Former Disney actress and now rising pop singer, Sabrina Carpenter released her newest album “Short n’ Sweet” on August 23, 2024. This is Carpenter’s first album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard top 200 chart. The album’s strong focus on relationships and breakups allude to Carpenter’s most recent relationship with Barry Keoghan. Most songs give off a nonchalant or angry vibe about the ending of a relationship, while some show her feelings of heartbreak. Regardless, the songs are relatable, and the catchy lyrics and beat are sure to keep the album on repeat. 

1. “Taste”

Starting the album off strong with “Taste,”  the song is a lyrically interesting and catchy song. The song and music video focuses on Carpenter’s ex-boyfriend getting a new girl (played by Jenna Ortega), implying that Carpenter never really left because her presence is still there and is shown when she sings “Now I’m gone but you’re still laying next to me one degree of separation.” The sort of revenge vibe makes “Taste” a really enjoyable listen. 

        2.  “Please, Please, Please”

“Please, Please, Please” was the second promotional single released a little more than a month before the album. The song was also catchy and has been played many times over social media because people liked that the video included Carpenter’s boyfriend at the time, Keoghan. Throughout the song, she sings about hoping her boyfriend won’t do something that embarrasses her and sings “Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another, I beg you, don’t embarrass me.” This is a little ironic because Carpenter and Keoghan ended their relationship and people like to say the song lyrics came true, and he did end up embarrassing Carpenter. 

         3. “Good Graces”

Carpenter starts the song describing how nice she can be when being treated right by her partner. Throughout her lyrics, she explains how she’s not afraid to let go of someone who doesn’t give her the same respect she is willing to give. This is shown when she sings “You should stay in my good graces, or I’ll switch it up like that so fast.” The song is relatable, especially when Carpenter tries to give off an “I don’t care” mindset. 

         4. “Sharpest Tool” 

The story in “Sharpest Tool” shows Carpenter in a relationship, but the guy she is with doesn’t seem to be as invested as she is and they aren’t really on the same page. She talks about the guy giving mixed signals and he doesn’t seem to be going in the same direction in the relationship as Carpenter is and she’s confused. This is shown when she sings “We were going’ right, then you took a left.” 

         5. “Coincidence” 

During the song, Carpenter talks about her boyfriend’s actions and how his actions tell her that he is seeing another girl. Carpenter implies he is lying when she sings “The way you told me the truth minus seven percent.” Although the lyrics might imply that Carpenter is upset that her boyfriend is unloyal, she made the song to have an upbeat feeling which creates a contrast within the song. 

         6. “Bed Chem”

Carpenter sings about this boy with a “thick accent” and describes how they met. When Carpenter sings “We were both in a rush, we talked for a sec” she is trying to show that even though she and this guy just met briefly, they still connected well and she believes they have good chemistry. 

         7. “Espresso”

“Espresso,” the first single released to tease the album, was released four months before the album

debuted. The song won Song of the Year at the 2024 VMAs according to Rolling Stone. In the song, Carpenter sings about how the guys she’s been with become obsessed with her. She compares the guys’ liking towards her with drinking espresso because they both cause the guys to stay up late, whether it’s because they had too much caffeine or because they cannot stop thinking about her. This song quickly became popular among lots of fans and was played repeatedly on social media due to its catchy lyrics. The song’s lyrics easily got stuck in my head and foreshadowed the likeability of the rest of the songs.

         8. “Dumb & Poetic”

Carpenter’s lyrics talk about how guys try their best to come off as gentlemen and that they put on a personality they know girls will like. She continues to explain she can see right through their facades and won’t fall for it. Carpenter says “Just ’cause you talk like one doesn’t make you a man” meaning the guys’ true personality will eventually come out. I found the song interesting and liked how Carpenter used her experiences with guys to show how they have came off as manipulative to her and I liked the way she used the lyrics to show that. 

         9. “Slim Pickins”

In “Slim Pickins,” Carpenter talks about how she feels there are no good guys out there that fit her standards; she does not want to have to lower them to be happy in a relationship. Carpenter sings about how she settles for less “Just to get my [her] fixins” of being in a relationship. 

        10. “Juno”

Carpenter sings about her liking the guy she is dating. This is shown when she sings “You make me wanna make you fall in love.” The song is very up beat and joyful which fits her singing about being excited about the new guy she is seeing.

         11. “Lie to Girls”

In “Lie to Girls,” Carpenter sings about how guys do not need to lie to make themselves look good for girls to date them because a girl will lie to themselves as well. Her lyrics explain that girls will do almost anything to convince themselves that the red flags a guy has aren’t real so girls can convince themselves it is okay to date certain guys. This is shown when she sings “You don’t have to lie to girls, if they like you, they’ll just lie to themselves.”

         12. “Don’t Smile”

Carpenter sings about how she is feeling after a break up. Her lyrics describe how she  feels since her ex has a new girlfriend, shown when she sings “Oh, you’re supposed to think about me every time you hold her.” She explains how her friends try to get her to go out with them to get her spirits up, but she is too sad and declines. When her friends come home, she asks them to take her phone as a way to not be tempted to contact her ex because she needs to move on. When Carpenter sings “Don’t smile because it happened, baby, cry because it’s over.” it feels as if she is trying to say it is okay to be upset about a breakup or just in general and even she cannot just simply move past it. 

Carpenter showed her talent with this new album with the many hidden meanings in her lyrics as well as her album title. Carpenter said in an interview with Apple Music “I called it Short n’ Sweet for multiple reasons. It was not because I’m vertically challenged.”