Aug. 23, Sabrina Carpenter amplified her already-growing popularity with the release of her album “Short n’ Sweet”. After Carpenter built momentum with her hit singles “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please”, “Short n’ Sweet” proved to be nothing short of a smashing success as the album skyrocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
“Short n’ Sweet” features 12 songs, bouncing between bright, poppy tunes and dreamy, solemn melodies. Throughout the album, Carpenter showcases her duality by meshing her signature raunchy comedy with deep-cutting emotion.
The first track of the album, “Taste”, is an upbeat song where Carpenter coyly conveys a smug message to her ex’s current girlfriend. This danceable opening tune energizes and prepares the audience for the rest of the album’s vibrant energy.
“Taste” introduces a common theme heard throughout the album — Sabrina Carpenter is no-nonsense, inescapable and the best you’ll ever have. Tracks like “Good Graces” and “Espresso” share this motif with lyrics like “Cause no one’s more amazing at turnin’ lovin’ into hatred; ”, and “Say you can’t sleep; Baby I know; That’s that me espresso”.
Carpenter makes it clear that she is confident and unbothered with snappy, catchy tracks like these, but occasionally lets her guard down to display that behind the facade, sometimes she can relate to desperation. Songs like “Sharpest Tool” and “Dumb & Poetic” display a vulnerable wistfulness and disappointment over a relationship turning sour.
With these songs, Carpenter leads the audience behind the established confident curtain and allows listeners to hear her experiences with longing, loss, abandonment and being replaced. Lyrics such as “We never talk it through, how you guilt tripped me to open up to you,” and “You crashed the car and abandoned the wreckage” add a refreshing balance to the album, urging listeners to connect to Carpenter’s words on a deeper level than some of the more upbeat songs may offer.
The self-aware, melancholy lyrics and somber melody of “Lie to Girls” make the song stand out as one of the most relatable and moving tracks on Carpenter’s album. She reaches out to her female audience with the delicate chorus “You don’t have to lie to girls; if they like you they’ll just lie to themselves” by drawing upon the common experience of ignoring red flags for the sake of preserving a relationship.
While Carpenter’s emotional vulnerability was needed on this album, the most defining trait of “Short n’ Sweet” is its playful and unapologetic raunchiness. Carpenter characteristically exaggerates her sexuality for comedic effect, specifically in the songs “Juno” and “Bed Chem”.
“Juno” features a quick rhythm and witty, risqué lyrics relating to the 2007 film about a young girl (Juno) who gets pregnant. Some of “Juno”’s most memorable lyrics include “If you love me right then who knows; I might let you make me Juno” and most notably, “Adore me; Hold me and explore me; I’m so f—king horny”.
“Bed Chem” spotlights some of these same racy characteristics with silly innuendo like “Come right on me; I mean camaraderie;… Where art thou? Why not uponeth me?”. The song hooks listeners with its 80s-esque synthesizer and catchy tune.
These spunky, tongue-in-cheek lyrics showcase Carpenter’s famous ability to not take herself too seriously and to create a comedic album while also including real, raw emotion and displaying a true talent for songwriting. This duality is what makes the album such an undeniable hit. Carpenter proves with “Short n’ Sweet”’s immediate success that a healthy blend of goofy and vulnerable (and also a good dirty joke every once in a while) is good for the soul.
