Since the release of Sabrina Carpenter’s album Short n’ Sweet, many have speculated that several of the album’s songs allude to the relationship between Sabrina Carpenter and Shawn Mendes. But for those who are not as chronically online as I am, you may be wondering about all of the whys, whens, and wheres of the relationship that the album alludes to so heavily. I am here to help with a short, not so sweet, recap of the drama between Sabrina Carpenter, Shawn Mendes, and Camilla Cabello, and to discuss what both Sabrina’s and Camilla’s recent albums say on the matter. Spoiler alert: it is the man’s fault (sorry Shawn, you’re still pretty, though).
February ’23:
It’s the beginning of 2023: Miley Cyrus’ hit single “Flowers,” Sza’s “Kill Bill,” and PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boys a Liar, Pt. 2” are all everyone is listening to, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of February 25th. These songs truly set the tone for the short, and rather tart, story that is about to unfold between rising star Sabrina Carpenter, long-loved pop boy Shawn Mendes, and newly rebranded Camilla Cabello.
On February 27th, Shawn Mendes and Sabrina Carpenter are photographed walking around outside in Los Angeles. In the photos, Sabrina is wearing a hoodie that is so oversized it is clearly owned by the 6’1” man next to her, Shawn Mendes; these photographs only confirm the rumors that the two had begun a relationship.
March ’23:
By early March, the couple is seen leaving Miley Cyrus’ album release party together and talking in the background of several videos taken at Vanity Fair’s Oscars after-party; Shawn is also spotted wearing a necklace with Sabrina Carpenter’s birthstone. These incidents fuel the general perception that they are dating; “private, but not secret,” as some fans like to call it.
Yet, at the end of March, when asked about his love life and Sabrina Carpenter specifically, Shawn Mendes responded, “We are not dating”. This answer quickly confirmed the couple’s break-up. Given how short-lived the relationship appeared, we are left with the impression that they had perhaps never confirmed the status of the relationship with even each other.
April ’23:
In April 2023, the Coachella music festival comes around, and Shawn is spotted flirting, kissing, and hugging his former flame, Camilla Cabello, whom he very publicly dated from June 2019 to November 2021. The two would spark relationship-rekindling rumors for about two months, until June 2023 when a source close to the couple confirmed they had broken up again.
’24:
Cut to now — Sabrina’s album is out, and there are quite a few songs that are speculated to be about her relationship with Shawn. In the songs, Sabrina describes the relationship from her perspective, explaining how the two of them were happily dating until, somewhere along the line, Shawn reconnected with Camilla and, as it turns out, was likely always in communication with her. Some lyrics even allude to Camilla’s culpability in the relationship’s downfall. For example, in “Coincidence,” Sabrina implies that Camilla was sending Shawn romantic, sensual photos. Still, I want to note that if Sabrina and Shawn were officially together, it was Shawn’s responsibility to have the decency to not accept such photos out of respect for Sabrina. I, however, would not put it past him to have encouraged or solicited his ex to send him photos, especially since they have a long history. So, while Camilla might receive hate for other actions she has taken, I do believe she was not the biggest bad guy in this situation.
This summer at the Rock in Rio Lisboa music festival, Camilla even mentioned that the song “June Gloom” is inspired by a time in her life when she reconnected with an ex who made her environment and understanding of the world very cloudy and foggy, for better or worse. This comment was thought to be about Shawn, given how public their relationship was, and is echoed by other songs on her album, like “B.O.A.T.” and “Twentysomethings,” which discuss her getting back with an ex who is tall and lives in New York, like Shawn.
Lyrics:
In songs like “Sharpest Tool,” Sabrina says,
“We never talk about how you found God at your ex’s house.”
And in “Coincidence,” Sabrina sings,
“What a surprise, Your phone just died, Your car drove itself from L.A. to her thighs.”
In these lyrics, Sabrina indicates that there was an overlap between the two relationships.
Meanwhile, Camilla’s song, “June Gloom,” which is from her most recent album, C, XOXO, alludes to the entire situation, as well. Lyrics in “June Gloom,” like,
“She’s cool, I heard, Won’t act surprised, I saw the pictures,”
are thought to reference Shawn and Sabrina’s public outings and meet-ups at events, as mentioned earlier.
In “June Gloom,” Camilla also states,
“If she’s so amazing, Why are you on this side of town? If you like her so much, What are you here tryna find out?”
This excerpt parallels Sabrina’s lyrics in “Sharpest Tool” and “Coincidence,” which describe Sabrina’s partner as visiting his ex while dating her. This evidence leads to the conclusion that Shawn most likely led both women into romantically involving themselves with him before he made any concrete decisions on who he wanted to date. This, of course, if true, is very irresponsible on his part and, unfortunately, very typical.
Short n’ Sweet songs that most relate to the situation:
- Immediately following her split with Shawn / in reaction to the quick turnaround of his rekindling with Camilla:
- “Don’t smile”
- “Taste”
- “Coincidence”
- Songs that reflect more on her experience of getting to know Shawn as a person, who, for reference, has openly spoken on practicing meditation, listening to gospel music, reading self-help books, and taking mushrooms for self-exploration purposes.
- “Dumb & Poetic”
- “Sharpest Tool”
- “Lie to Girls”
Conclusion:
A Short n’ Sweet recap: Sabrina got led on by a man still in love with his ex, and Camilla got led on by her ex who probably just missed the idea of them. Nothing but really unfortunately common experiences for all people. I am just glad we got great music out of it and am happy to see Sabrina in a happy relationship with her new beau, Barry Keoghan, who is reflected in songs like “Bed Chem” and “Juno.”