Entertainment Music Pop Music Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet Is About How Some of Her 'Shortest' Relationships 'Affected Me Most' The pop star's sixth album, featuring the hits "Espresso" and "Please Please Please," is set for an Aug. 23 release By Jack Irvin Jack Irvin Jack Irvin has over five years of experience working in digital journalism, and he’s worked at PEOPLE since 2022. Jack started in the industry with internships at Rolling Stone and Entertainment Tonight, and he worked as a freelance writer for publications including Bustle, MTV News, Shondaland, L’Officiel USA, Ladygunn, Flood and PopCrush before joining PEOPLE. In his current role, Jack covers daily music news and has interviewed both up-and-coming and established artists including Dolly Parton, Michelle Branch, Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Normani, Carly Rae Jepsen and Coco Jones. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 22, 2024 02:30PM EDT Comments What inspired Sabrina Carpenter to title her new album Short n' Sweet? The "Espresso" singer, 25, opened up to Apple Music's Zane Lowe about the origin of her upcoming sixth album's title in a new interview — and revealed her petite nature didn't have much to do with it. "I called it Short n' Sweet for multiple reasons. It was not because I'm vertically challenged," said Carpenter. "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." Sabrina Carpenter. The Zane Lowe Show / Apple Music 1 Sabrina Carpenter Knew She Was 'Destined' for Pop Stardom Since Childhood: 'I'm a Little Bit of a Freak Manifester' The former Disney Channel star added, "I think about the way that I respond to situations, and sometimes it is very nice, and sometimes it's not very nice. And again, the thing about albums, projects, writing songs, it's all moments." Carpenter acknowledged it's "harder for other people to understand" the passage of time when listening to a singular album, explaining that she's "not the same person" as when the material was written. Short n' Sweet, featuring the hits "Espresso" and "Please Please Please," is set for an Aug. 23 release through Island Records. Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter in Beverly Hills in March 2024. Dave Benett/VF24/WireImage for Vanity Fair Earlier this week, some of Carpenter's fans wondered if they were watching a short relationship play out in real time as breakup rumors surrounded her and Barry Keoghan, who've been dating since 2023. Amid the rumors, a source exclusively told PEOPLE the relationship between Carpenter and the Saltburn star, 31, is "on and off." Keoghan then seemingly responded to the split rumors on Aug. 16 by liking Carpenter's flirty Instagram post of herself in baby blue lingerie. Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan's Relationship Is 'On and Off' (Exclusive Source) In a June interview with Rolling Stone, Carpenter alluded to having an undefined relationship with Keoghan and asked to "skirt around" answering whether or not the actor is her boyfriend. "The [dating] pool is the pool, and when you meet people that feel authentic and are so brilliant and amazing in every way, that’s what you do," she said at the time. "Obviously, I write songs about exactly how I feel, so I guess I can’t be so surprised that people are interested in who and what those songs are about. That’s something that comes with the territory.” Elsewhere in the new Apple Music interview, Carpenter said she longs for a love so strong she'll hold onto it for a long time. "I've always yearned to care enough about a person or a situation or a relationship in my life that it provokes that much feeling in me, because I think that's why we're here," she said. Close