"Espresso" is a song by American singer Sabrina Carpenter from her sixth studio album, Short n' Sweet (2024). Island Records released it on April 11, 2024, as the lead single from the album. It was written by Carpenter herself along with Amy Allen, Steph Jones, and Julian Bunetta; the latter handled its production. It is a pop and funk track that encompasses synth-pop and disco and contains lyrics about self-confidence.
"Espresso" received acclaim from music critics, with praise towards its songwriting and catchiness. It also became a commercial success, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Carpenter's first top ten single on the chart. Outside of the United States, "Espresso" topped the charts in 20 countries, including Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in at least 20 other nations. It also earned Carpenter her first number-one single on the Billboard Global 200. It is certified Platinum or higher in fourteen countries including Diamond in France.
On January 16, 2024, Sabrina Carpenter was confirmed as part of the American festival Coachella, held in Indio, California.[1] She teased a new song, ahead of her performance at the festival, via billboards that read: "She's gonna make you come... to her Coachella set!".[2] Carpenter announced the release of "Espresso" on her social media accounts on April 8, 2024, along with its release date and cover artwork.[3] She captioned the post with: "Just wanted to put out a little song before Coachella".[4]Island Records released the single via streaming and digital download, while Polydor Records released it through vinyl and cassette formats.[2]
After a concert in July 2023 at the Zénith Paris in France, Carpenter spent a few days in the village of Chailland, where she recorded some new tracks at Flow Studios.[5][6][7] In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Carpenter confirmed that she wrote the song there[8] in a "very quick process", and that inspired "how the song ended up feeling".[9] The lyrics of the song are about self-confidence. Speaking to American magazine Vogue, she stated that the song is about "seeing femininity as your super power and embracing the confidence of being 'that bitch'".[10] Music journalists described the song's genre as pop and funk,[11][12][13]encompassing synth-pop and disco.[14][15][16][17] The main guitar riff and drums featured in the song are loops coming from the Splice sample pack "Power Tools Sample Pack III", created by Oliver.[18]
"Espresso" received widespread acclaim from critics.[19][20]Vulture highlighted the song's catchy hook, referring to it as an "instant earworm", while also appreciating its "whimsical" lyrical approach.[21]Uproxx praised Carpenter's "playful" lyrics and the track's "infectious groove", describing "Espresso" as a "fun, upbeat song that demonstrates Carpenter's growth as a songwriter".[22] Similarly, Rolling Stone lauded the song's "irresistible rhythm" and "clever" lyrics, emphasizing Carpenter's distinctive flair for storytelling.[23] Despite only being released in April, NME stated "Espresso" quickly became a substantial hit in Carpenter's career and one of her signature songs.[24] Tena Razumović of Vogue Adria noted that its "light melody, like a breeze, fills out the air and space with sound", praised its "atmosphere of the '80s and Italo disco" and "catchy phrases", and further praised Mark Ronson's remix of the song.[25]
Pitchfork included "Espresso" on its 2024 list of the 100 Best Songs of the 2020s So Far.[26]
The song received attention for its lyrics, particularly the use of a recurring line in the chorus, "That's that me espresso".[27] Two journalists consulted with grammar experts to help with their analyses of the phrase; linguistics expert and journalist Samantha Allen noted that the line became a meme for its grammatical incorrectness,[28] while Vulture writer Justin Curto commented that such grammatically incorrect lines "often end up being the catchiest lines in the song".[29]
"Espresso" debuted at number ten on the Billboard Global 200 chart, becoming Carpenter's first top-ten hit and fourth overall entry on the chart.[30][31] By the week of June 22, 2024, the song had reached its peak at number one, becoming her first song to top the chart.[32] In the United States, "Espresso" debuted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week dated April 27, 2024, marking Carpenter's first top ten hit on the chart.[33] The song had risen to a new peak at number three on the chart dated June 22, 2024.[34] This achievement also represents Carpenter's fourth entry on the Hot 100 and second top 40 hit overall.[35] Furthermore, "Espresso" is Carpenter's eighth entry and second number one single on the BillboardPop Airplay chart.[36]
In the United Kingdom, "Espresso" debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart before climbing to number five in its second week, and peaking at the top of the chart in its third week.[37] It is Carpenter's first chart-topper and top ten song in Britain, and her fourth top 40 hit overall there.[38][39] The song spent five consecutive weeks at the top of the chart before being dethroned by "Houdini" by Eminem. On July 12, 2024 – for the week ending date July 18, 2024 – "Espresso" returned to the top of the UK Singles Chart for a further two weeks, replacing her own song "Please Please Please" from the summit, where it had remained for two consecutive weeks and became just the second female artist ever to replace themselves at number one after Ariana Grande. On July 26, 2024 – for the week ending date August 1, 2024 – "Espresso" was dethroned from the top of the UK Singles Chart by "Please Please Please". The song fell to number nine on the chart.[40]
In Ireland, the song debuted at number four on the Irish Singles Chart and then climbed to number three the week after.[41][42] "Espresso" topped the Irish Singles Chart in its third week, becoming Carpenter's first chart-topping hit in Ireland and first top-ten song there.[43] It also reached the top of the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia.[44]
In Canada, 'Espresso' debuted at number seven on the Canadian Hot 100 chart dated April 27, 2024, becoming her first top ten hit on the chart. The song eventually peaked at number three on its eleventh week, holding the spot for fourteen consecutive weeks.[45] The song also debuted at number 70 on the Brasil Hot 100.[46]
In Europe, Latin America, and Asia, the song met an unexpected success, topping the charts in some countries, including India,[47] Singapore,[48] Malaysia,[49] and Iceland,[50] top ten in Indonesia,[51] France,[52] Portugal,[53] Germany,[54] Sweden,[55] Norway,[56] Denmark,[57] and Belgium,[58] top twenty in Taiwan,[59] Austria,[60] and Finland,[61] top thirty in Kazakhstan[62] and Hungary,[63] and top forty in Brazil[64] and Argentina.[65]
An accompanying music video for "Espresso", directed by Dave Meyers, was released on April 12, 2024.[66] About the video, Carpenter expressed: "Since the day I heard the song, I saw a beach atmosphere—and more specifically this kind of old school [and] modern environment. [I wanted to capture] the playfulness that I like to use throughout all of my videos. I also just wanted a pool car, to be frank".[67] It was filmed at Castaic Lake, California.[68]
The video begins with Carpenter and a boy in a speedboat. As the boy leans close behind her, she makes a sharp turn that leads to him falling out of the boat. Carpenter retrieves his wallet and pulls his gold credit card out of it, and as she makes land, she meets with some other girls and engages in various activities such as reading a book, receiving massages and pedicures, and sunbathing while being fanned by palm fronds. Right before the second verse, another vintage car shows up with a bunch of other boys, who hold up a surfboard that she dances on top of. They continue to party together, and the car is eventually filled with water as Carpenter and one of the boys lounge in it like a hot tub. However, she is then spotted by the boy from the beginning of the video along with the police, who apprehend Carpenter and recover the boy's wallet and gold credit card. As her friends unsuccessfully try to protest to the cops, she waves goodbye to her friends before being shoved into the cop car, which the police officer is unable to start up. In the last few seconds, part of the instrumental from "Please Please Please", Carpenter's next single, plays from a horn on the top of the police car.[66]
"Espresso" is featured on the main tracklist of the dance-rhythm video game Just Dance 2025 Edition.
On October 12, 2024, Ariana Grande hosted Saturday Night Live, where Carpenter had performed the song live just months prior. Grande parodied "Espresso" as part of a bridesmaids troupe, where she deliberately sang off key, prompting Carpenter to react on Instagram, posting "Very nice and on pitch".[77][78][79][80] The sketch was immensely popular on TikTok, garnering over 80 million views as of 18 October 2024[update].[81] TikTok has since removed the audio from the platform, citing copyright claims, leaving fans devastated.[82]
Foodbeast reported in November 2024, Carpenter had joined forces with Absolut Vodka and Kahlúa to release her own martini kit, the " Short n' Sweet Espresso Martini Kit" entitled after the song and her album Short n' Sweet, the martini kit features 375ml bottles of Absolut and Kahlúa coffee liqueur, paired with Owen’s Espresso Martini Mix, a coupe glass with a festive red ribbon a cocktail topper that is edible in the shape of the singer’s kiss mark. The martini kit was released on November 14, 2024.[83][84]
Sabalicious Songs (BMI) administered by Songs Of Universal, Inc., Music Of Big Family/Dragon Bunny Music (BMI) all rights administered by Hipgnosis Songs Group, Kenny + Betty Tunes (ASCAP) administered by WC Music Corp., Steph Jones Who Music (ASCAP) administered by Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
^Goodman, Lauren (May 22, 2024). "Sabrina Carpenter Keeps Fans Caffeinated With New Espresso EP". Glitter Magazine. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024. The Espresso EP, like the original single, has brought in massive amounts of success and acclaim for the pop star.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 34. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 25. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
^"Top Singles (Week 26, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. Retrieved September 22, 2024. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. Retrieved September 22, 2024. Note: Select 'Songs – TV'. Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 33. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 19. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved May 13, 2024.