The Sabrina Carpenter story is one of patience, persistence, and the moment everything finally clicks. She’d been releasing music since 2014. She’d toured with Taylor Swift. She’d released five albums that found audiences but not ubiquity. Then Espresso happened.

The single — a breezy, witty piece of vintage-inflected pop — became a genuine global phenomenon in spring 2024. It spent months on charts worldwide and established Carpenter as more than a TikTok star or a Swift affiliate. She was, suddenly and definitively, a pop star in her own right.

What followed — Short n’ Sweet, a headline tour, a Saturday Night Live appearance — confirmed this was not a fluke. Carpenter has genuine comedic instincts, real songwriting ability, and an ear for the kind of hook that embeds itself in your brain for weeks. She is here to stay.