When I first heard of Sabrina Carpenter, I could only think that Taylor Swift had another clone, taking over TikTok with her catchy lyrics and blonde hair. I never found her songs very appealing when listening to the radio, but they were short and catchy, leaving the lyrics stuck in my head for hours. Over the last month of summer break, there were more and more headlines about her in newspapers, magazines and radio stations. On Instagram, every five Reels featured a backing track of one of her songs — typically either “Please Please Please” or “Espresso.”
On Aug. 23, Ms. Carpenter released her newest album, “Short n’ Sweet,” featuring 36 minutes and 12 songs of Ms. Carpenter’s latest work. The album features popular songs such as “Please Please Please,” which topped Billboard’s charts for five weeks and was nominated as song of the summer. For the week of Sept. 7, three of Ms. Carpenter’s songs from “Short n’ Sweet” are ranked 2, 3 and 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list.
“Short n’ Sweet” is not only successful but has a song for everyone. When I first started listening to it, I found myself enjoying “Please Please Please” with its upbeat melodic arrangement and tendency to relate to artists such as Lana Del Rey with its smooth vocals. The song initially went big on social media platforms due to its familiar rhythm. For country fans, “Coincidence” and “Slim Pickins” shine out with their guitar backgrounds and soft lyrics, giving the songs a warm feeling.
Ms. Carpenter does a great job expressing her amazing vocal range throughout the album and closes it out with “Don’t Smile,” which features a quiet piano opening and a very club-feeling melody showcasing soft lyrics and a quiet drum beat in the background. The song takes on the popular topic of sad romance with a different approach. With its repeating theme, the song cements itself as the closer of the album, solidifying it as a whole as it incorporates themes of other songs into it, making it one big mixing pot.
Overall, my opinion has changed. From my thoughts of Sabrina Carpenter being a Taylor Swift clone, I have come to enjoy her music, which has a touch of everything: some romance here and some heartbreak there. She is a generational talent who will continue to grow exponentially, and with every album, the music will get better.
