Sabrina Carpenter Gets Silly and Genre-Hops in 'Short n' Sweet'
Yet another mainstream artist is going country, as Sabrina Carpenter brings in the banjos—and many other sounds—on her new album Short n’ Sweet. The pop star’s newest project comes after a meteoric rise to fame and two hit singles (“Espresso” and her first Billboard no. 1, “Please, Please, Please”). Her music videos are highly discussed, and her concerts make their rounds on TikTok, with many dubbing Carpenter the quirky and fun pop princess we’ve always needed.
Short n’ Sweet is a bit of a departure for the young artist. Carpenter, who has released five albums prior, seemed to be fully aligned in the pop sphere. While there were nods to other genres on her past projects, her albums were filled with pop beats and lyrics, seldom traversing genres or taking risks. With Short n’ Sweet, Carpenter takes a bit of a leap: She delves into 2000s pop, and at times, disco, showing she has a library of musical references. The former Disney Channel star’s album is current, quirky, and at times, stupid, in the best way possible. Here, two ELLE editors break down her latest release.
Initial Reactions
Samuel Maude: I’ve been on the Sabrina train for a second. I loved her last album, emails i can’t send, but this was more country than I was expecting. I had to wonder if she was just conforming with these times of country music taking over, or if this was genuinely what she wanted to be making right now. But, in an interview recently, she said this album almost feels like a self-titled album to her. It feels like who she really is, which I think is really fascinating.
Juliana Ukiomogbe: I was not on the Sabrina train at all until “Espresso.” I’m very late to the party, but I did listen to emails i can’t send after I listened to Short n’ Sweet. I really enjoyed it. Short n’ Sweet, coming after that, is an interesting iteration of her artistry.
Sam: This is her sixth album.
Juliana: Insane. Six is a big number.
Sam: Six is a big number. She’s such an interesting pop star, because she could have had a moment like this so many different times, but this is her moment now. I think it was the substantial success of “Feather” off the deluxe version of her last album, and then “Espresso” from this project propelling her to superstardom. She’s become this giant artist in a matter of minutes.
Cowboy Carpenter
Juliana: I didn’t realize how country-leaning she was until this project. Some of those country songs, I said, Ooh, not sure about these, babe.
Sam: You have “Good Graces” and “Espresso” that are almost purely pop songs, and then you have these heavily country-leaning tracks. Is this her Taylor Swift Red transition album but backwards, pop to country instead of country to pop? What’s next for her after this album? Is she going to continue to make country pop-leaning music, or is she going to full-send country? Only time will tell.
Juliana: It’s giving transition. She was doing a lot of genre-hopping. She was doing early 2000s pop, and she was doing her country western. In her PAPER Magazine story, she also mentioned Christina Aguilera being a huge influence on this album. Go girl, do your thing. Pay homage to those pop girlies.
Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift
Sam: Even though he only has credits on two of these tracks, Jack Antonoff is a heavy influence. So does Taylor Swift, whom Sabrina has a close relationship with. I feel like a big through-line in Taylor Swift’s music is the concept of revenge. I definitely felt like that was heavily present on this album.
Juliana: You could hear Taylor’s influence on “Dumb & Poetic.” It might just be me, but I caught it.
Sam: I think the Antonoff-ification of this new Taylor Swift squad is so interesting. There are ’80s synths everywhere on this album. If I wanted to become a pop star, I couldn’t make the music I want to make right now, because I couldn't work with these top producers. I could try to mimic their sounds, but nothing beats the real deal. Jack Antonoff does not need to work with Sabrina Carpenter. He’s getting his checks from Taylor, Lana, Lorde, and more. So, he must want to work with Sabrina, and I have to wonder if that’s Taylor’s influence. She’s becoming this huge mentor and seems to take that role very seriously. Sabrina, Gracie Abrams, and I think it’s going to happen with Maisie Peters. Once you’re in Taylor’s circle, it opens up your musical world and gives you access to the biggest producers. That said, it may also cause you to fall a bit in line with her sound, which I think we saw a bit on this album.
“Espresso” & “Bed Chem”
Sam: I think one of my favorite songs on this album is still “Espresso.” This was the summer of three things in pop music. Obviously, it was a Brat summer, with club songs taking over, and then, you have a pop songs that don’t really make sense but somehow work really well. Good examples include Kesha’s “Joyride” or JADE’s “Angel of My Dreams.” Then, you have a stupid little pop song. That’s “Espresso.” The lyrics are dumb, but it’s just what we needed. I think that she has that throughout the rest of this album. There are some other lyrics stupid-fun lyrics. She’s so good at embracing that and embracing the camp.
Juliana: “Bed Chem” also had those stupid little lyrics. When she’s like, “Where art thou? Why not uponeth me?” It’s like, yes, Shakespeare. She also described that song in her PAPER story as hot and unserious, which I think is a really good way to describe Sabrina as a whole. I think when she’s playing in that kind of quirkiness, she shines.
Sam: In terms of the whole album, I actually think “Espresso” was a little bit of a red herring. It feels a little out of place. She’s not the first artist this year who’s had a single that I feel like doesn’t represent the album. I didn’t think “yes, and?” fully represented Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine, even though I love that track. “1:59 (feat. Gunna)” did not feel like the rest of Normani’s DOPAMINE.
“Slim Pickins”
Sam: So, I do think it is my favorite song on the album. I remember us talking about this track in the office. She played it at the Grammy Museum, and I was nervous. I did not like then. But, listening to this version, I love some of the lyrics and felt like they were relatable to my gay ass, and likely to anyone who’s attracted to men. “A boy who’s jacked and kind / Can’t find his ass to save my life,” was particularly hard-hitting. At the end of this song, too, she says, “And since the Lord forgot my gay awakenin’,” I was like, but he remembered mine. We’re cursed, to be attracted to men.
Juliana: The lyrics on that song are fun. I love when she goes, “Since the good ones are deceased or taken / I’ll just keep on moanin’ and bitchin’.” I’m like, yes. I just did not like the twang to it, but I do enjoy the lyrics a lot.
Sam: I have a country soft spot in my heart. Growing up, my cousins had a family bluegrass band. There were five of them. They all played an instrument, The Duttons or Partridge Family vibes. Whenever they would come up and visit us, I would sing with them or play maracas with my cousin, Sophie. They would play a song called “Orange Blossom Special” that this reminded me of, because of the banjo. When I heard “Slim Pickins” and then these lyrics, and heard Sabrina dipping into a genre that is so often heteronormative, about God and country, or about the devil, I was gagged. It was just a fun turn on bluegrass and the American folk song.
Final Thoughts
Juliana: It’s called Short n’ Sweet. Do you think it should have been longer?
Sam: I was actually okay with it. I think 12 tracks feels good to me for an album length. None of the songs felt too short actually, even though a lot of them were two minutes
Juliana: I agree. Love the length. It wasn’t too long, wasn’t too short. And you get a little taste of everything, which I thought was cute.
Sam: Where do you think Sabrina is going next?
Juliana: I really hope she doesn’t lean more into country. Maybe I’m just being biased, but I don’t think it works for me.
Sam: Here’s my thing. I was at Tate McRae’s concert last night, and before her show when Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” came on, everyone was screaming the lyrics. I’ve listened to that song once or twice. I was really surprised. In New York, we don’t often see how this country embraces this more country-folk-Americana vibe. Yes, we’ve seen it in the charts, and with more and more artists making country music, but last night I was like, holy shit. These people know this Noah Kahan song word for word.
Juliana: “Please, Please, Please” being her first number one, and it being country coded is saying a lot. I really want her to stick to her silly pop songs, but I know she probably won’t.
Sam: Me too. Let’s be silly.
Juliana: Let’s be silly. She’s so good at it.
Sam: She’s this little jokey, quirky, horny girl. She literally says, “I’m so horny” on this album. She’s branded herself, which, like, gag. Slay. She’s the girl you want to get a beer with. She could run for President.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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