After releasing “Short n’ Sweet,” an album of pop perfection, the former Disney star Sabrina Carpenter skyrocketed into fame after clawing her way through the music industry for almost a decade. You can check out my review of the original tracklist here — it’s safe to say I loved it. So this is kind of a full circle moment for me, because the original review was my first ever blog post, and now I’d call myself a well-seasoned music blogger.
But enough of that, let’s talk about “Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe).” Released on Friday, the album features three completely new tracks, one off of an exclusive vinyl and one remix featuring Dolly Parton (which, spoiler warning, was the only thing I didn’t enjoy about these additions).
Before I dive into the review, I have to say how much I love the cover of this Deluxe edition. I must admit, I wasn’t a fan of the original cover. It felt too heavily edited and gave me an unsettling, uncanny valley feeling. But the Deluxe cover has much more movement and life and feels much more like what Sabrina would actually look like face-to-face. I’m disappointed this wasn’t their pick for the original cover, but I’m glad we’re at least getting it now.
With that being said, let’s get into a track-by-track breakdown of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe),” in my worst to best ranking order.
All right, let’s just get it out of the way: I hate this remix. It feels eerily reminiscent of the absolutely awful “yes, and?” remix with Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey. If you know, you know.
And this is so disappointing, because when the tracklist was announced and I spotted a Dolly Parton feature, I was thrilled. It made sense to me, because Sabrina has recently been using a twangy, country voice, despite being from Pennsylvania.
But, in reality, their voices simply sound awful together. Sometimes, no matter how good two singers are, their voices just can’t blend together. And this is the case for Sabrina and Dolly. The harmonies were choppy, and the two artists sounded like they were fighting for the melody the entire song.
For their voices to work better together, Sabrina needed to re-record her vocals in a more acoustic and raw manner. Her smooth and heavily produced vocals sound incredibly unbalanced alongside Dolly’s country sound.
I can’t hate on Dolly too much — she’s so iconic and doesn’t necessarily sound bad — but she was set up for failure. Although the production was adjusted to attempt having a more twangy sound, it felt unbalanced, like it was fighting for prominence with the original, synth-heavy production. I think Dolly would have sounded much better on Sabrina’s most country-sounding track, “Slim Pickins.”
Save yourself some time — just listen to the original version of this track.
This track was originally on a limited edition vinyl as a bonus track – I just love when artists do this and then release it on digital later. You can see this with other artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift. It’s fun to have a secret little track as a superfan, while still allowing the public to experience it later.
“Busy Woman” is just classic Sabrina. It fits in perfectly with the original tracklist, full of synth, snarky lyrics and iconic double-meanings. Sabrina enlists velvety, seductive vocals that are heaven-on-earth to listen to.
“If you don’t want me, I’ll just deem you gay,” Sabrina quips, showcasing her ability to skillfully weave sarcasm and humor into her music.
My only critique with this track is that it feels very chorus-heavy. I feel like 75% of the song is the chorus. And I know Sabrina can write killer verses, so I just wish that the verses were a little longer and more thought-out.
This track showcases how confident she is in her sexuality and verbalizing that to the public, something that can be taboo for women in the music industry. She does it confidently with immense grace.
Like “Busy Woman,” this is a classic Sabrina track that fits right in with the rest of the album. Again, it shows off her humorous lyrics. But while on the surface the lyrics may not seem very profound, when you dig a little further, you can see the deeper meaning Sabrina buried under the synth and snarkiness.
“I can do a lot in 15 minutes,” Sabrina repeats throughout the song.
This song is an interesting commentary on how the music industry treats women, especially as they get older, electing to replace them with younger, fresh-feeling artists, discarding many women along the way. But I admire that this song shows Sabrina having poise and maturity in the face of this dilemma, not freaking out about the possibility of losing her spotlight.
Sabrina is in her “15 minutes of fame.” It may stay. It may go away. Either way, she’s confident in herself as a person and an artist, and this song showcases that sentiment.
This track is very different from the rest of the album, unlike “15 Minutes” and “Busy Woman,” but it’s so good that I really don’t care. It reminds me of the title track off Sabrina’s previous album, “emails i can’t send,” my favorite of her records. It’s a sadder song, which I always appreciate from her, and a type of song I thought was lacking from the original tracklist, other than “Dumb and Poetic.”
The violins in the instrumental are stunning and a refreshing departure from her commonly used instruments. I love how raw and simple her vocals are on this track. She enlists less of the overproduced feel the rest of the album has — which I don’t dislike, but it’s nicer to hear a more stripped down Sabrina.
The lyrics are incredibly introspective. I love her ability to criticize herself in her lyrics, without adopting a “poor little old me” attitude. She is able to truly reflect on herself, verbalizing both the good and the bad. This track was a perfect choice for a closing track, the most true to her current experience in life.
1. Couldn’t Make it Any Harder
And the number one spot goes to “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder,” now one of my all-time favorites from Sabrina’s discography. As I mentioned before, I love her slower, more ballad-y songs, and this track fits that description perfectly.
The entire song has a Broadway feel to it, specifically sounding similar to Grease’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” which I absolutely love. Now I thought this was a clever take that I picked up while first listening to the track, but apparently all of social media had the same epiphany. So while it may not be the most niche comparison, if you like Broadway, give this track a listen.
Her vocals are ethereal, and the key change into the chorus takes this song to the next level. I know Sabrina knows how to work a good key change, (check out “Please Please Please,” there’s a plethora of them) but this one is just so amazing, I can’t wrap my head around it.
Similar to “Bad Reviews,” I love the introspection Sabrina enlists in this track, again able to criticize herself without becoming too self-deprecating. I would really love to see some more tracks from her like this. She has the ideal voice for more theatrical pieces, and she needs to take more advantage of that.
So if you’re deciding whether or not to listen to this Deluxe album, do it … but maybe skip the Dolly Parton feature. I promise you, it’s not worth your time.
