The first time Sabrina Carpenter played Short n’ Sweet for fans, it was at a Spotify-hosted listening party in Los Angeles the day before the album dropped. The response? “I think in the moment they were still in shock about what they were hearing,” Carpenter tells Vogue.
We hardly need to tell you that Carpenter has had an astonishing year, enjoying her first number one hit with “Please Please Please” and the glow of a viral pop sensation with “Espresso.” If there were any doubts that Short n’ Sweet, her sixth studio album, could live up to its lead singles, they were quickly squashed with “Taste,” the record’s guitar-driven first track, which arrived with an instantly iconic visual costarring Jenna Ortega.
The release of Short n’ Sweet served as an apt conclusion to what has undeniably been the summer of Sabrina—and the perfect runway for her nationwide tour this fall. But ahead of that, Carpenter spoke to Vogue about the “terrifying” experience of playing new songs for fans, the stiff competition for song of the summer this year, and being part of the new pop vanguard.
Vogue: When you see crazy stats associated with your music—like, that songs from Short n’ Sweet completely dominated Spotify’s global top 10 debut chart—what goes through your mind?
Sabrina Carpenter: What’s overwhelming in the best way possible is that you work so long to make a project that you care so much about. Numbers, to me, don’t really feel real—they don’t make me feel happy, sad, or any emotion like music does. But it is something that the people around me in my life are like, “This many people are watching” or “This many people are listening.” It’s a beautiful thing. Spotify’s been such a great partner, and they helped me set up the first time any fans got to listen to the album, and that was a terrifying yet super-exciting experience for me. They put so much love into the event and made sure all the girls and boys had the best time. There were so many things to do with the album—everybody had kiss tattoos on their shoulders. That, to me, has been special to watch—for people to embrace the universe I’ve been building for the last couple of years. For them to enjoy the music has been really beautiful, and I’m so grateful.
When you’re at an event where you’re unveiling your music to people for the very first time, how aware are you of the initial reactions? Are you looking at them?
For the most part, it was so exciting to see how everybody had completely different reactions and favorite songs. I built the album as a music lover, based on the fact that I love so many different genres. And what I hope for when people listen to the album is that they find those songs that they love and need, whether sonically, lyrically, or emotionally. But that [Spotify] event was honestly a little dance party, which was really exciting. I think in the moment they were still in shock about what they were hearing and if they were hearing it right or not—they couldn’t read the lyrics until it all came out, so they were going off of what they heard. Now a lot of them are probably like, “It’s changed since the first time I heard it!” which is always really interesting for me.
One interesting thing about music now is that the fans are more in control than ever before. Is there anything fans have gravitated toward that surprised you?
I don’t want to speak too soon because I love to see the lives that songs take on their own. But there were one or two songs that I’ve always loved, and you just never really know going into it. Sometimes, in my mind, I think maybe a song is too long. But that’s usually never the issue with my fans; they beg for songs to be longer, and I try constantly to make them shorter. But with this one, there was one in particular that was received really well, and I’m excited to see if there are other songs that, over time, feel like something that changes with the seasons. I feel like seasons are a huge part of it, which I’ve only really focused on in the last few years. But there are times of the year when people really need songs that sound a certain way, and there’s a few on this record that I think, going into autumn, randomly, are going to feel really, really nice. It wasn’t supposed to just be a summer album; it’s something that feels happy yet emotional.
Speaking of, “Espresso” is widely regarded as the song of the summer. How does something like that feel to you?
The competition is stiff this year. There’s just so much good music coming out, so the fact that I put “Espresso” out in April and people are still considering it the song of the summer…. You don’t get an award for something like this, it’s something you just know in your soul. So it’s very, very sweet, and I’m so happy that everybody has given it life and longevity through clever memes and all the things I’ve seen. It’s just been exciting to watch.
We’re at a really exciting moment in music right now, with so many female artists popping off. What has it been like to be a part of that?
What’s cool now is that it feels like, with my peers, we’re just having fun, and I hate to sound cliché, but we’re being ourselves. Even right now, I feel like a lot of my personality has been infused in my music that wouldn’t have made sense to people, really, two or three years ago. The jokes land a bit better. It really is just divine timing, and I feel that with everything. I feel just so happy, in the corniest way you can possibly imagine, to see other girls who have been working so hard for such a long time get so recognized in the way they all deserve to be.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.