Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” is a pop song that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. It won song of the year at the VMAs, a deserving and yet wholly unsurprising accolade: at just under three minutes, the song has tremendous appeal and has skyrocketed through the music charts since its release in the spring. It catapulted Sabrina Carpenter from a mid-level of success to a nearly astronomical one; as of October 2024, she’s one the top ten artists streamed on Spotify.
It’s easy to see why “Espresso” has had so much mainstream success. It’s light, fun, and catchy; the song doesn’t take itself too seriously — just look at the music video, which features Sabrina Carpenter dancing atop cars and sunbathing on a beach. The lyrics are nonsensical at times (she sings, “I know I Mountain Dew it for ya,” for example) yet irresistible nonetheless.
However, the appeal of Sabrina Carpenter’s songs goes beyond “Espresso.” She has created a brand, starting with her album Emails I Can’t Send, and that brand has found a home in the heart of the music industry and the public.
Let me explain.
Sabrina Carpenter is not new to the pop scene. She’s been writing, singing, and releasing songs for years now; her first single, “Can’t Blame A Girl For Trying,” came out in 2014, and her first album was released shortly afterwards. Although it received positive reviews and charted well, the album has largely been forgotten. Newer fans of the singer, ushered in by Carpenter’s sleek, more polished songs, may not even be aware of her previous albums.
She released Eyes Wide Open during her Disney Channel days, as one of the lead actresses on the show “Girl Meets World.” Then came EVOlution, a dance-pop album released when Carpenter was only seventeen. The latter of her first two albums achieved more commercial success; its single “Thumbs” charted highly, and it is still one of her most streamed songs.
But these albums on their own did little to cement Sabrina Carpenter’s status as a pop artist. Her style was so varied and inconsistent that it was difficult for her to stand out to listeners, and her work as an actress eclipsed any contributions she made to the music industry. Fans knew her first and foremost as an actress, not as a singer.
In her albums Singular: Act I and Singular: Act II, she tried to differentiate herself by basing her songs around a central theme of empowerment. In two of the most successful tracks off the albums — “Looking At Me” and “Sue Me” — Carpenter describes catching others’ attention with her actions and appearance. “They ain’t even looking at you, baby,” she sings, “they’re looking at me.” Embracing her individuality worked well in both these songs; she presented a side of herself that reflected a more mature persona than the one the public saw with her previous albums.
Still, the shift from a Disney Channel pop singer to a more independent, mature artist did not happen until later in her career. A seemingly unrelated event helped propel this change: Olivia Rodrigo’s release of her song “Driver’s License” in January 2021.
The song quickly became a breakout hit for Rodrigo, but its appeal extended beyond her song-writing skills. Fans immediately became obsessed with the drama that appeared to be the inspiration behind the song.
“Driver’s License” was widely speculated to be about Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter, with Olivia Rodrigo referencing a “blonde girl” her ex-boyfriend is dating who is “so much older than me/ She’s everything I’m insecure about.”
Though the rumors were never confirmed, they spread like wildfire. Internet trolls sent death threats to Carpenter and Bassett in ‘defense’ of Olivia Rodrigo. Both Sabrina Carpenter and Joshua Bassett have spoken out about the impact of the internet backlash on them; Carpenter in particular spun her heartbreak and pain into music, sharing her reaction in her album Emails I Can’t Send.
In “because i liked a boy,” Carpenter details the internet drama-fueled aftermath of falling in love with someone: “I’m a hot topic on your tongue/ I’m a rebound gettin’ ‘round, stealin’ from the young.” She continues, “Tell me who I am, guess I don’t got a choice/ All because I liked a boy.”
Beyond that song, the album received critical acclaim and marked a significant departure from Carpenter’s previous discography. It was her first album produced under Island Records, a label that has given Carpenter more creative control over her songs than the Disney-owned record label she used to work with, Hollywood Records.
Using this artistic license, Carpenter uses her music to show listeners a side of herself not fully understood through her earlier albums. Much as Taylor Swift has her various musical eras representing different periods in her life, Carpenter’s more recent music is distinctive and shows the world who she is.
Through her songs and music videos, her tours and stage presence, Carpenter has captured the hearts and souls of fans all over the world who relate to her experiences and love the way she is completely and unapologetically herself.
And it’s easy to see why — Carpenter’s songs are emotional yet hilarious, both overdramatic and self-aware. She explores themes of falling in love, breaking up, and everything in between in her songs, all while maintaining a calm, cool exterior. In the “Please Please Please” music video, Carpenter reacts to a boyfriend’s involvement in illicit activities with an eye roll and an ardent plea not to embarrass her.
The emotions in her songs are often undercut with sarcasm or sharp humor. In “emails i can’t send,” the heart-wrenching song Carpenter wrote about her father’s affair, she delivers a line at the end that ties the whole thing together: “I mean, as they say in Chicago/ ‘He had it coming.’”
This humor only adds to her appeal; she strikes a balance between the emotions and more self-aware side of her music with grace. Even in her songs that don’t have a direct joke or on-the-nose sarcasm, her self-awareness and refusal to take herself too seriously is evident and comes as a breath of fresh air for many listeners.
In “Good Graces,” for example, Carpenter flippantly sings, “Break my heart and I swear I’m movin’ on/ With your favorite athlete.” This confident diss in a song about warning her boyfriend not to take advantage of her kindness is hilarious and only enhances the song’s meaning. Her songs have been received exceedingly well for their humor and sly jokes concealing a deep range of emotions, and this lyric is emblematic of that.
Currently, Sabrina Carpenter is on tour for her album Short n’ Sweet. It is her fifth concert tour but her first arena tour, indicating her increasing popularity. Something Carpenter has become known for is her dynamic presence while touring for albums; through witty jokes and personalizing certain lyrics to the geographical location that she is in, she makes the concert a fun experience for the attendees.
“Whether it’s through the inside joke she slips into the intros and outros of her songs, her lyricism, or the tailor-made references she includes on her tour, Carpenter has a remarkable ability to make her audience feel seen,” Desara Zejnati ’25, a fan of the pop artist, said.
One song in particular that Sabrina Carpenter customized for her audience while on the Emails I Can’t Send tour was “Nonsense.” It became a tradition for her to change the outro to the song for each city she was touring in; her outro for Baltimore was, “I’m sorry that this outro was chaotic/ Don’t call your ex, Katie, they are toxic/ Baltimore, I think that you’re the hottest.”
While silly, these outros show that Carpenter truly cares about her fans and wants her concert to be a fun experience for them. Having a dynamic stage presence and a good relationship with one’s fans is important for artists, and having a background in acting only enhances one’s ability to cultivate the performance-based aspect of being a singer.
From her Disney Channel days to now, Carpenter’s remarkable versatility and ability to take something personal to her and make it touching to so many people across the globe through her songs has made her an artist to watch. Hard work pays off, and Carpenter’s been on the pop scene for years now, only making her ascent that much sweeter.
Through her songs and music videos, her tours and stage presence, Carpenter has captured the hearts and souls of fans all over the world who relate to her experiences and love the way she is completely and unapologetically herself.