Whether you’ve been their long-time fan or only just heard of them from their opening performances at the Eras Tour, it’s safe to say that girl in red and Sabrina Carpenter have just taken the pop music world by storm with their new collaboration.
The pair released the song “You Need Me Now?” on Friday, March 22, 2024. According to her Instagram, Carpenter is girl in red’s first-ever featured artist on one of her songs.
girl in red is known for her mellow alternative/indie music style. Most people recognize her songs such as the 2018 hits, “we fell in love in october” and “i wanna be your girlfriend,” which both blew up on TikTok.
OG fans know Carpenter for her role as Maya Hart on the Disney Channel show, Girl Meets World. Since leaving Disney, Carpenter has continued to develop her music career with her latest and most popular album, emails i can’t send, which has hits such as “Feather” and “Nonsense.” These two songs in particular launched Carpenter to fame because of the iconic dance sequences and unique outros that have gone viral on TikTok.
Both of these women have opened for Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour. girl in red opened for her in June of 2023 and Carpenter opened for the first four months of the international leg.
“You Need Me Now?” is a new kind of sound for girl in red, as her discography is mostly mellow indie pop or soft rock. This new song sounds like it is her debut into the genuine pop-rock genre. In this song, it doesn’t sound like her voice has been manipulated or altered by audio effects like most of her discography has displayed. I almost didn’t recognize that it was girl in red singing at first.
The song is written from the perspective of someone who is over being played and let down by the same person time and time again.
For the first two minutes of the song, girl in red narrates how she is not going to fall for the other person’s cycle of manipulation again. She is taking back control of her life and emotions and protecting her piece.
Lines such as “Yeah, you’re swinging right back like a pendulum babe,” “I’ve heard it before,” and “So you want my sympathy now?” are all call-outs for the other person’s patterns and manipulative tactics that she won’t fall for again, finally pulling herself out of a toxic relationship or pointless “situationship.” In a more traditional, familiar girl in red song, these lyrics would feel like a punch in the gut because of how sadly they would be presented; however, in this upbeat rock sound, these lyrics sound more empowering and almost vengeful.
girl in red uses other lines like “Those tears are so fake” and “You’re stripped of love and it’s evident” as a slap in the face to whoever the song is directed to. These lyrics also resonate with listeners because she is singing with all her heart the things we would’ve, could’ve, and maybe should’ve said to those who have wronged us.
Right before the bridge, the song goes into an unexpected break, as if girl in red is detached from recording the song and having a side conversation with her team. This break introduces Carpenter as she comes in saying “Oh my God, you’re so right / I’m gonna sing now” — it doesn’t sound as cheesy as it reads, trust me.
Carpenter takes over the bridge, and like the rest of the song, her part is heavily coded in girl power. She talks about how she can finally do the things she’s wanted to but couldn’t because she had someone dragging her down. She sings about not needing that particular person to feel happy or validated — at least not anymore.
The song closes out with girl in red and Carpenter harmonizing the chorus. Their voices blend so seamlessly that they almost sound like one person.
According to girl in red’s Instagram post, “You Need Me Now?” was produced and written by herself, Matias Téllez, Carpenter, and girl in red’s mom. The song is now available on all music streaming platforms.