Short n’ Sweet Deluxe Review

We all know (and hopefully love) Sabrina Carpenter. Her newest album, Short n’ Sweet came out this past summer, stunning all. From this album, incredible hits, such as “Espresso”, “Bed Chem”, and “Juno” were born. I’ve been streaming Short n’ Sweet quite a bit, ever since it came out. I have the original CD, and now, I have the deluxe CD as well (which just arrived). I’ve never really been a huge fan of deluxe songs, only because I can never get a read on them. Were they songs the artist loved and really wanted to save for an even grander reveal… or songs they thought weren’t good enough to go on the main album but still wanted to release?

1. “15 Minutes”

I absolutely love this one. I think it reminds me a bit of “Feather” mixed with “vicious” combined with Coincidence. “15 Minutes” holds close not only to Short n’ Sweet, but also to emails i can’t send (Sabrina’s prior album). 

2. “Please Please Please” ft. Dolly Parton

I’ve gotta be honest, this was my least favorite. Not because I don’t like the song, or because I don’t like Dolly Parton, but the combination just didn’t pan out too well. I even likened this one to, “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”, by Tiny Tim. If you’ve never heard that one… go give it a listen. Then, stream “Please Please Please” ft. Dolly Parton and tell me they don’t sound similar. I understand why they picked this song. Lyrically, “Please Please Please” is a more confident “Jolene.” However, sonically this isn’t in Dolly’s forte. It is far too poppy and modern-sounding.  

3. Couldn’t Make It Any Harder

Sabrina reminded us all of the classic “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” by Olivia Newton-John with “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder.” This song has all the gorgeous classic instrumentals and Sabrina’s beautiful lower register, certifying this as an instant hit. Being who she is, she kept in her wit and clever charm with the lyrics. Her voice lends so well to so many different types of music, and because of this, a lot of people really like her slower and less poppy songs.

4. Busy Woman

This one I’m sure we’ve all heard already. Because this was a bonus track on the vinyl, it was released via people on TikTok, so I already knew I loved this song. It’s so catchy and has that quintessential Sabrina wit. This one is perfectly reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s “Picture to Burn” with the parallel to ‘I’ll tell mine you’re gay”. 

5. Bad Reviews

Last but not least, Bad Reviews has no bad reviews! This song reminds me of quite a few of her prior songs like “how many things”, “skinny dipping”, and “Slim Pickins.” This definitely kept a bit of the country essence Sabrina went for in some of Short n’ Sweet. To me, this is the one that sounds the most like it could be from emails i can’t send.

    As a huge Sabrina fan (I went to the Short n’ Sweet tour), I was definitely happy with this. I must say though, I wasn’t too surprised (considering that “Please Please Please” was already released and “Busy Woman” was a bonus track on the vinyl [and was of course leaked on TikTok]). In general, I’m never a huge fan of the deluxe version because it’s released once the album has hit a low point, but for this particular deluxe, I’m fairly neutral. Overall, I think there were some really great and catchy hits from this! Any form of an artist expanding their discography, we generally cannot complain about. 

My rating: 8/10 stars!

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