Sabrina Carpenter’s new album echoes Taylor Swift’s playbook with tracks about Shawn Mendes

Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet channels a Taylor Swift-esque approach, making an entire album on a situationship.

Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album, Short n’ Sweet, mirrors Taylor Swift’s storytelling style, with a significant portion dedicated to her brief romance with Shawn Mendes. Much like Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which unexpectedly focused on her short-lived fling with Matty Healy rather than her high-profile relationship with Joe Alwyn, Carpenter’s new release explores her past involvement with Mendes.

In an exclusive interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Carpenter shared that the album reflects on impactful yet fleeting relationships, notably her time with Mendes. “I thought about some of these relationships and how some of them were the shortest I’ve ever had, and they affected me the most,” Carpenter revealed.

The album features several tracks that seem to address Mendes directly. For instance, in "Dumb & Poetic," Carpenter critiques a former lover’s introspective and self-help tendencies, drawing a parallel to Mendes’s public persona. Lyrics like, “You’re so dumb and poetic,” and comments on his emotional struggles suggest a clear nod to Mendes.

Another track, "Taste," implies an awareness of Mendes’s on-again, off-again relationship with Camila Cabello. The lyrics, “I heard you’re back together and if that’s true / You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you,” echo Swift’s style of weaving personal narratives into her music.

The song "Coincidence" further echoes a Swiftian approach to addressing celebrity breakups, with lines such as, “What a coincidence / Ooh, wow, you just broke up again.” Carpenter’s album positions itself in the tradition of personal storytelling seen in Swift’s work, focusing on the emotional complexities of her brief romance with Mendes