The Best Dating Advice We Learned From Sabrina Carpenter Songs

Sabrina Carpenter has asserted herself as a veritable pop star, with her sixth studio album "Short n' Sweet" seeing massive success since its August 2024 release. Aside from cheeky lyrics and catchy melodies, one of the things that makes Carpenter's music so compelling is its diaristic element. The Pennsylvania native has followed in the footsteps of artists like Taylor Swift, who's taught us quite a few lessons about love through her own music, in taking a confessional approach to songwriting.

"This is my diary," Carpenter told Vanity Fair. "Once I put it out there, it's for other people to interpret. I try to not tell people what a song is explicitly about. People don't always know what's going on inside the minds of anyone, let alone a young girl who's navigating love and a lot of things for the first time." While Carpenter leaves her songs up to listener interpretation, choosing not to confirm which of her high-profile partners inspired which songs, we've gleaned some meaningful messages about love and life from her tracks.

Through "Good Graces," the third track on "Short n' Sweet," Sabrina Carpenter inspires us to reject disrespect and remain unapologetic in our boundaries. The lyrics of this upbeat, confidence-instilling tune see Carpenter balancing her affection and love for her significant other with her willingness to cut off something that is no longer serving her. "Don't mistake my nice for naive," she says. "I don't waste a second, I know lots of guys / You do somethin' suspect, this cute ass bye-bye."

With Carpenter's stunning it-girl outfits and assured on-stage presence, the singer herself is the embodiment of confidence for many. Still, as fellow "Short n' Sweet" tracks like "Lie to Me" and "Please, Please, Please " demonstrate, being uncompromising and self-assured in relationships is easier to preach than to practice. There are many helpful tips for setting direct and stress-free boundaries with your partners, with "Good Graces" serving as a great reminder that we are worthy and deserving of respect in every relationship.

Sabrina Carpenter's "Please, Please, Please" is a humorous track that depicts the singer trying to avoid the embarrassment of a public relationship potentially going sour. "Heartbreak is one thing, my ego's another," she sings in the chorus. "I beg you, don't embarrass me, m*****f*****." If you've ever had a partner's bad behavior prove the doubts of others correct, then you know that it can be an added sting to heartbreak, a dynamic that is set up in the first verse of the song.

In this way, "Please, Please, Please" reminds us that going public with a relationship is a significant step, one that could cause future embarrassment if a chance is taken on the wrong person. "I think dating men in general, you're setting yourself up for a little bit of that," Carpenter told Paper Magazine. "That was how it came about, because I was like, 'You know, I think this is funny, but it's real.'" Most of all, this lighthearted banger reminds us that it's okay to approach our dating mistakes and mishaps with a bit of levity.

As it's widely accepted to be about the alleged love triangle between Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, and Joshua Bassett, "Because I Liked a Boy" is a track from the album "Emails I Can't Send" that has received major media attention. The reflective song contrasts an innocently depicted relationship with its vitriolic reception, with fans drawing connections between the public hate that Carpenter received after Rodrigo released songs like "Driver's License" and "Deja Vu." Now I'm a homewrecker, I'm a s*** / I got death threats fillin' up semitrucks," the Pennsylvania native sings. "Tell me who I am, guess I don't have a choice / All because I liked a boy."

While Carpenter's speculated situationship happened on a very large scale, the experience of being inaccurately depicted during or after a relationship is a relatable one. "So many people probably have dealt with the situation of being labeled something that they're not," the chart-topping singer told Rolling Stone. "One of my favorite movies is 'Easy A,' and I was sort of picturing Emma Stone's character because she was labeled to be something. It's a weirdly empowering film in a sense." Overall, "Because I Liked a Boy" teaches us that we can't always control how others perceive us.

"Already Over," the sixth track on Sabrina Carpenter's "Emails I Can't Send," is a song centering around the uncertain end of a relationship and the need for closure. "Yeah, I say I'm done, but I'm still confused / How am I supposed to close the door when I still need the closure?" sings the narrator. "And I change my mind, but it's still on you / How am I supposed to leave you now that you're already over?" As a lesson in dating, this moody tune reaffirms the idea that we won't always get the closure we crave at the end of the relationship, and that sometimes we have to accept the uncertainty.

"This one should feel sad, because it's such a strenuous feeling that you continuously need closure with a person and it's never fully finished — but that's also life," Carpenter told Rolling Stone. "You're never going to get the perfect closure or ideal scenario when something is ending, because things ending always hurts. Y'know?" While it can be a hard fact to swallow, it's one worth remembering, especially if you're often seduced by break-up sex as an attempted method of closure.

"Feather," the lead single off the deluxe version of "Emails I Can't Send," is a great song to pair with the confidence of "Good Graces." The disco-influenced track gained additional media attention after its controversial music video — partly filmed in a Brooklyn church — resulted in the dismissal of a church official and dragged Carpenter into the scandal surrounding NYC mayor Eric Andrews. At its core, though, the song embodies how amazing it can feel to let go of a negative partner, an important fact to remember when you find yourself in a draining relationship. "I feel so much lighter like a feather with you off my mind," Carpenter sings. "Floatin' through the memories like whatever, you're a waste of time."

Listeners may relate to some of the annoying habits that the singer attributes to her narrative ex, mentioning that they refuse to make long-term plans and always had her wondering about where they were. "Your signals are mixed, you act like a b****," she adds. "You fit every stereotype, 'Send a pic.'" While the "Feather" music video garnered its share of controversy, it also adds another layer of humor to this confidence-boosting bop.