How did the mischievous Sabrina Carpenter become pop’s latest sensation?

If Sabrina Carpenter needed anything to cap off a dazzling six months, it was a Tiny Desk performance — an opportunity that has allowed artists to showcase a touch of authenticity away from the increasingly extravagant musical spectacles in stadiums. Carpenter, 25, from Quakertown, Pennsylvania, had the honor of closing out Tiny Desk’s influential year on December 20. While it was likely a coincidence, it’s worth noting that her performance came just a few dates after Billie Eilish, who appeared in the NPR newsroom (where these popular mini-concerts are held) earlier in December. The final note for Tiny Desk 2024 could only be struck by one artist, and that artist was Sabrina Carpenter.

In her 26-minute performance, Sabrina Carpenter delivered an express version of why she has captivated thousands. Dressed in a pleated pastel blue minidress with lace garters peeking out, she joked about her five-foot height, shared spicy anecdotes, radiated charm, and performed six of her sweet and pleasant songs, all squeezed in between 11 musicians — including a string quartet — dressed in white to let the celestial star shine.

It was a blend of sweetness and sharp femininity with a provocative edge. It all depends on where the bar is set: some cover their children’s eyes when the Pennsylvania native casually references Kama Sutra positions during her concerts, while others find it harmless fun.

Ashley Pointer, one of Tiny Desk’s producers, said: “When I greeted Sabrina Carpenter at NPR HQ for her Tiny Desk debut, her charm was immediately disarming. Bubbling with excitement, she extended her hand, introduced herself and complimented my outfit with genuine warmth. You’d think this was one of her first ‘big time’ gigs, not a regular performance for a pop veteran, having sold out arenas across the country touring her now six time Grammy-nominated sixth album, Short n’ Sweet.”

Veteran? Sixth album? Carpenter’s experience after 14 years in the entertainment industry (yes, she has been in the business since she was 11) is evident, especially when Pointer is flattered by Carpenter praising her “outfit with genuine warmth” — a move that aspiring celebrities are taught early on: flatter the interviewer. By now, few are unaware of where Carpenter comes from. Raised in a well-off American family with parents dedicated to helping their children’s dreams come true, she navigated numerous castings, signed with Disney, starred in children’s series, and released albums. Along with that came plenty of work and discipline.

From 2015 to 2022, she released five LPs. The first four carry an artificial sound, chasing the latest musical trends. Or, more accurately, an army of executives and producers making decisions in hopes of finding a hit. But it didn’t quite work. In Emails I Can’t Send (2022), her fifth album, her personality began to emerge. Even Taylor Swift noticed, hiring her as an opening act on some dates of The Eras Tour — a high-profile spot where it was impossible for Carpenter to go unnoticed.

Anabel Vélez, a writer specializing in analyzing women in pop culture and the author of Divas of Pop: From A to Z, tells EL PAÍS: “There was a time when singers were pitted against each other, like Britney Spears vs. Christina Aguilera, to see who was the queen of pop. Now it’s different. Most artists are friends who collaborate and feed off each other’s success. There doesn’t have to be just one queen of pop; there can be many.”

Despite the exposure from opening for Swift’s tour, Carpenter was still searching for her defining track. She found it with Espresso, released in April 2024, a soft disco anthem that feels like the kind of song Dua Lipa would play to start her day. The difference here lies in the delivery: while artists like Bad Gyal might rely on explicitly sexual expressions, Carpenter conveys a similar message but through more subtle metaphors, such as: “Say you can’t sleep, baby, I know / That’s that me espresso.” This track, along with her full album Short n’ Sweet, released in August, marked a turning point in the singer’s career.

Last November, Primavera Sound Barcelona announced that Carpenter would headline one of its three days, marking another milestone in the festival’s growing appeal to a diverse audience beyond mainstream pop. Gabi Ruiz, the director of the Spanish festival, explained his decision to EL PAÍS: “We always strive to reflect the current moment in music, and the 2024-2025 season is defined by pop in all its forms and nuances, from Charli XCX to Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. Carpenter’s bold and innovative approach to pop tradition makes her an artist who is paving the way for the future of mainstream pop: transversal, intelligent, self-aware, and fun, with equal parts aesthetic and stimulating energy.”

The three-day festival, set for June 5-7, sold out in just a weekend — five months in advance, an uncommon feat in recent years. Over 70,000 people will have the chance to see Carpenter perform live in Barcelona, which will be her first appearance in Spain.

If there’s a moment that perfectly encapsulates the mischievous and uninhibited style of Carpenter, it was in February 2023 during a performance on the BBC’s Live Lounge. The playful naturalness that defines her character was on full display at the end of her performance of Nonsense, when she spontaneously improvised: “How quickly can you take your clothes off, pop quiz / I’m American I am not British, so BBC it stands for something different.” The comment was immediately interpreted as a reference to Big Black Cock, and the network took down the video. However, as is often the case with censorship, the clip quickly spread across social media, where Carpenter’s riffing — some of which was controversially labeled as racist — was seen by thousands of young people.

“She does a great job with her sexual metaphors, staying on the edge, but never becoming vulgar,” says Anabel Vélez. In Bed Chem, for example, she hints at reaching an orgasm with her partner, singing: “I bet we’d have really good / And I bet we’d both arrive at the same time.” In Juno, she explores a playful fetishism: “Wanna try out my fuzzy pink handcuffs?” In Espresso, she gives another example of her signature double entendre: “My honeybee, come and get this pollen.”

Another of Carpenter’s specialties is poking fun at male profiles that fit a certain stereotype. She flips the concept of Shakira’s line: “A lot of gym, but work the brain a little bit too.” In Slim Pickins, she sings: “This boy doesn’t even know / The difference between “there,” “their” and “they are”/ Yet he’s naked in my room.” Or in Dumb and Poetic, she mocks a young man who prides himself on being interesting, but in reality only spouts overused self-help clichés and likes to “jack off to lyrics by Leonard Cohen.”

Carpenter poses a challenge to publications that often try to intellectualize pop music. Carri Battan, writing for The New Yorker, described Espresso as “proudly silly and effervescent, it’s a faintly funky electro-pop song with lyrics so goofy and nonsensical they achieved near-instant global meme status.” Months later, the same publication ranked Carpenter’s album Short n’ Sweet as the third best of 2024. Amanda Petrusich praised it as “the best, funniest, and most nimble pop release of the year.” Rolling Stone also gave recognition to the album, placing it fourth on its list of the 100 best albums of the season, noting “her knack for turning romantic roadkill into flippantly brilliant pop.”

Musically, Short n’ Sweet offers a graceful and simple pop sound, avoiding the overly cluttered production common in commercial pop, even though it was produced by Jack Antonoff, who regularly collaborates with Taylor Swift. At times, the album recalls the style of acts like Roxette or Cyndi Lauper. Unlike the existential angst of Billie Eilish, the rock grit of Olivia Rodrigo, or the squeaky nocturnality of Charli XCX, Carpenter brings a perky, humorous take on the robotic perfection of Taylor Swift. Sabrina Carpenter is, in many ways, a reminder of how the world once was, where the majority found comfort in temperance, and the bold were the ones who dared to embrace the extremes. Only someone with her profile — white, American, blonde — could pull off such a miracle.

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