Sabrina Left Quite an Impression
Before she served us her “me espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter played the role of Maya Hart on Disney Channel’s “Girl Meets World,” for three seasons. Carpenter is only the latest Disney Channel alumni to grace our ears with chart topping hits.
While on the series, Carpenter was signed by Disney’s record label, Hollywood Records. Under which she released four albums between 2015 and 2019, none of which had a song enter the charts. Hollywood Records is known for manufacturing Disney’s child stars into pop phenomena, or at least attempting to. Past artists of the label often claim to have had limited creative control over their work due to the expectation of maintaining a kid friendly persona. This expectation often leads to failure once an artist's audience is old enough to no longer avoid an explicit warning.
Most of these artists go on to new labels once they have fulfilled their contract if they do not end up leaving music altogether. In Carpenter’s case, she announced her transition to Island Records in January 2021.
Since this transition Carpenter has released two albums “emails i can’t send,” and “Short n’ Sweet.” Released in 2022, “emails i can’t send,” peaked at #23 on the Billboard 200 and produced two top 10 hits. “Nonsense,” the biggest song on the album, gives a playful and sarcastic look into Carpenter’s sexual desires, a topic never sung about while under her previous label. The song started a new internet craze, “Nonsense” outros, where during live shows she would improv a dirty outro to the song. “Short n’ Sweet,” debuted at number one and has produced three top 10 singles, so far, since its August 2024 release.
On “Short n’ Sweet,” Carpenter uses a trick she only briefly touched in “Nonsense,” and that is sex appeal. Whether it is through her subtle lyrics or billboards in lingerie across Hollywood Boulevard, sexual references and imagery have defined this album, portraying herself in a more mature light. Promotion for the album was unlike anything her previous albums had received. Starting with her Coachella 2024 performance, Carpenter released and live debuted the lead single “Espresso,” at the festival. Originally described as a “little,” song quickly became the song of the summer, peaking at number three on Billboard Hot 100.
Following the immediate success of “Espresso,” Carpenter found herself booked and busy now headlining Outside Lands Music Festival and appearing as the musical guest on the season finale of “Saturday Night Live.” This rise in attention secured Carpenter her first number one song with “Please Please Please.” Due to this being her breakout year, Carpenter has been confirmed eligible to be nominated for best new artist at the upcoming Grammy awards, despite having released six albums. Carpenter herself has acknowledged “Short n’ Sweet,” as her second album, claiming she does not view those released through Hollywood Records as her own.
Do you want to give it a taste for yourself? “Short n’ Sweet,” Sabrina Carpenter’s first number one album can be purchased and streamed here.