking about her miniature build, boldly claiming the stage with viral choreography, and risqué comments have rocketed Carpenter into a relatable icon for women, all while being a stunning beauty with golden locks and donning tiny skirts. 

Released on Aug. 23, “Taste” opens up the album with Carpenter’s signature confidence and dry humor. “Oh, I leave quite an impression/Five feet to be exact.” Through the sexual innuendos and sneer, she willingly gives herself a cheeky punch during the bridge, “And singin’ ‘bout it don’t mean I care. Yeah, I know I’ve been known to share.” In nearly every song, Carpenter teeters sensual self-confidence and satire, using humor to soften the blow of heartbreak. “Short ‘n Sweet” unabashedly tells the pains of finding authentic love in desperate times, intense, sensual love connections, and the distress of dating a traitorous, dimwitted man. 

Her impressive ability to add humor to treacherous topics is littered throughout the record.

The jab on the pop rock opening track even carries over to “Slim Pickins,” a song on the opposite guitar spectrum. Chicken-plucked strings carry a heavy country tone reminiscent of the “Sharpest Tool,” which appears earlier on the record. On “Slim Pickins,” Carpenter sends torpedoes at the song’s subject disguised behind playful attacks, “This boy doesn't even know the difference between there, their, and they are,” while simultaneously pointing out her own complacency, “If I can't have the one I love, I guess it's you that I'll be kissin'/Just to get my fixin’s.” Over a Dolly Parton-inspired tune, Carpenter keeps “moanin’ and bitchin’” about the current dating scene — the bar is on the ground.

With such dismal prospects, the record inevitably tackles infidelity. “Coincidence” is riddled with cheeky call-outs of all the ways Carpenter’s partner was seemingly cheating on her. “What a surprise/Your phone just died/Your car drove itself from LA to her thighs.” 

Alternatively, the record continues to possess a sultry, seductive energy. “Bed Chem” paints the perfect picture of a meet-cute that turned into a passionate connection. She goes on to not-so-subtly discuss their sexual chemistry, singing “How you pick me up, pull ‘em down, turn me ‘round. Oh, it just makes sense/How you talk so sweet when you’re doing bad things.” Throughout, she hints at her current Irish lover Barry Keoghan as the perfect blend of pop and R&B fuses their chemistry. “Who’s the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent.” 

Closing out the record is a track unrelated to Carpenter’s experiences. In an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, Carpenter said “Don’t Smile” was the only track on the album not written from her own experience — though she writes with the same tenderness. Spinning the sewn-on-a-pillow quote, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” on its head, the somber track laments over the subject moving on from the relationship, “Don't smile because it happened, baby, cry because it's over/Oh, you're supposed to think about me every time you hold her.” Carpenter begs to be missed: “I want you to miss me, I want you to miss me.” Her delicate yet powerful harmonies in the chorus are a choir of prayers longing to be wanted.  

Smiling through the pain, Carpenter’s most tender moments — which are scarce — reveal the troubles of her heartbreak. In just the few tracks not laced with witty jokes or sensual, upbeat pop synths, she yearns to be loved after the death of a relationship, criticizes self-acclaimed highbrow hipster men with an affinity for Leonard Cohen, and professes the tragedy of self-sabotaging in the name of love. “Short ‘n Sweet” exudes carnal confidence, even in the midst of sadness. 

Liz’s Top Three Favorites:

“Juno”

“Taste”

“Don’t Smile”

Halle’s Top Three Favorites:

“Sharpest Tool”

“Bed Chem”

“Don’t Smile”