The Sabrina Carpenter Effect

What is Sabrina Carpenter, and why is she suddenly so popular? In our chauvinist past, women singers were automatically compared to other women singers, and this is worth reprising at a moment when the world is dominated by one of them. Carpenter supported Taylor Swift on several legs of her Eras tour, and has since had two number one singles in the UK. While Swift is bigger than presidents, her support act – a 25-year-old former Disney actress who has been around so long she released an album called Evolution at the age of 17 – is a more human prospect: a lively green shoot popping up in the tracks of the bulldozer. Carpenter sounds happier than Taylor: goofier, and much more horny. Most importantly, she has humour. Her new album title, Short n’ Sweet, is simply a reference to how small she is, the kind of thing Dolly Parton would do.