Music
Sabrina Carpenter Almost Didn’t Release This Hit Song
“There was a lot of questioning behind whether it made sense.”
One of Sabrina Carpenter’s most famous songs almost didn’t see the light of day. In a new interview with Variety, the singer revealed that her label was hesitant to release this year’s runaway hit “Espresso.”
In the cover story, Carpenter said she was “completely alone in wanting to release ‘Espresso,’” which is the first single from her upcoming album, Short n’ Sweet. “Not so much from my immediate team, but when it came to ‘the powers above,’” she said, using air quotes, “there was a lot of questioning behind whether it made sense.”
It seems like some folks at her label, Island Records, thought the world wasn’t ready for lyrics like “my give-a-f*cks are on vacation.” But Carpenter insisted, releasing the “little song” in April before her Coachella performance. “They trusted me in the end, and I was happy that I believed in myself at that moment,” she told the magazine.
“Espresso” marked her first Top 3 hit and has stayed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 since its release. On Aug. 5, it became the third-fastest song to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, despite not having made the top spot of the Hot 100 yet.
“She’s Always Thinking 10 Steps Ahead”
Now, Island Records is giving Carpenter props for her foresight. “It’s no accident that everything is falling into place the way she always wanted,” co-CEO Imran Majid told Variety for the cover story. “Sabrina’s instincts and creative vision are incredible. She’s always thinking 10 steps ahead of the market.”
Short n’ Sweet, which will be released in full on Aug. 23, has another smash hit, too. Its second single, “Please Please Please,” is another pop earworm that’s earned a spot on many “best of summer” playlists.
Carpenter told Variety that the entire album was written prior to the success of its first two singles, which she’s very grateful for.
“Not that I think I would have let [the singles’ success] get in my head, but I really do think sometimes you can’t help but write from a different perspective after experiencing certain life events,” she explained. “I’m trying to avoid calling this ‘my dream album,’ because I don’t think I would have been able to dream up this set of songs a couple years ago.”
