By Ella Zinken
Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth studio album, titled Short n’ Sweet, was released on Friday, Aug. 23, and has already shot to the top of the charts. The album features 12 songs with a total runtime of 36 minutes, making it the perfect length for a quick listen on a car ride or while taking a walk. The album showcases Carpenter’s ability to extend her vocal range, drawing comparisons to stars like Ariana Grande while maintaining the fun and playful tone she is known for. Short n’ Sweet offers a refreshing mix of upbeat tracks and introspective ballads. The album’s production — done by Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Ian Kirkpatrick, and Jack Antonoff — is vibrant and peppy, just like the singer herself.
Though this is the singer’s sixth album, it is by far her most anticipated. Dubbed the “breakout pop star of summer 2024,” by Apple Music, Carpenter has certainly had a year to remember. The 25-year-old began gaining popularity as she opened for Taylor Swift’s historic Eras Tour and for the release of her single “Espresso,” which is now the seventh track on her album. “Espresso” hit streaming platforms in April, and when Carpenter played it for the first time at Coachella 2024, the performance quickly went viral. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart throughout the summer.
Short n’ Sweet features a variety of styles of music, ranging from country in her song “Slim Pickins” to a more emotional tone in “Dumb & Poetic.” The singer got everyone talking with the first song on the album titled “Taste” — which appears to reference her fling with singer Shawn Mendes and his rekindled romance with Camila Cabello — with the line “I know I’ve been known to share.” This line also hints at the feud between Carpenter and fellow Disney star Olivia Rodrigo, referenced in Carpenter’s song “because i liked a boy” and Rodrigo’s song “drivers license.”
Carpenter is also not afraid to share details of her love life in her music, with references to boyfriend Barry Keoghan in the song “Bed Chem,” singing about the night they met at Givenchy’s spring/summer fashion show, where Carpenter wore a sheer dress and describes wondering about the boy with the “white jacket and thick accent.”
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with all 12 songs debuting in the Hot 100, a new high for Carpenter. She will take the album on tour starting on Sept. 23 in Ohio and concluding in 2025 in Italy. Carpenter will perform a sold-out show at Tampa’s own Amalie Arena on Friday, Oct. 25 of this year.
Overall, Carpenter has created a no-skip album that can be enjoyed by fans of all ages, although it will most likely attract a teenage/20-year-old audience. As a 20-year-old fan of artists such as Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Olivia Rodrigo, my ranking would be as follows:
- “Good Graces”
- “Taste”
- “Bed Chem”
- “Juno”
- “Espresso”
- “Coincidence”
- “Sharpest Tool”
- “Please Please Please”
- “Lie to Girls”
- “Dumb & Poetic”
- “Don’t Smile”
- “Slim Pickens”