SabrinaFan
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Post by SabrinaFan on Dec 31, 2019 12:58:42 GMT -5
SabrinaFan Ranks and Reviews Every Sabrina Carpenter Song!
Sabrina Carpenter is a wonderful lyricist who has written a lot of deep, emotional songs that inspire hope, empowerment, love, and even take on some broader societal issues. Personally, I was first exposed to Sabrina through a Disney series called Girl Meets World, a spinoff of the hit 90s sitcom Boy Meets World. After watching and enjoying that series for a while, I began listening to Sabrina's music in 2016 starting with her EVOLution era content. I fell in love with Sabrina as an artist, because of the deep, meaningful content of her songs and how she embodied that empowerment even through being her quirky, genuine self in the eyes of the public. Inspired by nick64 's wonderful Taylor Swift reviews, I've decided to review and rank every Sabrina Carpenter song in her discography. At the moment Sabrina has 58 (82 as of March 17, 2023) songs, 6 covers (that have been released as singles), and one sort of misc. song that I can explain when I get to it. I will post a new review each day beginning tomorrow, January 1, 2020, of a different Sabrina Carpenter song. I will review all of her songs from worst to best, along with 12 bonuses interspersed throughout the countdown. The countdown will end on March 7, 2020, when the top song will be revealed.
For future reference, since it's incredibly doubtful Sabrina will stop making songs after this countdown ends, I will continue to review new material as it comes out, and rank it among the songs that have already been ranked. So it's not in a wacky order when new songs come out, here's the entire ranking on this first post (once new stuff comes out, I will add in the new material wherever it fits on this list):
82. Skin 81. Opposite 80. Lonesome 79. Things I Wish You Said 78. I Can’t Stop Me (feat. Saweetie) 77. Hold Tight (feat. Uhmeer) 76. Fall Apart 75. Too Young 74. Darling I’m A Mess 73. Rescue Me 72. Stand Out 71. Can’t Blame A Girl For Trying 70. Honeymoon Fades 69. Your Name (with Morgan Kibby) 68. Best Thing I Got 67. The Middle Of Starting Over 66. Catch My Breath 65. Tomorrow Starts Today 64. Smile 63. Vicious 62. We’ll Be The Stars 61. Two Young Hearts 60. Wow (with Zara Larsson) 59. I’m Fakin’ 58. Skinny Dipping 57. Take You Back 56. Tricky (with Shoffy) 55. Perfect Song 54. Lie For Love 53. Wildside (with Sofia Carson) 52. Diamonds Are Forever 51. Take On The World (with Rowan Blanchard) 50. No Words 49. Looking At Me 48. Hands (with Mike Perry and The Vamps) 47. Seamless 46. Take Off All Your Cool 45. Bet U Wanna 44. Silver Nights 43. Alone Together 42. Tell ‘Em 41. It’s Finally Christmas 40. Bad for Business 39. Christmas The Whole Year Round 38. Let Me Move You 37. Decode 36. Nonsense 35. Eyes Wide Open 34. Right Now 33. First Love (with Lost Kings) 32. Alien (with Jonas Blue) 31. Already Over 30. Feather 29. Why 28. Don’t Want It Back 27. Smoke And Fire 26. Pushing 20 25. Fast Times 24. Paris 23. On Purpose 22. How Many Things 21. White Flag 20. Your Love’s Like 19. Almost Love 18. Mona Lisa 17. Bad Time 16. In My Bed 15. Read Your Mind 14. Feels Like Loneliness 13. Shadows 12. Mirage 11. On My Way (with Alan Walker & Farruko) 10. Tornado Warnings 9. Prfct 8. All We Have Is Love 7. Sue Me 6. Because I Liked a Boy 5. Emails I Can't Send 4. Space 3. Exhale 2. Run And Hide 1. Thumbs
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Post by nick64 on Dec 31, 2019 13:03:41 GMT -5
Can’t wait!! And thanks for the shoutout! 😁
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 1, 2020 12:26:59 GMT -5
58. I Can't Stop Me (feat. Saweetie)
Album: Singular Act II (2019) Standout lyric (in a negative way): “I like my nights erotic, yeah, pussy so aquatic”
Overall, while the vocal performance by Sabrina and the production quality are pretty decent, this song is pretty lyrically lazy, and Saweetie absolutely ruins the song. Normally, with poor features, I try to focus on the parts of the song that I do like and just ignore the annoying feature verse, but Saweetie’s ad-libs are literally all throughout the song and just repeat whatever the last three words Sabrina said are, which gets irritating and adds nothing to the song. Sabrina sounds good in the song, but the lyrics are indicative of lazy writing, and very repetitive. (Cuz I like what I like, what I like, like, like...cuz I like what I like what I like, like, like...)
Lyrically, the song is about giving into your impulses and being unable to stop yourself from doing so. It’s a very sensual song, which is where my gripe with Saweetie comes in. For the first two verses of the song, Sabrina sings about sensual topic matter (Wake me up to lay me down, it’s not like me to assume we’re going out of bounds) which is just fine and fits nicely with the tone of the song. However, Saweetie does not go with this tone and goes straight for the sexual lyrics. A great example of this is with the line I just quoted from Sabrina, “it’s not like me to assume we’re going out of bounds,” to which Saweetie immediately ad-libs “Yeah, yeah, take it out of bounds!” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against sexual songs and I think those sort of lyrics fit nicely if it’s in the right song. With the sensual tone Sabrina sets for the song, Saweetie’s hypersexual lyrics just don’t fit with the message of the song. In Saweetie’s verse particularly, the sexual direction she takes the song in is a bit jarring, because after her verse, it goes right back to sensual. Not only this, but I felt that Saweetie’s sexual lyrics were lazy, just throwing in sex for the reason of talking about sex, which IMO is a very lazy trope that is prevalent in some songs. One line in particular “I like my nights erotic, yeah, pussy so aquatic” just does not fit at all with the tone of giving into one’s impulses sensually for another, rather, it’s just bragging about sexual anatomy making a lazy tangent to sexual impulsiveness. On a side note, this lyric oddly isn’t marked as explicit on any platform, which I found quite odd.
From what Sabrina has said, it sounds implied that including Saweetie in the song was a corporate decision and not an idea she came up with, which is very unfortunate in my opinion. The full song was written before Saweetie had any part in it, and they just tacked her ad-libs and verse on in the final production. If Saweetie were not on the song, this would have ranked a bit higher despite the generally lazy lyrics from Sabrina.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 2, 2020 12:18:31 GMT -5
57. Hold Tight (feat. Uhmeer)
Album: Singular Act I (2018) Standout lyric (in a negative way): “Maybe I been on the Internet a lil, forgettin’ how to keep it slow.”
Even as a die-hard Sabrina fan, this song is very disappointing and really has nothing going for it. Lyrically, the song is about a growingly strong relationship and having an insatiable urge to embrace your lover, not caring what’s around you; only caring about ‘holding tight’. The production quality, especially in the chorus and Uhmeer’s verse (which is essentially ¾ of the song) is super jumpy and difficult to listen to. The writing is pretty poor and the lyrics are very repetitive. Each of Sabrina’s two verses are two lines long, and then it goes right to the pre-chorus and chorus and repeats it over and over.
Uhmeer’s verse is just kinda...there...I guess? It doesn’t really add anything to an already bland song. It’s a totally different tangent, but Uhmeer (real name Amir Mitchell-Townes) co-starred with Sabrina Carpenter on Disney’s Girl Meets World, a series which I really enjoyed. In the series, they play two friends in high school, so admittedly it made me a little uncomfortable to listen to Uhmeer saying he wants Sabrina to “touch it a little” lol. One line that I thought was noteworthily bad was “Maybe I been on the Internet a lil, forgettin’ how to keep it slow.” I felt like that line was very unnecessary, I mean did we really need a reference to watching porn? It doesn’t really have anything to do with the message of the song other than being edgy for the sake of edgy, which is a trope that bothers me a bit because it’s a lazy attempt to cover up poor writing.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 3, 2020 12:42:10 GMT -5
BONUS: I’ll Be Home For Christmas (Acapella Cover with Ali Brustofski & Danielle Lowe - 2012)
Our first bonus! The bonuses (with the exception of one) are a bit less detailed reviews (as I can't really review the lyrics by saying "Wow, this guy from 1902's lyrics really made me feel like I was going to truly have a merry Christmas this year!"). I would say that they are more so spotlights on excellent covers that Sabrina has done that you may not be aware of, which have been released as singles. Bonuses are not considered part of the countdown; they are simply extras.
Wow, what a beautiful cover of this song. This cover was done in 2012 with Ali Brustofski and Danielle Lowe. At the time, Ali was just beginning her musical career, and would go on to release three albums in 2013, two of them being albums with entirely covers. She has not released any albums since, but has had a successful career performing covers on YouTube. She also released a single called "Oh No!" in 2018. Danielle Lowe began releasing covers on YouTube when she was 13 in 2010. She stopped releasing covers in 2013, and has not continued her musical career (little information was found on her).
The vocal range all three of them display is amazing and it genuinely makes me want to check out those other two artists, in a way that none of the other people Sabrina has collabed with over the years has. The cover is completely acapella for all three of the artists, which makes the collab even more amazing! The ending of the video shows all three artists sharing a holiday message, and Sabrina and her dog Goodwin are so cute! This one is a must-listen absolutely!
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 4, 2020 12:05:12 GMT -5
56. Fall Apart
Album: Non-album single (2011) Standout lyric (negatively): “So when he takes you by the hand...forget everything you know and just fall apart”
She’s 11 at this point, so I can’t judge her too harshly (thus why this one isn’t dead last), but this is a pretty unempowering song. It has a “damsel in distress falling for her knight in shining armor” vibe. What is this chorus even? (“So when he takes you by the hand / You gotta listen to your heart / Don't try to understand / Just fall apart / 'Cause the story isn't told / You're only at the start / Forget everything you know / And just fall apart”) No, Sabrina, don’t forget everything you know for a man! If he doesn’t love you for you, then buh-bye! I’m being a little hard on her for being 11, but I really don’t like the idea of an 11-year-old singing about falling apart and forgetting everything she knows over a man, especially with her later work being much more empowering. The production is pretty decent, but the vocals sounding like a young girl combined with completely falling apart and being helpless is a bit hard to listen to IMO.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 5, 2020 12:13:43 GMT -5
55. Too Young
Album: Eyes Wide Open (2015) Standout lyric: “People rushing to grow up, before you know” Eh, this one didn’t do it for me. It’s a slower version of “Two Young Hearts” which will be higher on the chart, but it sort of felt like a repeat of that song and it’s not adding anything new to the message. While the slow ballad aspect of the song works for it, it also comes off as a bit whiney and like a young child saying “But I am mature!”, thus making them seem less mature. The production is subpar, and the lyrics (particularly “Cuz I’m not too young!” repeated over and over) come off as immature and very repetitive. It was unnecessary for her to release an exact copy of “Two Young Hearts,” which did it better in my opinion.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 6, 2020 8:27:29 GMT -5
54. Darling I'm A Mess
Album: Eyes Wide Open (2015) Standout lyric: “I'll try to make our hearts beat in time / Even though your rhythm might not beat with mine”
In the first five seconds of this song, before Sabrina even starts singing, you can tell this song is going to be as cutesy as hell. I’d argue that this one is pretty shallow and has not much of a meaning to it. It’s talking about how Sabrina is a mess without a particular boy’s love, but it’s done in a super cutesy way that doesn’t work at all. It sounds good, unlike “Too Young,” so I’ll give it that, but it’s still pretty immature and doesn’t have a great message to it. The song discusses a platonic relationship and makes Sabrina sound borderline obsessive about a boy who only has platonic feelings for her. I much prefer Sabrina’s later more empowered stuff where she's not obsessively not pining over boys. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Sabrina can’t ever talk about men in her songs, but this song just comes off really desperate and like she's dependent on his love, and it’s not particularly enjoyable to listen to because of that.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 7, 2020 11:01:03 GMT -5
53. Rescue Me
Album: Teen Beach 2 Soundtrack (2015) Standout lyric: “Cause when I'm with you, darling, it's such a breeze”
Yeah, nothing much going for this song. This song is from the Teen Beach 2 soundtrack, and is not on any of Sabrina's albums. It’s a cute song and the quality of Sabrina’s vocals are the best part of it, but it goes back to the cutesy vibes we’ll be talking later on with much of her Eyes Wide Open era. There’s a peppy, sorta childish production going on in the background, while Sabrina just sings about her lover rescuing her. There’s not much of substance to talk about with this song. It wasn’t offensively bad like the previous songs in the countdown so far, but the song is really boring and doesn’t have any sort of replay value.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 8, 2020 15:13:01 GMT -5
52. Stand Out
Album: How to Build a Better Boy Soundtrack (2014) Standout lyric: None
Without looking deep into the song, you might overlook this one as just a kiddy bop put into some Disney movie, but the message of this song is core to Sabrina’s identity as a singer and actress, and is also just a great message in general. This catchy tune preaches embracing your quirks and being unafraid to stand out, because that’s what makes you yourself. Positive lyrics decorate this whole song, leading up to the chorus which unashamedly dares you to be yourself and stand out, because we’re all different.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 9, 2020 11:29:24 GMT -5
51. Can't Blame A Girl For Trying
Album: Eyes Wide Open (2015) Standout lyric: “And even if I always end up crying / No, you can’t blame a girl for trying”
This is definitely one of Sabrina’s cuter songs. Before I even write this review, I have to highlight that Sabrina wrote this song when she was 12 or 13, and it was her first official single off an album, so it’s not going to talk about serious issues as much as some of her later material does. Lyrically, the song talks about the awkward phase when you’re trying to navigate puberty, and feeling attracted to people. She talks about being awkward, but then reassures herself that it’s okay to be awkward because you “can’t blame a girl for trying.”
When comparatively reviewing her entire discography, this is definitely going to rank near the bottom due to the immaturity of it compared to other songs, but that’s not to say it’s a bad song at all. The production of it is very silly and lighthearted, as are Sabrina’s vocals. Nonetheless, it’s still a fun little song to cheer you up if you’re having a particularly rough day, but it’s far from the most mature thing you’ll hear in Sabrina’s discography.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 10, 2020 11:42:15 GMT -5
50. Best Thing I Got
Album: Eyes Wide Open (2015) Standout lyric: “You know I’ll never be too hard to find”
Vocally, the song is appealing, but it falls into that same category as “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying.” It’s very sweet, but not a lot of depth to it. The song talks about Sabrina’s lover being the best thing she has in life, and all the ways she is thankful for him. The vocal performance and production is what makes it just a tad bit better than the aforementioned song, but lyrically the song plays it pretty safe and intends to be a cute, feel-good song that doesn’t have much substance.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 11, 2020 12:33:26 GMT -5
49. The Middle Of Starting Over
Album: Eyes Wide Open (2015) Standout lyric: “Fill it up with love / And make the best of something new”
This is another holdover from Sabrina’s early days making music that made it onto Eyes Wide Open, so it’s another one of the cute songs that aren’t super deep. Lyrically, the song discusses letting go of all your troubles and just starting over with life. However, “the middle” part comes in because the song is trying to get across the message that starting over isn’t an easy thing, and something you need to work at. The production of the song is very cutesy, though I thought the background vocals worked well. If you’re looking for a cute song with fun lyrics, then this is the song for you, but Sabrina’s further discography is a lot more mature and sophisticated compared to this.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 12, 2020 11:48:11 GMT -5
48. Catch My Breath
Album: Non-album single (2010) Standout lyric: “I know heaven isn't only for the sweet life after death / When I look at you, gotta catch my breath”
This is Sabrina Carpenter’s first single, at least that was released officially. She released this when she was 10 years old! The song is a pretty imagery-focused, giving images of a heavenly beach, and comparing a love interest to “standing on a star” and various other beach-related images. I like the use of metaphor in this song, and the lyrics are sorta fun and romantic, though it’s not the most mature song (but I mean, she’s 10, and she’s got a pretty amazing voice!). The backing vocals were unnecessary in my opinion, but the song was otherwise really well done with some beautiful production. Nothing but love for my girl on this one, especially since she made this when she was a 10-year-old!
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 13, 2020 11:12:17 GMT -5
BONUS: A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes / So This Is Love (Cinderella Medley - 2016)
This is the one sort of misc. song I mentioned at the beginning of the countdown. While this is a cover, it was actually included as an original medley on a 2016 Disney compilation, “Dream Big, Princess.” Despite the sources I could find calling it an “original medley,” I didn’t feel it fit into the regular discography and thus it is included as a bonus.
This is a cute cover of Cinderella, and I think Sabrina did a decent job. I like the echoey sound of her voice in this one! The production is pretty decent, and definitely sounds close to the original. I’d give it a listen just for fun.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 14, 2020 8:21:16 GMT -5
47. Tomorrow Starts Today
Album: Non-album single (2017) Standout lyric: “I’m ready for tomorrow, tomorrow starts today.”
This is a very positive and optimistic song empowering you to be ready for anything, and just go with the flow being your natural self. It’s a cute song, and is also the theme song for a Disney original TV show called Andi Mack. The production’s done pretty excellently, and Sabrina’s vocals are on point. Doesn’t feel like it was just phoned in, and it feels like she was treating this as if it were one of her own songs that she’d put on an album. Maybe not quite up to par with EVOLution, but it’s pretty good nonetheless.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 15, 2020 17:09:36 GMT -5
46. Smile
Album: Non-album single (2012), appeared on Disney Fairies: Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust CD Standout lyric: “Who knows what you'll find in this beautiful life”
Dang girl, for being 12 years old when you wrote this song, this is pretty awesome! This single did not appear on any of Sabrina’s albums. This is an upbeat song with super catchy lyrics about finding the good in life and being optimistic, rather than “being stupid” as Sabrina puts it in the song and choosing to see the worst in life. She frames it as every day being a new chance to smile and choose to be happy by taking in what you see in a positive way. It’s a fun, catchy song that’s pretty simple, yet relatable. Sabrina did a great job with her vocals on this one, and the production is cutesy but not in an overbearingly cheesy fashion. Though I must say there’s a strange addition of lyrics from Justin Bieber’s “U Smile” included in the chorus of this song, which was a bit odd but not in a bad way.
The first time I had listened to this song was a few minutes ago, as I’m writing this review, and I have to say this definitely should have been on an album, instead of something like “Too Young” or “Darling, I’m a Mess.” And sorry for another fan lyric video, I can't seem to find anything else for these lesser-known songs.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 16, 2020 8:32:02 GMT -5
45. We'll Be The Stars
Album: Eyes Wide Open (2015) Standout lyric: “Let me in, hold me close / Fill my heart with simple notes”
“We’ll Be The Stars” is a pretty decent song with some cool wordplay related to stars and space with the lyrics. The song talks about a romantic relationship that is destined to last, because both people are unashamedly themselves and don’t give their identities up for the sake of the relationship. There’s some cute wordplay as well with star-related concepts and making them metaphors for the hopes and dreams of a relationship (“We can reach the constellations / Trust me, all our dreams are breaking out”) Like much from this era of Sabrina, the production of it is pretty cutesy and upbeat, though the clever star-related metaphors and imagery really do the song a service, and save it from being further back like “The Middle of Starting Over” and “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying.”
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 17, 2020 11:02:47 GMT -5
44. Two Young Hearts
Album: Eyes Wide Open (2015) Standout lyric: “Cause we are two old souls / With two young hearts”
There were some songs for this review chart that I had never listened to before, and this was actually one of them. This song almost has a bit of country leanings, which is interesting to hear from Sabrina. Like in another single “Eyes Wide Open,” she references being an old soul with a young heart, which I find very interesting and relatable. The song talks about a relationship that isn’t sanctioned (presumably by parents, though she doesn’t specifically say this) because both parties are too young. However, Sabrina and her partner are destined to be together, in her opinions, and she will stop at nothing to keep them together. She ends the song with a cool lyric, which is “You’re never too young” which sums up the message of this song, which is essentially that only two people that are in love with each other know what the relationship feels like to them.
I really enjoyed the country undertones of this song, despite not being a fan of country, and Sabrina’s vocals are excellent all throughout this song. The song is sort of slower compared to Sabrina’s past work at the time, which is a very nice change and I enjoyed the more folk-ish feel to it.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 18, 2020 12:43:07 GMT -5
43. I'm Fakin'
Album: Singular Act II (2019) Standout lyric: “I roll my eyes, you check your phone / You say I'm overly dramatic and I know”
Supposedly, this song was written in an hour, but sadly it’s noticeable. The quality of this isn’t the best, and while it’s super catchy, it’s lyrically a bit shallow. The song talks about a relationship and wanting someone to fall to their knees over you because you love them so much, even if you’re in a huge fight and they’re treating you terribly at the time. The song is a huge earworm, and the beat is awesome, but it’s sort of one of those tracks that’s fun but doesn’t mean a whole lot.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 19, 2020 11:55:11 GMT -5
42. Take You Back
Album: Singular Act II (2019) Standout lyric: “Every moment that I ever spent on you / Shoulda just bought a new pair of shoes”
This is on about the same level as “I’m Fakin’” in terms of shallowness. Lyrically, it talks about opening up to someone, then after the relationship is over wanting to take it all back. Very catchy and “quirky” song as Sabrina calls it, but I feel the message isn’t a particularly sympathizable one. We all have made mistakes in our life, telling people something we shouldn’t have or opening up to the wrong person, but we need to learn from those mistakes instead of just angrily saying we want to “take them back,” because we can’t. We have to learn to live with what happened, and become a better person because of it. Yeah it’s catchy, but in a lyrical review such as this one, I can’t in good faith place this much better than “I’m Fakin’” for the same reason. The one thing that puts this ever so slightly above the latter is that there is a good use of metaphor in the song, about taking someone back as if they were a bought item.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 20, 2020 11:11:47 GMT -5
BONUS: Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (Duet with Peter Hollens - 2014)
This is a cover of U2’s “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” I think both Sabrina and Peter do an excellent job, and this song works so well as a duet! Peter’s humming in the background works quite well for background music to be honest, and Peter displays a great vocal range, and with Sabrina’s vocal range, it’s definitely worthy of having Sabrina Carpenter on his song! Definitely give this one a listen!
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 21, 2020 8:30:59 GMT -5
41. Lie For Love
Album: Sierra Burgess is a Loser Soundtrack (2018) Standout lyric: “We can’t get too romantic / Too busy running high and low”
This song is not from a Sabrina album. This song was made specially for Sierra Burgess is a Loser, a Netflix film. Lyrically, the song is about holding back from getting too romantic out of fear, even lying because you are so in love with the person. I believe? If anyone’s seen the movie and the movie gives it a different context, I apologize, as I’m just reviewing the song on its own. The lyrics are pretty ambiguous, possibly for the above reason, though Sabrina’s sultry vocals and great production really complement the lyrics and make the song sound amazing. The echo-ey sound of Sabrina’s voice in the final chorus is the best sounding part of this song, in my opinion. I like how this song is a bit mysterious, both in tone and lyrically, and I think it takes a great artist to be able to pull that off well, so kudos to Sabrina on that.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 22, 2020 10:11:47 GMT -5
40. Wildside (With Sofia Carson)
Album: Adventures in Babysitting Soundtrack (2016) Standout lyric: “Don't wanna live my life by design / Locked inside, breaking”
“Wildside” is a duet with Sofia Carson, who was Sabrina Carpenter’s co-star in the Adventures in Babysitting movie. It’s a fun song that lyrically talks about breaking the rules, though it makes more sense combined with the film. In Adventures in Babysitting, Sabrina’s character Jenny Parker is a perfectionistic babysitter who lives her life strictly by the rules, and is afraid to take any sort of risk so she doesn’t seem irresponsible. It’s not the best executed message in the film, because Jenny learns to be more like her friend Lola, who is completely irresponsible and in fact tells one of the kids she’s babysitting that it’s totally okay to go get a tattoo. Jenny actually seems pretty mature to me in the film, yet the film frames the ending like Jenny will be a better person if she was less rigid like Lola, but whatever. The song talks about stepping outside of your comfort zone and not being afraid to go on an adventure, which is an excellent message that makes you feel super empowered after listening. The peppy tone of the song feels very fast-paced and dancey, and the performance by Carson and Carpenter is excellent. However, the song is taken down a few notches by the fact that you have to watch the film to truly understand the full meaning of the song, otherwise it just sounds random and shallow. The film is pretty excellent (despite its flaws) and I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you get the chance.
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SabrinaFan
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 23, 2020 8:35:22 GMT -5
39. Diamonds Are Forever
Album: Singular Act I (2018) Standout lyric: “Steal my heart and steal my kiss, but you can’t shake my balance”
This is a very bold, empowering song that songs sort of like Rihanna (an idol of Sabrina’s), talking about how Sabrina is worth as much as a diamond. This is a metaphor for feeling confident in yourself no matter what. There’s not a lot of further meaning to the song, but Sabrina’s bold vocals and the booming production really make this song infectiously listenable and confidence-boosting.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 24, 2020 11:04:07 GMT -5
38. Take On The World (with Rowan Blanchard)
Album: Non-album single (2014) Standout lyric: “I got a ticket to the top of the sky / I'm coming up, I'm on the ride of my life!”
Alright, here we go! The first Sabrina song I ever heard! This is the theme song for Girl Meets World, sung as a duet with Rowan Blanchard, Sabrina’s co-star in the show. I think the vocals from both of these girls are nothing short of excellent. This song is a very cheery, empowering song which talks about being ready to take on the world and handle whatever’s coming at you, because you are awesome and you can handle more than you think. This song’s always had a special place in my heart, both because of the girls’ excellent vocals and upbeat lyrics and tone.
Side note, this song sorta makes me miss the close friendship that Rowan and Sabrina had during the show. It seems like they sorta drifted apart after the show ended, which sucks as they made awesome friends. Hopefully someday they rekindle.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 25, 2020 11:22:44 GMT -5
37. No Words
Album: EVOLution (2016) Standout lyric: “But a beautiful silence, and it lets me know”
Nothing really to review here since the song lives up to its name and actually has no words. Kidding, kidding haha. “No Words” talks about a relationship so beautiful that words can’t describe it. The ironic thing about “No Words” that makes it not as good as some of the other EVOLution stuff is that it uses too many words. “No Words” is repeated at least a half a billion times in the song, and it gets irritating after a little while. The vocals and production themselves are beautiful, but the lyrics are too repetitive, and thus a bit annoying at times (“Beatin’ on the bars, beatin’ on the bars, beatin’ on the bars”). I thought the distorted/deepened vocals were unnecessary as well and made it seem a little spooky almost. So, great lyrics, but not the best execution of it. I did enjoy the imagery of a dawn being her lover by her side, whereas without him is darkness.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 26, 2020 10:05:35 GMT -5
BONUS: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (2017)
January is almost over so I suppose I should post another Christmas bonus before we're completely out of the wintery season, lol. I really dig Sabrina’s cover of this! It’s super beautiful and you can tell she really put a lot of heart and effort into this song. Her vocal range in this song is amazing as well. I’d definitely recommend checking this out!
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 27, 2020 9:33:33 GMT -5
36. Looking At Me
Album: Singular Act II (2019) Standout lyric: “When I circle the room, you an owl, you gon' twist your head”
This song is, simply put, about owning your own confidence. While the song talks about everybody looking at her because she’s so beautiful, arguably I think this could be extended to mean that everybody is metaphorically looking at her, and that’s cool because she’s herself and that’s all she needs to be. It’s a very empowering message, with a very dancey, Latin beat and sassy vocals by Carpenter. While there may have been a more eloquent way to put this than being the center of attention because you’re sexy, the message of self-confidence and empowerment in yourself still radiates from this track.
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Post by SabrinaFan on Jan 28, 2020 8:55:12 GMT -5
35. Hands (with Mike Perry & The Vamps)
Album: Night & Day: Night Edition (2017) Standout lyric: “So leave your s**t at the door"
Let’s start this review with the excellent contribution of whoever edited the Genius page for this song. “nothing has been said really about the song...besides the fact that Sabrina accidentally got the lyrics wrong since she read them one time before she had to record the song.” Yep, the lyrics were supposed to be ‘leave your shirt at the door’, but Sabrina only read the demo one time and memorized it...well, except for one word that is. So her first swear in a song was an accident, which is an adorable feat that only Sabrina could pull off.
Overall, the song’s production is excellent, though Sabrina sounds like she sorta phoned it in on the vocals, which she did, like it’s actually been confirmed she recorded the lyrics while on the phone with Mike Perry. Lyrically, it’s about sex, which I think the chorus sums this up pretty well. (“You say you're better with your Hands yeah yeah yeah / Hands yeah yeah yeah / You say you're better with your / Hands yeah yeah yeah / Hands yeah yeah yeah”) Nothing special, but it’s a fun song if you’re in a dancey mood I guess.
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