Top 10 Sabrina Carpenter Songs

If you've been following Taylor Swift's international tour dates or caught the 2023 VMAs, you may have been introduced to a bright new pop star named Sabrina Carpenter. Carpenter has been working in the music industry for years, and we're glad she's finally starting to get the recognition she deserves! Everyone could use a dose of her confident, sweet, empowering, honest, and sultry energy.

Carpenter started off her entertainment career as an actress. She made her acting debut with an appearance in the television crime show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and had a recurring role on Fox's The Goodwin Games. She then starred in the Disney Channel comedy series Girl Meets World and would go on to perform in several more Disney projects. She released her first single "Can't Blame a Girl for Trying" and EP of the same name in 2014. Carpenter has since released her debut album, Eyes Wide Open, in 2015, and four more studio albums: Evolution (2016), Singular: Act I (2018), Singular: Act II (2019), and her critically-acclaimed emails i can't send (2022).

For this Top 10, we'll be revealing our favorite Sabrina Carpenter bops! We'll only be including songs where she is the lead artist, so apologies to whoever expected Alan Walker's "On My Way" to be featured. Whether you're new to Sabrina's music and would like an introduction to her work or you've been a Sabrina fan since the beginning, keep reading to learn what we consider to be her greatest hits (so far)!


10. "Alien (ft. Jonas Blue)"

We start our list off with a starry-eyed track from Singular: Act I. "Alien" is about the mystery of getting to know someone new; wanting to learn more about them, but being anxious when it comes to proceeding. Sabrina connected with UK producer Jonas Blue, in which they wrote "Alien" together one weekend in London. And a fun fact: Sabrina actually had a UFO encounter near Route 66 a few weeks after releasing the song.

Also, you may not be able to hear it unless you've got headphones on, but in the chorus of "Alien" is a quiet sample of the "yeah, woo!" sound from Lyn Collins' 1972 song "Think (About It)." You may have heard that same sound from the popular late 80s hip-hop track "It Takes Two."


9. "Almost Love"

If you've ever dated someone and things are starting to get serious, there comes a point where you can feel love for them bubbling up inside you. "Almost Love" tackles that exciting emotion of wanting to go all in with your partner. In the song, Sabrina is in a casual fling with someone, but wants to take things to the next level. The sparse but bold techno sounds within the tune heighten her intensity.

Sultry and featuring whistle sounds (listening to this song feels like being back in high school gym class), "Almost Love" is another bop from Sabrina's Singular: Act I. It was actually the last track written for the album, and was released two months after it was finished.


8. "Skin"

If you're a Sabrina Carpenter fan, you know all about the drama between her, Oliva Rodrigo, and Joshua Bassett. To make a long story short: Olivia and Joshua were dating, but then broke up. Shortly after, Joshua dated Sabrina, and they broke up, too. Olivia released the album Sour, which became a gigantic commercial hit and was heavily inspired by Rodrigo's relationship with Bassett. And unfortunately, Sabrina got caught in the fan crossfire and received death threats because she was perceived as being "the other woman."

"Skin" addresses the controversy from Sabrina's point of view. In this hopeful, uptempo ballad, she makes it clear that she has nothing against Olivia or her fans, and even calls out Rodrigo's song "drivers license" with the lyric, "Maybe 'blonde' was the only rhyme." She states that despite peoples' hate, she still has love, happiness, and thick skin.

On Genius, Carpenter wrote about the emotional song, "i was at a tipping point in my life for countless reasons. so i was inspired to do what i usually do to cope, write something that i wish i could have told myself in the past. people can only get to you if you give them the power to. and a lot of people were trying to get to me. the song isn’t calling out one single person. some lines address a specific situation, while other lines address plenty of other experiences I’ve had this past year...it also shows that many things have actually gotten under my skin...and I’m still learning to not give other people so much power over my feelings. I know a lot of you struggle with the same thing."


7. "Sue Me"

Listen to this Singular: Act 1 bop after a breakup if you want to build your confidence back up! "Sue Me" is about embracing your inner champion, starting fresh, and leaving your negative ex behind. Funny enough, "Sue Me" wasn't inspired by one of Carpenter's lovers, but by a real-life lawsuit issued against Sabrina. The year prior to the release of the song, her former music managers sued the singer, her new management, and her parents for commissions after she left the company.

With a bold beat, glorious background choir, and Sabrina's soaring vocals when she recites the song's title, "Sue Me" will make you feel unstoppable. We also love how plot-wise and aesthetically, the music video for "Sue Me" is a subtle homage to Legally Blonde! If that film ever gets a remake, we hope Sabrina plays Elle Woods.


6. "Why"

"Why" has the sonic vibes of a Halsey song, but the kind of clever lyrics only Sabrina can supply. Opposites attracting is the main theme of the tune. It tells the story of Sabrina and her lover. They couldn't be more different when it comes to simple preferences (like sleeping with the air on, keeping the curtains open or closed, and singing along to music on the radio), but they get along so well. Because they don't ask for each other to change, they are soulmates.

Besides its story, "Why" is a standout in Sabrina's catalogue because of its noteworthy music production. "Why" utilizes electronic instrumentals more than the majority of her songs, and we love how it sounds on her soprano voice. In terms of the songwriting process, Sabrina told Billboard it was fairly simple. "This song happened very quickly. We started with the first line of the song – ‘You like New York City in the daytime; I like New York City in the night time’ – and from there, the song kind of wrote itself."


5. "Thumbs"

"Thumbs" is definitely a standout in Sabrina's catalogue. Unlike the rest of the songs on this list, "Thumbs" has nothing to do with love or relationships. The subject matter is also a lot darker than most of her songs. But it's not dreary in any way. It's probably the most dance-able song about complacency and capitalism you'll ever hear!

“Thumbs” was released on October 7, 2016 as a promotional single for Sabrina’s sophomore album EVOLution, and was later dropped as an official single on January 3, 2017. Listening to the track, you'll hear a story about a mother and father who keep on reproducing, business people who can't get out of the rat race, and a bank robber who gets away with his crime. "Thumbs" has become a fan favorite not only for the catchy beat, but also because of the gripping music video. It shows Sabrina riding a subway car and a multitude of interesting characters, all in what appears to be a single take!


4. "Feather"

These next four songs are from Sabrina's latest album, emails i can't send. First up is "Feather": a floaty, cutesy, bubblegum banger all about the weight of an ex being lifted off your shoulders. Fun and disco-inspired, it's an extremely catchy and danceable track that will have you feeling light and airy!

"Feather" celebrates the joy of cutting off a toxic past love from your life. The lyrics are relatable and empowering, encouraging listeners to let go of what no longer serves them. Listening to "Feather" is like feel-good medicine. It's also become a concert staple for Sabrina, and she recently performed the track at the 2023 VMAs!


3. "because i liked a boy"

Although "Skin" covers the Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett debacle, "because i liked a boy" does so with a lot more maturity, grace, and sonic mastery. This may be one of the catchiest ballads we've ever heard. You don't have to be in Sabrina's exact situation...if you've ever been unfairly judged in any way and have gained a tarnished reputation because of it, "because i liked a boy" will definitely resonate with you.

Not only did the Disney love triangle drama inspire "because i liked a boy," but so did Emma Stone's character from the film Easy A. Talking to Rolling Stone about the song, Sabrina revealed, "That song came from a really real place in my life, so it didn’t feel right to not kind of write that song, but at the same time, I’ve had so many people that have heard it tell me how much they relate to it in their own way...People have experienced that similar situation in a completely different way than I’ve experienced it. It was very therapeutic to write that song from hindsight and being like, 'Wow, one thing leads to another and things can really get out of hand.' Just being able to own it at the end of the day, and not let it determine who you are."

"because i liked a boy" reveals a very harsh truth about society: sometimes people tell you who you are, and despite how wrong they are, you don't have a choice in the matter.


2. "emails i can't send"

We'll admit: this song has made us cry. If you've ever been cheated on – especially after loving someone you thought you'd spend the rest of your life with – "emails i can't send" hits the emotional nail on the head. Or if you're like Sabrina and one of your parents caused infidelity...then yeah, this'll get you, too. The track is just under two minutes, but Sabrina manages to deliver a raw performance that touches on her disappointment, heartbreak, lack of trust, and fear of future love.

"emails i can't send" was inspired by her father, who cheated on her mother when Sabrina was young. Sabrina actually wrote out an email to him with her unfiltered thoughts, but instead of sending it, she kept some of the lines she wrote and turned them into song lyrics. "emails i can't send" would inspire her fifth studio album of the same name, and is the opening track on the record. What really gets us is the somewhat repetitive vocal melody and rolling piano keys that build up to the climactic line "please f---ing fix this." Makes us choke up every time.


1. "Nonsense"

Our #1 pick easily goes to "Nonsense." This has become Sabrina's signature song over the last year. Not only does the tone of the track encapsulate Sabrina's brand as a happy-go-lucky lover girl, but the music production is catchy and polished, the lyrics are mischievous and fun, and the message is incredibly relatable to anyone who's lost their mind when around a very attractive person.

So many lines in this bop are genius, but our personal favorites include: "Baby my tongue goes numb, sounds like bleh-blah-blee," "Oh, it feels so good I had to jump the octave," "This song catchier than chickenpox is," "How quickly can you take your clothes off, pop quiz," and the double entendre, "Treat me like a queen, now you got me feelin' thrown."

But the best part about "Nonsense"? The lyrics are malleable depending upon the season and where Sabrina is performing it. For example, there's a holiday version of this song. And when Sabrina is singing "Nonsense" live on tour, she adds three more fun rhymes to the end of the track and customizes them to the city she's in! She recently did a special version for the 2023 VMAs. Watching compilation videos of Sabrina closing out "Nonsense" live = getting sucked down a rabbit hole. We can't get over how smart it is; it keeps audiences hanging on till the very end, and ensures "Nonsense" will remain a tour hit for years to come. It's as though Sabrina woke up one morning and decided to write a pop hit!


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Article Image: Sabrina Carpenter sits with her eyes closed while performing at a 2022 concert. (Justin Higuchi [CC BY 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons.