Short n’ Sweet, by the former Girl Meets Worlds actress Sabrina Carpenter, has taken social media by storm. It was a very anticipated album, to say the least. One thing that caught her fans’ attention was the name Short n’ Sweet- they thought it came from Sabrina being famously short. However, when asked about it she cleared things up revealing the real reason for the name.

“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, ” – Sabrina Carpenter for Zane Low on Apple Music

Fans did not need much convincing to be excited about the album though as Espresso and Please, please, please both took TikTok by storm since their release in early 2024. Her first single from the album, Espresso saw so much success that there are currently multiple remixes of the song, each with titles that use a play of words on the coffee theme with the slowed-down version of the song titled  “ Espresso- Decaf Version”. The lyric from the song “That’s so me espresso” became a popular phrase used in the Spring of 2024 furthering the song’s popularity. Sabrina saw so much success that she even released a limited-edition espresso ice cream.

This first single released in 2024, as well as Nonsense from her album Emails I Can’t Send (2022) were riskier songs than the ones previously released by the singer and started breaking her away from the child actor persona, putting her into a new light as a more mature artist. The single started to trend on social media because of the catchy beat, her creative lyrics, and of course, her voice. A lot of people discovered her music during this time, which fueled her success in furthering herself away from being known for her time as Maya on the Disney Channel.

Carpenter also started opening for Taylor Swift for The  Eras Tour on the Latin America leg in August 2023. This, once again, introduced her to a new audience furthering her success. Following her performances at the Eras Tour she performed at Coachella, one of the biggest pop culture events with clips going viral of her performance there she dropped hints of her new songs with a poster in the crowd being held by YouTuber turned model Emma Chamberlin reading “Please, Please, Please play Espresso”. At the time fans thought nothing of it but later realized that was her hinting them to be ready for a new drop. She announced the Album and later dropped Please, Please, Please June 6th.

(@SCAnews on X)

Sabrina then announced her album on June 3rd via an Instagram post:

(@sabrinacarpenter on Instagram)

‘”Short n; Sweet” MY NEW ALBUM IS COMING OUT AUGUST 23!!!!”

The album left her fans speechless from the very first tracks with two songs, Taste, and Coincidence, which are said to be about singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes. The song Taste refers to Shawn’s on and off again relationship with former Fifth Harmony member Camila Cabello and how Camila’s getting back together with Shawn may have overlapped with Sabrina’s and Shawn’s relationship. At the time Sabrina and Shawn were being photographed together leaving Miley Cirisus’s album release party and later on she appeared wearing his sweater in an Instagram video as well as being spotted together taking a stroll in Los Angeles, California. However, shortly after, Shawn and Camila were also photographed very close together at a music festival. In the song Coincidence, Sabrina makes reference to Camila with the lyrics “She looks like the girl you said you outgrew”, referencing the pictures that came out of Shawn and Camila in Palm Springs, and alluding to the fact that he and Sabrina might have still been somewhat together at this time. She also sings the lyrics “Palm springs looks nice, but who’s by your side?” leaving fans dumbstruck as the singer has not made a statement about her brief time with Shawn.

However, this is not Sabrina’s first time making risky songs- she released Skin in 2021 and Because I Liked a Boy in 2022, both songs responding to the drama she found herself in with former Disney stars  Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo who starred in the Disney show High School Musical the Musical the Series. This led to some people coming to social media to accuse her of only knowing how to use drama to promote her music. Sabrina’s fans, however, came to her defense saying that the songs were her experience and her stories to tell.

Although hearing about this love triangle is very entertaining, it does not take away from it being a good album. It consists of other catchy tracks like Good Graces, Dumb and Poetic, (also said to be about Shawn),  Slim Pickings, and Don’t Smile, just to name a few. In total, there are 12 songs. Slim Pickings in particular is one her fans were excited to hear, as around July a fan uploaded a clip from one of her live listening parties. The video quickly caught traction as fans immediately loved the lyrics “Jesus what’s a girl to do? This boy doesn’t even know the difference between their, there, and they are”. The song argues every good guy is either in a relationship or dead, and immediately the sound went viral on TikTok, as it puts into words what every girl feels at some point in her life.

However, Sabrina might have just separated herself from this drama as she started dating actor Barry Keoghan in late 2023. Her song Please, Please, Please, about Keoghan, is a plea for him not to embarrass her in the public eye with his actions, one of the most viral lyrics from the song is “ Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another”, with Keoghan being featured as the main love interest in the music video, hard launching their relationship to the public eye.

The album came out on August 23rd with currently 57.3 million streams on Spotify and an 8.0/10 rating from the popular album rating platform Pitchfork, so it’s fair to say the album has been received well. This new “era”  of Sabrina, accompanied by a new aesthetic and sound, has been widely welcomed by her fans. With 12 tracks the album sends you through a trip of emotions, mostly leaving you speechless at the revealing nature of her songs.

Sabrina announced the Short n’ Sweet tour on July 13th starting in North America on September 23rd; fans could not be more excited to hear all the songs live with most of the tour dates being sold out.

(@Sabrinacarpenter on Instagram)

“THE SHORT N’ SWEET TOUR!!!!!!
in north america, with special guests @amaarae @wiffygriffy & @thedeclanmckenna“