Sabrina Carpenterhad the biggest year of her career in 2024, and she further proved herself as one of the biggest stars in music with her recent NPR Tiny Desk concert. Carpenter's 2024 album Short n' Sweet debuted at #1 on Billboard 200 and is nominated for Album of The Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards. The former Disney actress recently concluded the North American leg of her tour, which produced several viral social media moments. From covering songs like ABBA's "Mamma Mia" and trying new poses during "Juno" every night, Sabrina Carpenter's tour took social media by storm.
Furthering her star power, the "Espresso" singer released a Netflix Christmas special called A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter. It included performances from Carpenter of songs off her 2023 Christmas EP, Fruitcake, as well as covers of classic Christmas songs like "Last Christmas" featuring Chappell Roan. As the year comes to a close, Carpenter has a lot to prepare for. With six Grammy nominations, another award show performance could be imminent. Luckily, the 5 ft tall singer has had lots of practice from her world tour to her VMAs performance and, most recently, her stop at NPR's Washington, D.C. headquarters.
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Espresso
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Amy Allen, Steph Jones, & Julian Bunetta
Sabrina Carpenter kicked off Coachella this year with a brand-new single that quickly took over pop radio. "Espresso" was a massive hit with its catchy melody and silly lyrics. It's no surprise it made it onto Carpenter's NPR setlist. The performance was more stripped down than it was in some of Carpenter's other performances, setting it apart from how she's sung it in the past. The singer even gave a short speech before singing the hit, mentioning it's nominated at the upcoming Grammys and confessing she never imagined what a success it would become when she was writing it.
While it's the song that changed her career's trajectory, it's hardly the strongest song on Carpenter's Short n' Sweet. Still, its light-hearted nature makes it fun to hear, and the singer and her band appeared to jam out during the performance. Carpenter even did some of her signature dance moves as she sang through the lyrics to what's arguably the most popular song she's ever released. It did come across as a little tired at times due to how much she's performed it since its April 2024 release, and she appeared more passionate about some other songs on the setlist.
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Taste
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Amy Allen, Julia Michaels, John Ryan, & Ian Kirkpatrick
With "Taste" as the opening track on Short n' Sweet and the first song on the tour's setlist, it's no surprise Sabrina Carpenter kicked off her NPR Tiny Desk concert with the single. When Short n' Sweetdropped, the actress-turned-singer released "Taste," a song allegedly inspired by her fling with Shawn Mendes. Like "Espresso," this hit was stripped down for NPR. Carpenter added a little bit of country twang to her pronunciation of the lyrics, mimicking artists like Shania Twain and Kacey Musgraves. While "Taste" was also a massive success, Carpenter gave it new life in her NPR concert.
Carpenter has long moved on from the situation that inspired the song, but she brilliantly channeled some pettiness into her performance. Widening or squinting her eyes at times to emphasize the lyrics, the singer proved how capable she is of capturing the emotions she used when writing in her performance. Carpenter even added her signature giggle from the track right after the lyric where she jokes about her habit of ending up in public love triangles. It was the perfect way to start the NPR concert, even if "Taste" has become almost as overplayed as "Espresso" has.
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Juno
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Amy Allen, & John Ryan
While "Espresso" might be the perfect way for Sabrina Carpenter to end her Short n' Sweet Tour, she switched things up for the NPR concert. Instead, she ended with her album's 10th track, "Juno." Carpenter received backlash while performing "Juno" on her tour due to her poses during the lyrics about trying out "freaky positions." However, the positions became one of the stables of the tour. Carpenter even explained how she got the inspiration to write the scandalous track. According to the star, she was writing a joke song with friends after watching the Diablo Cody film Juno.
Sabrina Carpenter’s "Taste" MV has lots of movie references, including many that pay homage to a Meryl Streep and Robert Zemeckis' cult classic.
Carpenter told the NPR audience the lyrics "make me Juno" sounded to her like a funnier way of saying "knock me up." The song is one of the best pop hits on Short n' Sweet, and Carpenter kept it just as fun during the NPR set. She even opted down while singing the beginning of the chorus, setting it apart from the recorded version and her tour rendition. Despite the backlash, the 25-year-old singer still included one of her positions, making it a little more PG by swiping her butt across some bar chimes.
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Bed Chem
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Amy Allen, Julia Michaels, John Ryan, & Ian Kirkpatrick
One of the biggest breakout hits on Carpenter's album is "Bed Chem." The song quickly went viral on TikTok, mainly focusing on some of the X-rated lyrics. However, other popular lyrics included ones that seemed to link to the first day Carpenter met her then-boyfriend, actor Barry Keoghan. Carpenter's band did a beautiful job translating its R&B production for a more acoustic performance. However, what made the performance extra special was when Sabrina explained how "Bed Chem" came to be. The song's lyrics are seemingly about Carpenter's attraction to a man she assumes would be great in bed.
However, the phrase "bed chem" did not originate from a romantic interest. Carpenter explained that she was sleeping in a hotel bed with her close friend Paloma Sandoval when the two effortlessly fell asleep at the same time. The next morning, they also woke up at the same time and agreed they had great bed chem. She revisited the phrase when she met a guy she was attracted to, confessing she thought she'd have great bed chem with him, too. The song is already beloved, but it's even more special now that Carpenter revealed the phrase's origins to her fans.
The NPR concert would not have felt complete had Carpenter not included "Bed Chem" in the setlist. The 6th track of Short n' Sweet also has some witty and comical lyrics, and the verses are more spoken than sung. However, with Carpenter's charisma, she was able to deliver them perfectly in the performance. She also proved her vocal strength as she hit the high notes flawlessly in the chorus.
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Slim Pickins
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Amy Allen, & Jack Antonoff
While Short n Sweet is mostly filled with pop and R&B-inspired songs, the former Girl Meets World actress switched things up with the track "Slim Pickins." Since her rise to stardom, Carpenter's music has been compared to everyone from Ariana Grande to the 70s Swedish pop group ABBA. However, "Slim Pickins" gained comparisons to the work of Dolly Parton, whose 1980 single "9 to 5" made it on the Short n' Sweet setlist a few times. After three pop-inspired performances at NPR's Tiny Desk, "Slim Pickins" was a perfect intermission. Carpenter also transitioned into the hit flawlessly.
After singing the last notes of "Please Please Please," Carpenter's guitarist went right into "Slim Pickins" as she joined in with the lyrics. The song chronicles Carpenter's struggles in love, feeling like there is a very slim choice of men in the world. From her perspective, if the good ones aren't dead, they're already taken by someone else. While Carpenter only sang a portion of the song, "Slim Pickins" stood out from all her other hits. It proves Carpenter is capable of tackling any genre she chooses and sung live, it's just as magical as it is on the album.
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Please Please Please
Written by Sabrina Carpenter, Amy Allen, & Jack Antonoff
While "Espresso" may have jump-started a new era of massive success for Sabrina Carpenter, "Please Please Please" marked a first in her career. Back in June when the song was released, it became Carpenter's first #1 song on Billboard's Hot 100. The Jack Antonoff produced single leaned heavily on synth-pop, similar to the music he makes with Taylor Swift. However, Carpenter performed it much differently for her NPR concert. The singer leaned heavily on orchestra instruments like the cello and violin while performing "Please Please Please" for NPR, keeping it extremely simple in the beginning.
The drums of the song, which she co-wrote with Antonoff and Amy Allen, don't kick in until the second half of the chorus. From here on, the band picks up while Carpenter and her background singers even add in some hand claps to go along. With a #1 Billboard spot and a Song of The Year nomination at the 2025 Grammys, "Please Please Please," is a career high for Carpenter. It may just be the best song on Short n' Sweet, and the NPR performance felt like a celebration of the incredible work she did with Antonoff and Allen.
Lyrics like "I beg you don't embarrass me motherf***er," are a result of Carpenter's wicked sense of humor that has contributed to her rise in fame. However, there is also something very authentic about "Please Please Please." Sabrina Carpenter has been hurt in the past and publicly humiliated due to the media's attention on her relationships. In this song, she's practically on her knees, begging her current partner not to put her through the same embarrassment as her last partners. All of this comes through in her NPR performance, which is why it is the best of the Tiny Desk concert.
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