American pop singer Sabrina Carpenter released her sixth studio album on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. After weeks of teasing the new release entitled “Short n’ Sweet,” fans excitedly devoured the 12 songs. Two of which, “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” were released earlier this year, totaling 36 minutes of listening time for the whole album. Everything from the meaning behind the album’s title to the deep lyrics to the music videos made this album unforgettable.
When we analyze an album, its title is one of the first things that sticks out. Many believed the title, “Short n’ Sweet” was a nod to Carpenter’s height, being that she is 4 ’11. In an interview with Apple Music; however, Carpenter explained the real meaning behind the title: “I called it Short n’ Sweet for multiple reasons. It was not because I’m vertically challenged. It was really like I thought about some of these relationships and how some of them were the shortest I’ve ever had and they affected me the most.”
Carpenter is not new to writing songs about relationships, including both her good and bad experiences with love. This album is no different, with many of her songs and lyrics being about toxic boyfriends and their bad behavior. She delivers it in known Carpenter fashion with cheerful melodies and a happy tone in her voice, allowing the stark contrast to showcase her unique talent of writing what many call “sparkly pop-rock.”
The album peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 album chart, making it her highest-charting and most popular to date. I listened to the album in its entirety and agree with the majority of listeners that this is definitely my new favorite by her. “Espresso” was stuck in my head for weeks after it was first released in April, and I’m confident these new songs won’t be any different.
After listening to the songs, I ranked them all and decided that my top three were “Taste,” “Juno,” and “Good Graces” respectively. “Taste” was, in my opinion, the most iconic out of all of the album’s songs. “You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissing you” is such a petty line but I loved it. The music video for the song was also very entertaining to watch. It depicted Carpenter and well-known actress Jenna Ortega fighting each other over a shared ex, taking heavy inspiration from various famous horror movies (most notably the 1992 comedy “Death Becomes Her.”) Everything from the gore to the twist ending had me laughing and gasping at the display of jealousy between the two.
“Juno” was the cutest of all of the songs and is definitely for the romantics. “You make me wanna make you fall in love” is a cute line and delivered in a way that makes it so catchy, that it hasn’t left my head.
Lastly, “Good Graces” is the song I feel best encapsulates the whole album. It is really tuneful and has countless memorable lines: “Don’t mistake my nice for naive,” “Boy it’s not that complicated,” and “No one’s more amazing at turnin’ lovin’ into hatred.” The whole song is about calling out the men who think they can be rude and telling them she won’t tolerate their behavior.
If you haven’t heard “Short n’ Sweet” yet, I definitely recommend giving it a listen. I think the album did a phenomenal job at delivering catchy lyrics with deep meanings, and I felt that I was, indeed, smiling when I finished listening instead of crying (that was a reference to Carpenter’s song “Don’t Smile.”)
