By Ally Uhlendorf
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Social media has found their newest “pop princess” and latest musical sensation: Sabrina Carpenter. The singer has been in the well-deserved spotlight this year after gaining tons of fame from her beloved Eras Tour opening performances. Before performing at Coachella 2024, which kicked off this past weekend, the singer dropped a single titled “Espresso” to celebrate her first time performing at the festival.
“Espresso” was served to us on April 11, and it’s already made its way to the top of the charts. The new hit is a retro-pop style single, surrounding the idea of an exciting, new love and having her partner, “Saltburn” star Barry Keoghan, wrapped around her finger. Carpenter relates her ability to keep her partner awake thinking about her to espresso, calling it “me espresso.”
“And now he’s thinkin’ ‘bout me every night, oh. Is it that sweet? I guess so,” she sings. “Say you can’t sleep, baby, I know. That’s that me, espresso.”
Carpenter is known for her witty humor and makes that known during her live performances. Her comedic flair is presented through her hit single “Nonsense” outros, where she rhymes innuendoes to match whichever city or venue she is playing for. The artist references this in “Espresso,” singing, “My twisted humor makes him laugh so often.”
In the accompanying music video to the single, directed by Dave Meyers, viewers are transported to a retro beach setting straight out of the 50s. Carpenter and her friends are seen wearing 50s-inspired swimsuits and accessories, surrounded by adoring admirers who fan them with palm branches and pamper them while tanning. The video encapsulates a playful energy, with hints of newfound love and luxury — that is until Carpenter is seen getting arrested by the police, yet still wearing a smile on her face, due to stealing her ex’s jet ski.
The single was released the night before Coachella kicked off, where she then held her debut performance of it on the festival’s stage. Along with “Espresso,” Carpenter also performed twelve of her other hit songs, such as “because i liked a boy” and “Feather.”
In the days leading up to the release and Coachella set, Carpenter used various creative marketing techniques and teased the new song more uniquely.
The singer started to tease the single after she concluded the Eras Tour, sending her newsletter including a photo of her drinking an espresso martini and telling her fans to “stay hydrated/caffeinated” in preparation for Coachella. Soon after, Spotify created a playlist titled “Espresso Martini,” featuring said photo of Carpenter as the main cover. Then, Team Sabrina on Instagram, the singer’s official team page, sent a message to their followers once they signed up to receive alerts saying “Sabrina’s on vacation until April 11” — the release date of the song. Lastly, Carpenter ended her “emails i can’t send” era by adding a message to her website that says “message undeliverable” in her inbox.
The artist officially announced the release of “Espresso” by tweeting a pre-save link with the word “brewing” above it and then finally posting the announcement on Instagram on April 8.
Needless to say, the song was an instant hit. By Saturday, one day after the release, the song was ranked seventh on Spotify’s Top 50 with nearly 1.5 million listeners. Once again, Carpenter has acclaimed her fame in the world of pop music.
