There’s no denying Sabrina Carpenter has secured her spot as a major pop star. Although she’s been in the game for nine years, she’s finally seen huge success with her seventh studio album, Short n’ Sweet. This is Carpenter’s first album to debut No. 1, and her hit singles, “Espresso,” “Please Please Please,” and “Taste,” have secured three spots on the top 10 of the Hot 100. The only other group that has accomplished this is The Beatles.
Along with Short n’ Sweet, Sabrina Carpenter released a music video for her song “Taste” featuring surprise guest Jenna Ortega. Since its release, many fans have speculated about her artistic reasoning and direction for the video. There were clear inspirations from the film Death Becomes Her, but most are wondering if other elements of the video are referencing Carpenter’s short romance with Shawn Mendes.
Mendes and Carpenter were spotted together by the Paparazzi a handful of times in 2023. Additionally, a source confirmed they were seeing one another at the time, but little was brought to light. Later that year, Shawn Mendes rekindled his on-and-off romance with Camila Cabello. Many fans have speculated that this was a love triangle of sorts and that the relationship was Carpenter’s main muse for her newest music video. Several other songs on Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet may support this theory, including “Sharpest Tool,” “Coincidence,” and “Don’t Smile.”
Throughout the “Taste” music video, we see Carpenter and Ortega violently fight over a guy who happens to resemble Mendes. With context, it’s clear that Sabrina Carpenter is playing the ex, and Jenna Ortega is playing the current girlfriend. Additionally, the lyrics, “I heard you’re back together, and if that’s true / You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissing you,” help set the stage for the video while also tying into the love triangle theory.
Towards the end of the video, Ortega’s character starts kissing her boyfriend and hallucinates that he is Carpenter. Mid-kiss, she pulls back and kills his ex-girlfriend, only to realize that it was her boyfriend the entire time. Both the ex and the current girlfriend attend his funeral, and when they leave together, they each take turns complaining about him, saying things like, “… he was clingy, he had a lot of traumas,” and “he was very insecure.” Many fans were shocked that the “Taste” music video turned out this way. It’s been trending online since its release with many positive reactions to it.
So, what is the message? Was Sabrina Carpenter saying that she and Camila Cabello constantly fought over Shawn Mendes? Or was the death of the boyfriend character a sign that it wasn’t that bad after all? I think it’s possible that she doesn’t have negative feelings anymore, at least towards Cabello, considering the playful end of the music video. Despite all of this is speculation — who knows what really happened?
I think it’s so fun to theorize about what could’ve happened. This may be my favorite music video of hers! I’m excited to see what’s next for Sabrina Carpenter, especially with her tour coming up.
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