Sabrina Carpenter launched her new album, Short n’ Sweet, on August 23rd, 2024. Short n’ Sweet is a pop album with hints of other genres such as country, R&B, and disco. The album has twelve songs.
The album starts with a song called Taste. Taste is allegedly about Shawn Mendes, Sabrina’s ex, and his new girlfriend Camila Cabello. The chorus refers to tasting Sabrina’s lips when Camila is kissing Shawn and how Camila and Shawn’s relationship will never be as good as Sabrina and Shawn’s. This song even has a music video that refers to the 1992 movie Death Becomes Her. The music video shows Jenna Ortega’s character fighting Sabrina Carpenter with various weapons over a boy. The music video ends with Jenna’s character killing Sabrina, but it turns out it was not Sabrina, it was the boy they were fighting over. This music video provides a comedic backstory to the song and makes light of the dispute between Camila and Sabrina.
Unlike Taste, songs like Sharpest Tool, Lie to Girls, Dumb & Poetic, and Don’t Smile touch on serious issues. They contain deep lyrics put to a slower beat. These songs show a more relatable side of Sabrina and a glimpse into the less humorous side of her life.
Similar to Taste, Bad Chem, Slim Pickins, Espresso, Please, Please, Please, Coincidence, Good Graces, and Juno make light of terrible situations, staying upbeat and fun. Most make contemporary references and relate to Sabrina’s current dating life.
This mix of songs shows Sabrina’s versatility and provides music to fit everyone’s taste. My criteria for a good album are amazing lyrics and vocals, a strong beat, and relatability.
Sabrina’s voice shines in songs like Dumb & Poetic and Lie to Girls where she showcases her vocals. The mix of her strong vocals and the repetition of certain lyrics in these songs make the messages more poetic and hard-hitting.
The beats of Sabrina’s more exciting songs are steady and fun, providing music great for karaoke, dancing, or car rides with the windows down.
is great for older listeners who may relate to her relationship trouble. But Sabrina’s music, particularly the lyrics, is not necessarily child-friendly. As a teenage girl, I find Sabrina appropriate for my age group but I would recommend this album for younger children.
But would I recommend this album at all? Yes, but only for more mature audiences. I believe that teens would love this album’s showcase of Sabrina’s vocals and lyric-writing ability.
