The latest single from pop’s latest magician shares her fear of the power of love.
Serving as the second single to her upcoming tasty 5th album Short and Sweet, the 4’11 songstress delivers a plea for honesty and integrity on “Please Please Please.”
It’s no “Espresso” but much like the songstress, it’s perky, sharp and candid. The beachy ballad features production from Grammy Award-Winning Producer of the Year, Jack Antonoff, and ‘Espresso’ co-writer Amy Allen.
Carpenter draws from her own naïveté in this fresh relationship through this funky 70s country ballad that feels like sunblock on a summer day—indicative of danger, protective but prone to sticking out the harsh heat for the fun of it.
The track glitters with layered harmonies and the lovelorn sweetness of an early Dolly record, as she pleads: “Don’t bring me to tears when I just did my makeup so nice”. From the spry guitar to witty Kacey Musgraves-esque lyrics like “Please don’t embarrass me motherf-cker,” Carpenter peels back a layer of Espresso’s confident stance, “I can’t relate / to Desperation,” revealing a more wary side:
“Everyone makes mistakes / But just don’t.”
In the track, Carpenter hints at her relationship with white boy of the month, Barry Keoghan. Carpenter even pulls the baller move of featuring the song’s subject (and her now-boyfriend) in the song’s official music video, which serves a Tarantino-esque continuation to the campy, criminal “Espresso” video.
In what TikTok user @cocoloco108 calls “most iconic bring your boyfriend to work day,” the couple portrays a Bonnie and Clyde/Alabama and Clarence romance where Keoghan fights for her honor (or his own ego). It’s a sweet time stamp on two of the hottest breakout stars of 2024 with a fun (and kinky?) cameo from Antonoff.
In a year of top-tier music releases, August 23 cannot come soon enough for what will prove to be one of pop music’s shiniest effort.
Stream “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter now:
