Sabrina Carpenter’sShort N' Sweetwas such a massive success upon release that some of her other hits have sadly been forgotten. Carpenter has been releasing music since 2015, but it wasn’t until 2024 thateverything about Sabrina Carpenter’s lifechanged. After a public love triangle, opening up for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, andplaying two Coachella weekends where she debuted her single “Espresso,“Carpenter became a mainstream pop superstar. By the time her sixth studio album dropped, she was already one of the biggest stars of the year.Short N' Sweetfurther cemented Carpenter’s place in the music industry.
The former Disney Channel star earned her first #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with her summer single “Please Please Please,” and whenShort N' Sweetreleased it debuted at #1 on Billboard’s 200 charts. Her previous album,Emails I Can’t Send,peaked at #23 on the same chart, proving Carpenter has reached new career heights she’s never seen before. While the Grammy-nominated album earned its praise,Carpenter has been releasing impressive music for nearly a decade. Unfortunately, most of these songs have been overshadowed by the success of her latest album, but they deserve to be celebrated just as much.
10On Purpose
Written by Sabrina Carpenter and Ido Zmishlany
“On Purpose” was the lead single off of Sabrina Carpenter’s second album,Evolution, as well as the album’s opening track. The song tells the story of a relationship that seemingly came together accidentally, but Carpenter comes to the realization that both parties made it happen on purpose. The song is categorized as dance-pop and resembles the electric pop sound that had taken over the music industry at the time. Carpenter shares songwriting credits with Ido Zmishlany, who also produced “On Purpose.” The song was an early sign of how great of a popstar Carpenter would become.
9Pushing 20
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Warren “Oak” Fender, and Paul Guy Shelton II
When Sabrina Carpenter was 19, she experienced the same early quarter-life crisis a lot of young adults experience at the end of their teens.Carpenter’s coping mechanism was turning to musicand crafting “Pushing 20” with Warren “Oak” Felder and Paul Guy Shelton II. The song’s production takes inspiration from hip-hop and trap music while also landing in the pop category. At one of her shows, the popstar explained that the song came from learning to listen to herself before other people’s opinions.
All 6 Songs Sabrina Carpenter Performed For Her Tiny Desk Concert, Ranked
Sabrina Carpenter concluded her successful year by visiting NPR for a Tiny Desk concert. She performed six tracks from her 2024 album, Short n' Sweet.
The lyrics also chronicle Carpenter’s desire to stop putting up with the nonsense that she put up with when she was younger. While she was still barely an adult, Carpenter had matured enough to realize certain people needed to be cut out of her life if they weren’t contributing anything positive. It’s a perfect pop song for anyone reaching a transitional age when they’re ready to make big changes.
8The Middle Of Starting Over
Written by Jim McGorman, Rob Vallier, and Michelle Moyer
Whenthe “Taste” singerwas only fifteen years old, she released “The Middle Of Starting Over,” which would end up on her debut album,Eyes Wide Open. WhileCarpenter is not credited as a songwriter, the song fit her early musical style perfectly. The song tells the story of leaving the past behind and starting over from scratch, something a young Sabrina Carpenter may not have been accustomed to yet. However, she was able to make the song work and feel like something other young girls could relate to.
Back to the beginning, gonna hit rewind
chance to do it over, get it right this time
life gives you pennies, turn them into dimes
I’m in the middle of starting over
Upon release, “The Middle of Starting Over” gained comparisons to some of Taylor Swift’s earlier work. Carpenter has never been shy about how much of an inspiration Swift was to her, so it’s no surprise that one of her earliest songs resembled Swift’s music. The acoustic-pop song was the perfect way for Carpenter to transition from her role onGirl Meets Worldto a stable music career.
7All We Have Is Love
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Afsheen Salami, and Josh Cumbee
Also off her 2016 album,Evolution, Sabrina Carpenter released the song “All We Have Is Love.” The track has a similar dance-pop sound to the other tracks on the album and is also about a romantic relationship. Carpenter sings about the ways the world could try to intervene in her relationship, but nothing could break it because of how much love she and her partner have for each other. It’s the kind of blind optimism only a teenager would have about love, which is why it was such a great fit for her album.
6Exhale
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Johan Carlsson, and Ross Golan
Some Sabrina Carpenter fans may have been introduced to her ballads throughShort N' Sweettracks like “Dumb & Poetic.” However,the Singular: Act IItrack"Exhale” was an early look at how well she does a slow-tempo song.Carpenter was far from the level of fame she’d reach in 2024 when she released the track, but she was still feeling overwhelmed. At this point, she’d starred on a hit Disney Channel show, released four albums, and did a few film roles. Despite not being an A-list celebrity, it was still a lot for someone so young to handle.
It’s one of Carpenter’s most vulnerable tracks to this day, as she got very honest about feeling like she couldn’t breathe due to life’s responsibilities. While it may have gotten lost in her other work, it’s likelyone she can still relate to, probably even more now that she’s had the spotlight directly on her in the past year.
5Fast Times
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, John Ryan, Julia Michaels, and JP Saxe
Sabrina Carpenter had a few popular songs offEmails I Can’t Send, including “Nonsense” and “Feather” from the deluxe edition. Unfortunately, “Fast Times” didn’t get the recognition it deserved. While it did make the setlist for theShort N' Sweettour, it’s hardly the performance anyone has been talking about. Most of the conversation has been about whatposes Carpenter’s done during “Juno.“However, “Fast Times” is just as worthy of recognition as any of her other songs.
These are fast times and fast nights, yeah
no time for rewrites, we couldn’t help it
outlines on bed sides, yeah
give me a second to forget I ever really meant it
The music video for the song sees Carpenter playing herself and a dark-haired alter ego and even includes a Britney Spears-esque dance sequence. While it may not be the direction Sabrina Carpenter took her career in, it was quite obvious from this track thatshe was ready to make her mark on the pop music industry. The song takes inspiration from pop, rock, and disco, with some violins playing in the background of the chorus. Carpenter also gave recognition to the track, using it as her opening song at her Coachella performances.
4Can’t Blame A Girl For Trying
Written by Meghan Trainor, Al Anderson, and Chris Gelbuda
The first song the world ever heard from Sabrina Carpenter was her folk-pop debut, “Can’t Blame A Girl For Trying.” Similar to “The Middle of Starting Over,” the song is very reminiscent of the kind of quirky love songs Taylor Swift wrote when she was a teenager.Carpenter sings about being a young girl making mistakes in lovebecause she’s too young to know better. However, she gives herself grace, admitting she’s not going to blame herself for putting in a little effort.
While the singer ended up leaning into various sectors of pop music, her very acoustic-inspired debut eventually led to songs like “Slim Pickins” and “Coincidence” onShort N' Sweet. She also had an impressive amount of confidence at only 14-years-old, which suggested she would be the next big star to come out of the Disney Channel. While it may seem like a silly song compared to the work she’s put out since,Carpenter’s first-ever released song deserves some more love.
3Almost Love
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Steph Jones, Nate Company, and Mikkel Eriksen
For her third album,Singular: Act I, Sabrina Carpenter released “Almost Love” as the first single. The fun dance-pop track chronicled Carpenter’s deep desire for someone she had such strong feelings for she thought it might be love. However, there was frustration in her voice and lyrics about waiting on the other person to feel it too. She performed the song several times, including onThe Late Late Show with James Corden. However, it still didn’t reach the levels of recognition her later music would.
2Vicious
Sabrina Carpenter, Jason Evigan, and Amy Allen
“Vicious” was one of the first songs Sabrina Carpenter’s fans heard from her fifth album,Emails I Can’t Send. At the time, she was getting ready to tellher side of the story in the public love triangle with Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett. Fans had already heard Rodrigo’s side of the story in “Driver’s License.” While Carpenter never confirmed who the track is about, the lyrics led to a lot of speculation.
The song is about a previous partner who has vicious tendencies to give and take away love and jump back and forth between her and another girl. A few of the lyrics seem to parallel what Rodrigo wrote in her song, like mentions of the significant other writing love songs about his romantic interests and the public previously viewing him as an angel. “Vicious” is very electric guitar-heavy, emphasizing the anger and frustration in Carpenter’s voice. “Vicious” unfortunately didn’t make the cut for theShort N' Sweettour, but it isarguably one of Carpenter’s best songs of her career.
1Sue Me
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Warren “Oak” Felder, Steph Jones, Trevor Brown, and William Zaire Simmons
At the end of 2018, Carpenter released “Sue Me” as the second single off ofSingular: Act I.In the song, Carpenter sings about a relationship where her ex wants to come back after being the one to end things. Unfortunately for him, the pop singer was no longer interested. Instead, she invited him to watch just how much better she was doing without him. The pop star jokes that her ex should sue her for how great she looks, for moving on so well, staying in touch with his friends, and being unforgettable.
So sue me
for looking too pretty tonight
wearing your favorite colors under the lights
for moving on, doing everything right
The music video was inspired by the 2001 filmLegally Blonde, and, unfortunately,premiered less than two weeks before Ariana Grande’s “Thank U Next” video. Grande’s music video also recreated scenes fromLegally Blondeand became one of the most talked about videos of the year. This left Carpenter’s song and video in the dust. With the popularity of her newer hits, “Sue Me,” a very clever clapback at an ex, doesn’t get much recognition these days.
Sabrina Carpenterdominated the charts withShort N' Sweet, which is also up for Album of The Year at the 2025 Grammys. However, she had many hits under her belt before becoming the massive popstar she is today. They may not have made it to number one on the Billboard charts, but they’re just as worthy of love and attention as any of the newer stuff she’s put out.
