"Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter // 7" brown vinyl + song review
"Espresso" was the first introduction we got into Sabrina Carpenter's now iconic Short n' Sweet, initially just supposed to be a "little song" for her to perform at Coachella back in April 2024. It actually ended up transforming her entire career and became one of the biggest songs of the entire year. Is it that sweet? I guess so!
This song quickly took off and became a phenomenon that I don't think anyone could have expected. It perfectly blends pop, funk and even a little bit of a disco influence. It's truly the definition of a perfect pop song. Sabrina describes the rush of a new relationship in such a cute way, with super fun word-play throughout the song. "That's that me espresso" is probably the most iconic line from the song, but "I'm working late, cause I'm a singer", "I know I Mountain Dew it for ya" and "Switch it up like Nintendo" are just a few more of the most quotable phrases from this song that immediately entered the cultural lexicon. It really embodies that vibrant and fun energy that she is so well-known for in her music.
"The song is kind of about seeing femininity as your superpower, and embracing the confidence of being that bitch," Sabrina told Vogue in an interview. This song is endlessly catchy and really represents Sabrina's signature style and humor in such a perfect way.
In an interview with The Guardian, Sabrina said writing this song was a "manifestation tactic, because no one liked me romantically at that point – no one was obsessed with me." She added that she's "...always been a bit delusional, in that sense." She first started writing it while on vacation in France, specifically inspired by a trip to a crĂŞperie there. Sabrina co-wrote the rest of the song with her frequent collaborators, Amy Allen, Julian Bunetta and Steph Jones. Together, they came up with some of the funniest and most quotable lines of the song. "That's the only way those borderline idiotic-slash-funniest lyrics can happen," Sabrina told Rolling Stone, "I've really honed in on the people that I love making music with."
"Espresso" became the song of the summer and the second most streamed song of the year, just behind Billie Eilish's "BIRDS OF A FEATHER". It reached over a billion streams in just a few months and was also her first top 5 hit on the Billboard charts in the US, while reaching the top spot in the UK, Ireland, and Australia. The success of "Espresso" then was able to perfectly set up "Please Please Please" to be the massive hit that it also became. It was her first song ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and received wide critical acclaim. Honestly, "Espresso" walked so "Please Please Please" could run! It is very different than "Espresso" though, but each represents the two sides of Short n' Sweet so beautifully. It's also very funny that she goes from saying on this song "I can't relate to desperation", to then making the most desperate song ever - I love the duality of that!
Sabrina also earned her very first Grammy Award at the 2025 ceremony for Best Pop Solo Performance for "Espresso", along with Best Pop Solo Album for the rest of Short n' Sweet. Mark Ronson and Australian production duo FNZ also won the Best Remixed Recording Grammy for their reimagination of "Espresso", as well as her co-writer Amy Allen winning Songwriter of the Year largely for their work together.
Sabrina was a first-time Grammy nominee for six categories, making her among the most-nominated artists this year. She is among only 13 artists in history that have been nominated in all four of the big categories of the year, best new artist, record of the year, song of the year, and album of the year. She shares that achievement with another first-time nominee this year, Chappell Roan, both of whom had such massive breakthrough years in 2024.
Sabrina had been a rising artist for quite some time by the point "Espresso" was released, following her work as a child star on Disney Channel and the four albums she released as a teenager under their record label, Hollywood Records. It wasn't until her fifth album, her first under Island Records, was released in 2022 that she began to gain a bigger audience. Although the virality of songs from emails i can't send like "Nonsense" and "Feather", along with a string of massive festival performances and opening for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour all gave her career a massive push and seemingly overnight made her into a household name - it took many years for her to get to this moment. On the outside, it can seem like she came out of nowhere as this fully-formed pop star, but her journey is proof that sometimes it takes ten years of work and dedication to be considered an overnight success. I have loved seeing her career thrive over the past few years and am always looking forward to seeing what she does next!
This cute brown 7" vinyl for "Espresso" is sold exclusively on Sabrina's webstore, first released as a pre-order alongside the announcement of the song. The warm toned chocolate brown pressing and the cute details of the coffee stain rings on the center labels brings the whole theme together so beautifully. The typography on the back cover reminds me of a café menu too, I love the attention to detail! I also love the photo on the front cover too, it's so stunning.
Side A features the standard version of the song and side B features the instrumental, "Espresso (on vacation)", which is such a clever title! The only thing I wish was different about the release (and the other singles from Sabrina) is that it should come in a paper inner sleeve, it just comes loose in the record jacket. It's not a big deal because I just added an extra one I had, but it is worth noting. Other than that, I love that she has been releasing vinyl like this alongside all of her singles. They are all so well designed and match the songs' aesthetics so well. It isn't super limited either, as I purchased mine several months after it was released. I believe this particular single has been repressed and restocked many times already, I'm not sure about the other Short n' Sweet era singles though. It's such a cute collectable and one of my favorite singles in my collection!
I just started collecting Sabrina's music on vinyl last year and I already have such a great collection of her work. I also have the cutest 7" single of "Please Please Please", which I will absolutely be sharing more about soon. I think I need to eventually add "Taste" and "Bed Chem" to my collection too! I recently wrote about the special edition vinyl of her Christmas EP called Fruitcake, which I'd love for you to read here.
Thanks for reading! If you're interested in reading more about Sabrina Carpenter's music, be sure to check out my review of her stunning Short n' Sweet album, more are linked below and coming soon! 🤎☕
All photos are my own!
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