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Groups of young women may dominate the front rows of Sabrina Carpenter concerts, but up in the nose bleeds or listening on Spotify is the rest of the world, increasingly captivated by the empowering persona crafted by pop’s biggest pint-sized sensation.
The singer, who releases her seventh studio album, “Man’s Best Friend” on Friday, has managed to craft an image with uniquely broad appeal.
Carpenter’s many hits are playful and confident, often sexual and frequently funny, delivered with wit and a knowing wink by the 5-foot, 26-year-old former Disney Channel star.
“This is just fun, and that’s all it has to be,” Carpenter said of her music in an interview with CBS this week.
The “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” escapist joy offered in her songs or in her stage performances, however, should not be mistaken for silly. Carpenter has been honing her craft for more than a decade, and she’s unapologetic about stoking the occasional controversy.
Her new album cover shows Carpenter on her hands and knees with what appears to be a man holding a handful of her blonde hair. It set off a summer debate about whether her art is “satire or self-degradation.”
“The album is not for any pearl clutchers,” Carpenter told CBS. “But I also think that even pearl clutchers can listen to an album like that in their own solitude and find something that makes them smirk and chuckle to themselves.”
Carpenter’s ability to be a provocateur adds up to interest – the currency of culture – and she seems to find the intersections of our splintered TikTok age.
Her “Short n’ Sweet” album, which featured “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste,” made Carpenter the first solo act to have her three first hits in top five of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, according to Billboard. It also scored her two Grammy Awards.
Jack Antonoff, Carpenter’s frequent collaborator and producer, told Rolling Stone that she is “as intelligent as someone can possibly be, which is why she’s funny.”
“When she says something incredibly profound and then chucks it away with a joke, it almost hits deeper,” Antonoff said. “Some of the best songs ever, and these really funny things, live hand in hand. It’s something I’ve personally been yearning for, and I think other people have been, too.”
Carpenter’s magic isn’t just that she can weave a clever joke through her lyrics; it’s that she’s making sure she always gets the last laugh.