Short n’ Sweet is an album that was released by Sabrina Carpenter on August 23rd, 2024, and the deluxe version of the album was released on February 14th, 2025. It’s a pop-esque album with a hint of country, and it’s one of my favorite albums released in the past five years. I find it hard to find an album that really hits from start to finish, and Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe) is the only album I’ve heard in a while that I feel has consistent hits.
“Taste” is the first song on the album and one of the most popular, and it’s arguably one of the best. The song is about Carpenter’s ex-boyfriend going back to his ex before her, and the song basically is a petty way to tell the girl that there’ll always be a reminder that Sabrina had him first. This is referenced in the main chorus where she sings, “Heard you’re back together, and if that’s true you’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissing you.”
“Please Please Please” is the second song on the album and another one of the most popular songs, but I’m not as much of a fan of it, though. It’s a song about Carpenter’s slightly violent boyfriend, who does not have the best reputation. She is desperate for him to not embarrass her, as she laments in the chorus, “Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another. I beg you don’t embarrass me like the others.”
“Good Graces” is the third song on the album, and I feel as though it’s a bit underrated. Although it’s one of the big hits, it’s not nearly as popular as some of the other ones. This song is about the artist leaving those who aren’t up to her standards, and she sings, “I don’t waste a second. I know lots of guys. You do something suspect, this cute ass bye-bye.”
“Sharpest Tool” is the fourth song on the album, and one of the most relatable songs on the entire album. This track is about how quickly a guy switches up and leaves, even if there are no signs of them losing feelings. Carpenter sings,“We were going right, then you took a left. Left me with a lot of things to second guess. Guess I’ll waste another year on wondering if. If that was casual, then I’m an idiot. I’m looking for an answer in between the lines, Lying to yourself if you think we’re fine. You’re confused and I’m upset but we never talk about it.”
“Coincidence” is the fifth song on the album, and it’s one of my least favorites, but I still like it. It’s about Carpenter being cheated on and how the excuses she was given don’t line up with reality. There are also a series of random strange coincidences happening that have led her boyfriend back to his ex. This is referenced in the first verse: “Now her name comes up once, then it comes up twice, and without her even being here she’s back in your life. Now she’s in the same damn city on the same damn night.”
“Bed Chem” is the sixth song on the album, and it’s my all time favorite. It is essentially about a guy the Carpenter likes, and despite the sexual meaning to it, it’s very catchy and funny, so I like it. My favorite lyric is when the artist sings, “Said you’re not in my time zone, but you wanna be. Where art thou? Why not uponeth me?”
“Espresso” is the seventh song on the album, and the most infamous song on the entire album. Carpenter won the 2025 Grammy Award for “Best Pop Solo Performance” for this song, and it was considered the catchiest song of the spring and summer seasons last year when it was released on April 11th, 2024. It’s honestly just vibes, and my favorite lyric is: “I can’t relate to desperation. My give-a-damn’s are on vacation.”
“Dumb & Poetic” is the second most relatable song on the album, and the eighth overall, and it’s one of my favorites. The song essentially is about a guy with a persona of being poetic, romantic and charismatic, when in reality he’s just another guy who leaves in the blink of an eye. This is mentioned in the chorus: “Don’t you think you understand. Just ‘cause you leave like one, doesn’t make you a man.”
“Slim Pickins” is probably my third favorite song overall, and it’s the ninth on the album. It’s a country-esque song about Sabrina’s dating pool being small, due to every guy who fits her standards being taken. She admits in the chorus, “Since the good ones are deceased or taken, I’ll just keep on moanin’ and bitchin’.”
“Juno” is a song similar to “Bed Chem”, in the sense that it’s funny and it’s kind of sexual, and it’s the tenth song on the album. The whole song is based off the movie Juno, which is about a pregnant teenl and her boyfriend. My favorite lyric from the song is: “You make me wanna make you fall in love.”
“Lie to Girls” is one of the most severely overlooked and underrated songs on the album, and the eleventh overall. This track is about how, even when a man lies and cheats, if a girl loves him enough, she’ll disregard the facts. She will paint him as a saint, no matter how horribly he treats her. Essentially, it’s about how lying to a girl is pointless, because she’ll lie to herself either way.
“Don’t Smile” is the twelfth song on the album, and it is basically a contradiction of the saying: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” This song is basically about a breakup and wishing that your ex will miss you, even after moving on, as said in the chorus: “Don’t smile because it happened, baby. Cry because it’s over.”
“15 Minutes” is the thirteenth song on the album, and the first of the deluxe tracks. This song is about Carpenter having her so-called “15 minutes of fame”, after her album blew up and catapulted her into sudden success. The song is really just pop vibes, with some innuendo and humor in there. She also throws some shade to those who think her fame will only be a short amount of time before she loses relevance in pop culture. My favorite lyrics of the song are: “I could do a lot with 15 minutes, a lot of pretty boys, a lot of funny business. Take a couple bucks and turn ‘em into millions, you, you, you know I can.”
“Please Please Please” (ft. Dolly Parton)” is the fourteenth song and the ONLY bad song on the whole album. I love Dolly Parton, but her voice doesn’t match the energy of the song. She would’ve sounded a lot better if she was featured on “Slim Pickins”, but I understand that “Please Please Please” is a bigger hit. It makes more sense to do a duet on that song, rather than “Slim Pickins”, which is less popular by a wide margin.
“Couldn’t Make It Any Harder” is the fifteenth song on the album, and I’ve noticed that it sounds a lot similar to “Hopelessly Devoted To You” by Olivia Newton-John. This song is about Carpenter self-sabotaging whenever a guy is interested in her, because she’s so used to negative experiences with men. This isreferenced in the second verse: “F**kboys you’ll never meet, well, you can thank them for why I’m so goddamn reactionary.”
“Busy Woman” is the sixteenth song , and by far the most overplayed and overrated song on the album. It’s good, but it gets repetitive really fast. This song is about being too busy to waste time on undeserving men who don’t put in the same effort that they expect. This is mentioned in the chorus: “Yeah, I’m a busy woman. I wouldn’t want you coming into my calendar any night. But if you want my kisses, I’ll be your perfect Mrs. ’til the day that one of us dies.”
“Bad Reviews” is the final song on the album. It might just be the best song overall, and it is the most relatable thing I’ve ever heard in my life. This song is about not taking the advice that people give about a guy who’s clearly problematic. My favorite lyrics are: ’Been alone for so long, I’ve got something to prove. If I close an eye, it’s almost like your red flags are blue. So, still I choose to be in love with you.”
Final conclusions? I love Sabrina Carpenter.