Sabrina Carpenter dropped a deluxe version of her 2024 album, “Short n Sweet,” in honor of the album winning two Grammys. Carpenter fittingly released the slew of steamy songs on the day of love, Valentine’s Day. The deluxe version contains five songs, one of them being, “Please Please Please” featuring none other than Dolly Parton.
“15 Minutes” is nothing short of a “Bed Chem” or “Juno” style song, and boy it does not disappoint. The catchy rhythm and infectious lyrics keep the listener locked in. This song has my jaw on the floor after each line, but the fun-loving, danceable beat makes me tune out the wildness of the lyrics. Sealing this song as a fan favorite out of the five tracks. This song is my second favorite out of the five released.
“Please Please Please (feat. Dolly Parton)” has two icons on an iconic track, what more could you want? In my opinion, I think Dolly Parton would’ve been a better fit on “Slim Pickens,” but the choice of “Please Please Please” makes sense because of how big the song was. However, one thing I really liked about the collaboration was the country twang feel the song had after adding Parton to the track. Bringing Carpenter back to her Quakertown roots. Overall, I thought the collab itself was iconic, but a different song would’ve been a better fit vocally. This song is my fourth favorite.
“Couldn’t Make It Any Harder” – The first thing I noticed about this song was the opening chords sounded like “Hard Candy Christmas” by Dolly Parton. “Hard Candy Christmas” is one of my favorite Christmas songs, so this opening immediately had me intrigued. This song embodies that old money feel that Carpenter has been personifying throughout the “Short n Sweet” era. As a ballad, this song really incorporates a dreamy feel to it (such as “Don’t Smile” has) that I love. The closing two lines in the chorus definitely have a double meaning to them, which is so Carpenter-coded. This dreamy ballad ranks three out of five for me.
“Busy Woman” – This highly anticipated track was nothing short of everything fans had hoped for. This song was previously leaked on social media and fans were eating it up, wondering why it hadn’t made the album. Now, it’s known that Carpenter had other plans for the song. This “Good Graces” style song is easily described as a bop, and the favorite among fans of the five songs released, my favorite as well.
“Bad Reviews” is one of those songs that’s good, but it’s understandable why it didn’t make the album and was left as a deluxe track. While it is on the more forgettable side of the stacked track list of songs from “Short n Sweet,” that doesn’t take away from the hard-hitting, emotional lyrics. However, Carpenter does have better songs that possess the same emotional value as this track does, hence why this comes as my least favorite of the tracks.
Fans are wondering if this deluxe album will prompt a tour this coming summer. I’m hoping for it as much as anyone else. With a very strong standard album and a catchy deluxe, I think a second leg of her previous tour would do numbers.
