Twenty-year-old Sabrina Carpenter (Girl Meets World, The Hate U Give) released the second part of her third album at midnight and it is everything you want in an album. The first part of the album, Singular: Act I came out last November, with her hit singles being “Almost Love” and “Sue Me”. According to Carpenter, the second installment of the album is “a little less precise and a little less perfect.” Act II features the perfect mix of R&B and pop, while still having her own distinct sound. In this album, fans get to enjoy dance-able tracks, such as “Looking at Me”, and emotionally vulnerable and raw tracks, such as “Exhale.” Together, Singular: Act I and Singular: Act II, produce a cohesive collection that is arguably one of the best albums of the year.
“In My Bed”, the third single and the first track on the album, is an upbeat song with electropop and dance-pop influences. In fact, this dance-able beat is about the anxiety Carpenter struggles with. This song is not only a bop, but is a reminder that anxiety and mental illness is something that many people face and its something you can overcome. Carpenter stated in an interview just last year, that anxiety is still a hardship in her life, especially when you can’t describe what you’re feeling or what you’re going through. “Little things become everything/When you wouldn’t think that they would/Little things weigh so heavily/Take my energy ’til it’s gone” are the opening lyrics to the song, which is just the start of her opening up about her mental health in this three-minute song. Despite the emotional rawness in this track, the music video shows us Carpenter’s quirky side here.
Next on the album is “Pushing 20,” another dance-pop song with some hip-hop elements. This track celebrates her growth as an individual and how you cannot be responsible for other people, just yourself. In other words, screw everyone else’s opinion. When she first played this song live in Orlando, FL on her Singular Tour, she told the crowd, “I wrote this song ’cause I was at a time in my life, by the way, like, six weeks ago? Like, not even that crazy long ago. But it was at a time in my life where, you know, I think a lot of you in this crowd, no matter what age you are, are going to go through that period in your life where you start making choices and having a lot more responsibility. And then you have to, like, think before you speak and think about the repercussions of things. And there’s just a lot on your plate and it becomes very heavy and there becomes, like, one day where you start listening to yourself before you listen to the opinions of other people.” After that is my personal favorite, “I Can’t Stop Me” featuring Saweetie, and American rapper and singer-songwriter, best known for her single, “Icy Girl.” This track is your typical carefree club song about resisting a charming club-goer. This is Carpenter’s second collaboration, the first being “Hold Tight” featuring Uhmeer on Singular: Act I.
The fourth track also happens to be Act II‘s promotional single, “I’m Fakin“. The first verse “We’re picking fights, we’re fully grown/How come we get so immature when we’re alone?/I roll my eyes, you check your phone/You say I’m overly dramatic and I know,” portrays the ongoing ups and downs of a normal relationship. Carpenter decided to broaden her horizons by dabbling in tropical house influences, as well as pop, for this song. It’s her first song to use tropical house tunes. The track that follows “I’m Fakin” is “Take Off All Your Cool.” “Take Off All Your Cool” is a laid back song about the awkwardness of a relationship. It maintains the pop/electropop vibe like most of the album.
Tracks Six and Seven are the ballads of the album,”Tell Em “and”Exhale.” Both show how capable Carpenter is in getting personal and vulnerable with her fans. Tell Em is a synth-pop ballad, while “Exhale” is more of an R&B ballad with pop undertones. She stated in an interview that”Exhale “is a very hard song for her to perform live due to how emotional it is for her. Unlike the upbeat “In My Bed”, “Exhale” is a softer, slower version of Carpenter opening up about her anxiety. The song is meant to remind people to take a break from pressure and to just breathe.
Diving back into electropop is the second to last song,”Take You Back.” The song is supposedly about how Carpenter wasted time with her ex-boyfriend, though unconfirmed. Its a catchy bop for a good girls’ night! Finally, Singular: Act II goes out with a bang with another dance-able pop song,”Looking At Me.” Carpenter closes the second installment of her third album with a fun, lighthearted song that’ll leave smiles on everyone who listens to it.
Combining both acts, Carpenter’s fans get a cohesive (and vocally impressive) album that will be heard across the globe when she eventually goes on tour. Sabrina Carpenter has proven again that she is a forced to be reckoned with in the music industry, which is why I give this album:
Featured Image via Billboard
