Sabrina Carpenter is not new to music, but this past summer, she seemed to skyrocket in popularity. She achieved fifteen songs on the Billboard Top 100, three of which made it into the top 10, and her single “Please, Please, Please” secured the number one spot. Most recently, she received multiple nominations at the Video Music Awards, taking home Song of the Year for her hit single “Espresso.” The majority of her popularity stems from the recent release of her sixth studio album, “Short n’ Sweet,” which she began releasing singles from earlier this year. This album may have given her the recognition that she deserves, but her success in the music industry has been a long time coming.
In 2014, at just age 14, Carpenter signed a five-album contract with the Disney-owned music label Hollywood Records, which also coincided with her starring in the hit Disney Channel original show “Girl Meets World” as Maya Hart. While appearing in over 70 episodes of the show and a multitude of other acting projects, she continued pursuing a music career, releasing a total of four studio albums under Hollywood Records.
Although they didn’t receive the same level of recognition as her latest release, they didn’t go unnoticed. Her 2015 debut album, “Eyes Wide Open,” debuted at number 43 on the Billboard 200. In 2016, she released her sophomore album, “Evolution,” that debuted at 28. She then proceeded to split her next studio album into two parts; “Singular: Act I” (2018) and “Singular: Act II” (2019). After seven years and only four of the five studio albums promised, she was able to get out of her contract with the Disney-owned record label. With her newfound freedom from Disney, she starred on Broadway in “Mean Girls: The Musical” alongside Reneé Rapp, but her performance was cut short due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
Not much was heard from or about Carpenter until 2021. With the release of Olivia Rodrigo’s hit single “Drivers License,” which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, online speculation began about a supposed love triangle between Rodrigo, her “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” co-star, Joshua Bassett and Carpenter. With the popularity of Rodrigo’s debut single, rumors online escalated, especially after Carpenter signed with Island Records and released the single “Skin,” theorized to be a response to “Drivers License.” “Skin” marked Carpenter’s initial breakthrough into the Billboard Hot 100, landing at number 48. She followed this up with the release of her fifth studio album, “Emails I Can’t Send” (2022), from which we received “Feather,” which peaked at 21 on the Hot 100, and “Nonsense,” which peaked at 56.
Upon the release of the “Feather” music video, controversy arose from the Catholic community because of the “violent and sexually provocative” nature of the video and its filming location–the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in New York. However, her iconic outros during her performances of “Nonsense” went viral, making her more known across social media
Hollywood Records has been rumored to be restrictive in the type of content their artists are allowed to put out. She said to Variety, “I personally feel a sense of separation from them.” For her fifth studio album under Island Records, she was allowed more control and independence to make an album that was truly her own, which may have contributed to her rise in popularity.
In 2022, Carpenter headlined 80 shows over four continents, and then opened on multiple occasions for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” in 2023-24. By opening for the world’s biggest popstar, her audience expanded significantly. When it came time to begin releasing singles from her sixth studio album, she’d polished her sound and voice, knew how to utilize social media and found her target audience.
Now, this had already set up “Short n’ Sweet” for major success, but she topped it off with three spectacular music videos to her hit singles, two of which feature cameos from extremely popular actors. Barry Keoghan, who is featured in “Please, Please, Please,” recently rose to popularity for his roles in “The Batman” and “Saltburn,” and Jenna Ortega, known for “X,” the “Scream” franchise, “Wednesday” and, most recently, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” is featured in “Taste,” which also contains a multitude of references to the iconic film “Death Becomes Her.”
2024 has been one of the best years for pop music in a long time. This year alone, we received “Cowboy Carter” from Beyoncé, “Eternal Sunshine” from Ariana Grande, “Hit Me Hard and Soft” from Billie Eilish, “The Tortured Poet’s Department” from Swift, “Brat” from Charli XCX, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” from Chappell Roan and, of course, “Short n’ Sweet” from Carpenter. This addition feels most like her sophomore album, leading us to believe that she’s just getting started. Whatever Carpenter has planned for her seventh studio album is sure to sweep fans off their feet; we have definitely not seen the last of her!
