Sabrina Carpenter already has one song of the summer contender with “Espresso,” which has climbed as far as #4 on the Hot 100 and topped the chart for weeks in the UK. (We were early adopters.) It seems like the song could still make it to #1 with the right luck, but that’s not stopping the rising pop star from rolling out another new track today.
On Monday, Carpenter announced her new album Short N’ Sweet. That’s the cover art up above, which some social media users have noted resembles a 2018 Cosmopolitan France photo. “I am so excited to announce my brand new album ‘Short n’ Sweet’ coming in August,” she wrote in the press release. “This project is quite special to me and I hope it’ll be something special to you too. I also have a surprise coming for you on Thursday night so keep an eye out.” That surprise is, unsurprisingly, a new single from the album.
That song, which is called “Please Please Please” and was produced by Jack Antonoff, finds Carpenter harmonizing on a chorus that could easily pass for a country ballad — quite a pivot after the retro synth-funk sound of “Espresso.” “Please, please, please/ Don’t bring me to tears when I just did my makeup so nice,” she sings in the teaser audio. It was cowritten by Carpenter, Antonoff, and Amy Allen.
At the end of the “Espresso” video, Carpenter was arrested. The “Please Please Please” video — directed by Bardia Zeinali — begins with her getting out of jail, and ends with her handcuffing her boyfriend Barry Keoghan (of Saltburn fame). Welcome to the Sabrina Carpenter Cinematic Universe! Please please please watch below.
Short N’ Sweet is out 8/23 via Island. Carpenter is scheduled to perform at New York’s Governors Ball this weekend alongside such artists as Post Malone, one of the stars who is currently keeping “Espresso” out of the top spot.
