The initial release of Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth album “Short n’ Sweet” in late August 2024 sent shock waves through the industry, cementing Carpenter as a stand-out star. So obviously it would be hard to follow up the Grammy-winning, certified platinum album. Spoiler alert, Carpenter did.
On February 14th she released the highly anticipated deluxe version of “Short n’ Sweet,” which features four new songs: “15 Minutes,” “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder,” “Busy Woman,” and “Bad Reviews. “She also released a remix of her hit song “Please, Please, Please,” now featuring Dolly Parton, a famous country star.
I spoke to Audrey N. ’26, who is a huge fan of Sabrina Carpenter, saying that the song “ Bad Reviews “ is her favorite song on the deluxe edition, more specifically the lyric “ I’m intentionally careless, least I’ve got self-awareness “ adding “ To me this applies to real life, meaning how there are times we make bad choices but we recognize it… it’s bad but we feel a sense of comfort in understanding why.”
From another perspective we have Alana H. ’26 who just enjoyed the deluxe edition as a whole, simply adding “ The deluxe was an excellent addition to the album.”
As a supporter of Sabrina Carpenter myself, this album met expectations. Though no songs initially charted, they made an impact online. Every song on the deluxe felt like they connected with songs on the original tracklist, with hype pop songs in “Busy Woman” and “ 15 Minutes”, but contrasting them with more of a western vibe with “Please Please Please” featuring Dolly Parton, and “Bad Reviews”. The most different-sounding song released to me was “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder “, It felt more vulnerable than the songs that Carpenter is usually known for, which made it feel more special from a listening perspective.
In my opinion, it’s challenging to ignore how much Sabrina Carpenter has proven herself as a pop powerhouse, Though she has been in the industry for a while, it feels as though with the release of this album and now 5 amazingly made songs means she’s not stopping anytime soon.