On a humid day, at about 3 p.m., Sabrina Carpenter was standing on the expansive front lawn of a house in Pasadena, California, trying to commune with a family of peacocks. For decades, peacocks have been allowed to breed and fly freely in the area, and they are everywhere—parading across streets and through gardens, their plumage trailing behind them. “Look at the babies!” Carpenter exclaimed, as three peachicks walked confidently behind their mother. Carpenter, who is tiny, with cascading blonde hair and a surprisingly low, sexy voice, was wearing a tan Gucci ensemble. She was in between setups at the W photo shoot, licking a mango-flavored ice pop. “Maybe you should sing to the peacocks!” someone suggested. Carpenter considered this for a second, but the avian family seemed much more interested in the frozen treat in her hand. Apparently, they were the only ones in this cul de sac—or on this planet—who hadn’t been humming “Espresso” or “Please Please Please,” Carpenter’s two massively popular summer songs. Even the pop icon Adele has spoken about singing “Espresso” compulsively.
Before the peacocks could get too close, Carpenter was called back to the house to touch up her makeup for the next photo. Although she is having a huge moment—at one point in June, she simultaneously had the No. 1 and No. 4 pop singles in America—Carpenter, who is 25, has been working since she was a child and is extremely comfortable in front of the camera. “I can’t even remember when I started singing and performing and entertaining, because I was really, really little,” she told me. “I did my first audition when I was around 11 years old. The second or third audition was for the first job that I booked—Law & Order: SVU. I was thrown off by that booking because I always wanted to do comedy. And on that show, I was a victim. I remember running the lines with my dad and asking, ‘Is this what acting is?’ And then I booked Orange Is the New Black. Can I swear? That episode was called ‘Fucksgiving.’” Carpenter laughed. Her next gigs were all wholesome. “I went from raunchy to Disney!”
Even while pursuing acting, at 9 years old Carpenter was posting videos of herself singing on YouTube. At first, she did versions of other artists’ songs, but she quickly began writing her own music. While she was costarring in Disney shows like Girl Meets World, music was not her main pursuit. “But when I was 16,” she said, “I put out my first project. Ever since, music has been my whole life.”
On set, while she was having her hair combed into a smooth Brigitte Bardot–esque look, Carpenter was listening to music that she had chosen—most of which was released before she was born. She was singing along to the likes of the Beach Boys, Shania Twain, and the Human League. “I sing ‘Don’t You Want Me’ in the shower!” said Carpenter. “The lyrics are so funny. It has been stuck in my head.” Carpenter wrote her own addictive earworm, “Espresso,” in France. She was opening for Taylor Swift and had 10 days off. “I was in a ghost town that had one little creperie down the road. I had my shot of espresso, and then I might have had some champagne, and before I knew it the song was written.” She paused. “I definitely hear it now in every car I get into, and being on the radio, to me, is still—it’s like fate. You have to be at the right place at the right time.”
“Please Please Please,” the second single off her album Short n’ Sweet, was cowritten and produced by Jack Antonoff, the three-time Grammy Award winner for Producer of the Year. “I just adore Sabrina,” said Antonoff. “And she’s going to be around forever because she’s such a great songwriter.” The video for “Please Please Please” features Carpenter’s real-life boyfriend, Barry Keoghan, who is best known for starring in Saltburn, last year’s hit film. In the video, Keoghan is a recently released convict attempting to reform his bad-boy ways while Carpenter pleads with him to respect her. She wins. It’s a sly, deft take on what some people believe to be the dynamic in their relationship.
Carpenter’s video for “Espresso” is similarly clever. In the clip, she’s had the better of a boy and is rejoicing in a series of beach tableaux—sunning with her friends, dancing in the sand and on top of a surfboard. “My favorite bathing suit was the black one-piece on the surfboard,” Carpenter recalled. “I did that video because I thought the clock was ticking on how much longer I had to do my beach music video. To me, ‘Espresso’ sounded like when you turn on a vintage radio at the beach. And I did want to make it a little bit ridiculous, because that’s up my alley.”
Carpenter was summoned to the white picket fence on the side of the house. Although she can project a girl-next-door quality, she smartly leans into her innate sex appeal. When she appeared on the season finale of SNL, she wore a feather cape for one of her songs, only to toss it off and reveal a sparkly showgirl-esque micro mini. “They made me a redhead for a skit,” said Carpenter. “And I realized that I am definitely happier as a blonde!”
Around four years ago, Carpenter’s blondeness was used against her. She was allegedly the subject of Olivia Rodrigo’s massive hit “Drivers License,” as “that blonde girl” who had supposedly captured the heart of Rodrigo’s ex-boyfriend, Joshua Bassett (who has since come out as gay, but that’s a different story). Carpenter released a hit song of her own, titled “Because I Liked a Boy,” with lyrics like “I’m a home-wrecker, I’m a slut/I got death threats filling up semi-trucks.” The backlash from “Drivers License” has only inspired Carpenter to create more personal music, but she definitely doesn’t want to turn her romantic life into a public discussion. “I get why people are interested,” she said. “But they can listen to my album and decide for themselves what the songs are about.”
After taking the photograph, Carpenter and her older sister, Sarah, who works with her, returned to a small guesthouse, where Carpenter changed into a Loewe gown. As she checked her phone, I asked if she had ever been starstruck. “Oh god—I had a really dangerous Zac Efron phase, when he was in Hairspray,” she said. “I was 12 years old, and I was on a beach for the Fourth of July. He would never remember this, but I saw him and said, ‘I’m a big fan of your work!’ He gave me a hug. And I remember thinking, Oh my god—he wasn’t wearing a shirt and he gave me a hug! I was like, This is amazing. I’m never washing my body!”
Carpenter laughed again and headed outside. She posed near the front door of the house. It was the penultimate look of the day—the final shot would be among the sprinklers on the front lawn. It was hot out, and Carpenter was looking forward to being in the wet grass. “It will ruin my hair, but who cares?” she said. “I like water, but I’m definitely more like a cat. I’m smart, I love a little cat eye, I’m soft sometimes, I love a nap, and I can jump.” Carpenter smiled. “And I’ve got so many lives.”
Hair by James Pecis for Blu & Green Beauty at Bryant Artists; makeup by Fara Homidi for Fara Homidi Beauty at the Good Company; manicure by Zola Ganzorigt for OPI at the Wall Group. Set design by Spencer Vrooman for SVS.
Produced by Connect The Dots; Producer: Jane Oh; Production Coordinators: Nicole Morra, Alison Yardley; Photography assistants: Milan Aguirre, Bailey Beckstead, Arvin Rusanganwa; Retouching: Studio RM; Fashion assistant: Antonina Getmanova; Hair assistant: Ramon Fuertes; Makeup assistant: Jason Case; Production Assistants: Jack Fish, Danielle Rouleau, Juanes Montoya, Soheyl Hamzavi; Set assistants: Christian Duff, Hannah Murphy; Tailor: Irina Tshartaryan at Susie’s Custom Designs, Inc.
