After winning Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys earlier this month, Sabrina Carpenter has released the deluxe version of her 2024 album “Short n’ Sweet” on Feb. 14.
Fans initially did not know what to expect on the deluxe this Valentine’s Day, since most songs seem to be about “Eternals” actor Barry Keoghan, who she parted from in December 2024.
The deluxe album added five new tracks that give similar vibes but are softer than the original album and some lean more into the country genre.
Aside from the new songs, I also really enjoy the new album cover. It makes Carpenter look more mature, and you can see how much growth she has gone through since the original release.
The deluxe opens on an upbeat tune with “15 Minutes,” which is a straight jump back into the fun album. She refers to the past in this first song with the line, “When did all you bitches get so nice?” This could be referring to people being cruel to her on social media back in 2021 when Olivia Rodrigo released her debut single “drivers license” which was speculated to be about Carpenter.
The track “Please Please Please (feat. Dolly Parton)” is a country spin on Carpenter’s original single “Please Please Please.” The chorus is as catchy as the original — but that’s not the case for Parton’s solo part of the song. People on social media began making fun of Parton’s singing a few hours before the song was released in the U.S.
A post on X from user @Iittlestory that has reached over 50,000 likes stated, “sabrina i love you so much but what is this” with a video of Parton’s part of the song attached.
Carpenter touched on her vulnerable side in “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder.” She describes how one of her previous relationships went and how she felt insecure because of different past relationships. The opening of the song says a lot, which includes the lines “Meeting you as the glass-half-full version of me / I was easier than I am now / Would’ve folded, but I can’t now.”
“Busy Woman” was previously released as a bonus track on the limited digital edition of “Short n’ Sweet.” Carpenter included lines in this song, as well as the title, that might be callbacks to her other songs. Such as the lyric, “Busy woman, unless you call tonight,” which sounds similar to the iconic line in “Espresso.” Carpenter previously sang, “I’m working late ‘cause I’m a singer.”
The last song, “Bad Reviews,” can lead fans to speculate that it is about her breakup with Keoghan, or a breakup with another ex. The third verse, “I’ve heard all the bad news and the bad reviews / All the friends tryna save me, well, I, I cut them loose / ’Cause I refuse to be wrong again / And I can’t lose another boy that’s not even my boyfriend,” shows that the “Taste” singer chose to date somebody despite what she was told. This does not mean the song is about Keoghan, but the timing makes it seem like it.
My favorites from the original album are “Juno,” “Don’t Smile” and “Bed Chem,” and I think these new songs live up to them as well as the rest of the original album.
4/5 stars
jcaramag@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @sabrinacarpenter, Instagram
