Sabrina Carpenter was finally given her rightful place on the charts in 2024. She has been breaking records, becoming a world-renowned star, and selling out stadiums. Short n’ Sweet, her recently released sixth studio album, is her most successful to date. True to its name, it only has twelve songs, spanning thirty-six minutes and fifteen seconds, and three music videos.

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Taste:

Starting Short ‘n’ Sweet is the song “Taste,” one of three tracks on the album with a music video. This song is especially loved by Carpenters and non-fans alike because it features award-winning actress Jenna Ortega. This song is rumored to be about Carpenter’s second love triangle featuring Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes. Speculation starts when Carpenter sings the line “You’re wonderin’ why half his clothes went missin’ My body’s where they’re at,” hinting at Instagram posts where Carpenter wears Mendes’ clothes. This song contains a very catchy chorus with the line “You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you.” 

Author Rating: 8/10

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Please Please Please:

Next is “Please Please Please,” the single that Carpenter dropped on June 6 before it was added to the album. It is the second song on the album with a music video, starring boyfriend Barry Keoghan. This song is about how people disapprove of Carpenter’s new boyfriend as seen through the lyric, “If you wanna go be stupid, don’t do it in front of me.” This shows Carpenter’s love for him and her care for her image and public perception. She adds the lyric, “If you don’t wanna cry to my music, don’t make me hate you prolifically,” creating the perfect line for fans to scream as the song ends.

Author Rating: 7.5/10

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Good Graces:

This song shows how Carpenter is a desired person as seen through the lyric “Break my heart and I swear I’m movin’ on.” The song has a very catchy intro and outro which can not be written on this article to align with school rules. It is an upbeat song, which explains why it has 126, 397, 719 streams on Spotify at the time of writing, and why it is a fan favorite at her concerts. 

Author Rating: 8/10

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Sharpest Tool:

This is the first sad song on the Short n’ Sweet tracklist. This song explores how Carpenter was cheated on by her ex-boyfriend Shawn Mendes as seen through the line “always made sure the phone was faced down.” This shows how Mendes was most likely hiding texts from Camilla Cabello by placing the phone face down. It has a very upbeat chorus that contrasts from the sad intro which picks up by the pre-chorus.

Author Rating: 8/10

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Coincidence:

Similar to “Sharpest Tool,” this song explores how Shawn Mendes was cheating on Carpenter with Camilla Cabello with the lyric “your car drove itself from L.A to her thighs.” Carpenter also masterfully adds ,“Oh wow, you just broke up again,” hinting at the two times Mendes and Cabello broke up before getting back together. The bridge is a personal favorite of mine just because of how she sings the lyrics with a knowing smile. 

Author Rating: 10/10

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Bed Chem:

The sixth song on the album reveals how Carpenter met her current boyfriend, Barry Keoghan. The lyrics “I was in a sheer dress the day that we met” and “Who’s the cute boy in the white jacket and the thick accent” led to the speculation that they met at the Paris Fashion Week Givenchy Show in 2023. The spicy references made throughout the song contribute to Carpenter’s personality.

Author Rating: 7/10

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Espresso:

The record-breaking single, “Espresso,” skyrocketed Carpenter’s career and cemented herself as a household name. Released during early April, this song still holds a place on the Billboard Top 100 for 25 weeks at time of writing. The chorus is extremely catchy and generally iconic. The line “That’s that me espresso” is well loved and everyone just can’t stop singing it.

Author Rating: 9/10

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Dumb and Poetic:

The second of the sad songs on the record shows how Carpenter has realized that Shawn Mendes was quite flawed, shown with the lyric “Every self-help book you’ve already read it.” This line starts the song off to a sorrowful start. The ending chorus has one of the saddest lines in the album: “Just cause you leave like one doesn’t make you a man,” showing how Mendes attempted to have Carpenter beg for his return to make him feel more manly.

Author Rating: 7.5/10

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Slim Pickins:

This song explores how some people find relationships only function if they engage in sexual intercourse. She refers to them in this lyric: “If I can’t have the one I love, I guess its you that I’ll be kissing,” showing how some people only date someone for them to kiss, not someone that will be there for them. In the line, “A boy who’s nice that breathes,” Carpenter refers to the differences in the ways that men treat women between now and the 1950s.

Author Rating: 7/10

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Juno:

The most spicy song on the album, “Juno,” refers to Carpenter and her sexual endeavors. The line, “Oh I hear you knocking baby, come on up,” shows how Carpenter’s partner is coming over at night to see her, most likely to participate in intercourse. The bridge which cannot be shared on school-licensed material is loved by fans and is screamed when Carpenter instructs them to get on their knees to perform this section.

Author Rating: 10/10

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Lie To Girls:

This song explains that girls will most likely do anything to stay and get a boyfriend. The lyric, “Girls will cry and girls will lie and girls will do it ‘til they die for you,” portrays guilt to the listener and the desperation of a girl to keep the guy of her dreams.

Author Rating: 8/10

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Don’t Smile:

In my opinion, the best placement for the song, "Don’t Smile,” is placed at the bottom of the album, perfectly ending the tracklist. The lyric “Don’t smile because it happened, baby, cry because it’s over” brings home the album and relates back to Carpenter’s relationship with fans. Through her music and concerts, she encourages you to let out your feelings rather than having them bottled up.

Author Rating: 6.5/10

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‍Short ‘n’ Sweet is one of my favorite albums. I adore Sabrina Carpenter as a human and am a die-hard fan. I loved the excellent wordplay she used as a lyricist, and this album shows her personal growth as an artist. I give the songs on this album an average score of 8/10. I do hope you give this album a listen; it can be found wherever you listen to your music.