As the holder of all of my top five songs on Spotify and my second top artist of the year, Sabrina Carpenter is very clearly one of my favorite artists.
I’ve been a fan of hers since performing a dance to “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying” in my second-grade talent show. Over the years, I’ve been keeping up with her music and was absolutely ecstatic when she announced her Christmas EP, fruitcake. Unfortunately, the surprise was ruined for me a day or two early through a TikTok where the creator had found all of the trademarks for the song and the EP’s cover. Nevertheless, I was excited.
fruitcake opens with a song that Carpenter’s fans have been familiar with for a year now. “A Nonsense Christmas” was initially revealed in a TikTok made by Carpenter on December 1, 2022, and released a few days later on the 7th. It’s a parody of her hit song “Nonsense” from her most recent album emails i can’t send.
I appreciate when an artist makes original songs for the holiday season, and doesn’t only cover the traditional ones. Carpenter did just that, but who would expect her to do otherwise?
“A Nonsense Christmas” is incredibly raunchy, especially compared to the original “Nonsense.” However, I love that it is so different from traditional Christmas songs. The whole piece is just as upbeat as the original song but with lyrics similar to the suggestive ones Carpenter adds at the end of her live performances of “Nonsense.” Though it holds a vibe very different from the rest of the EP tune-wise, it’s a great not-family-friendly song.
Moving one song down the tracklist is “buy me presents.” To me, this song is hilarious. Carpenter sings about Santa Claus as someone she would get with if her current lover didn’t live up to her standards. Despite the humorous tone, it’s insanely catchy and an amazing representation of Carpenter’s abilities as a singer.
Next up, giving severe vibe-whiplash from “buy me presents,” is “santa doesn’t know you like i do.” While the song is much more lowkey than its two predecessors, I love it. It’s very much a sad love song and not reminiscent of other Christmas songs. I love that Carpenter starts speaking instead of singing for a part of the song. A lot of her songs include little voice memos so this was a perfect tie to her traditions.
Never did I think a song on a Christmas EP or album would make me want to cry, but then I heard “cindy lou who.” Carpenter sings of seeing a girl in pictures with someone she used to be with. The song doesn’t feel very Christmas-esque or consistent with the rest of the EP, but it’s close to being my favorite track if it isn’t already holding that title. It’s devastatingly beautiful. Carpenter’s voice trembles at points, giving the song a personal tone. Though I could easily lean into speculation about who Carpenter could be singing about based on descriptions in the song, Carpenter has already had so much speculation about any of her songs being about certain people, and she deserves a break.
Carpenter gives me whiplash again with “cindy lou who” to “is it new years yet?” Back to her pop-princess vibe, Carpenter brings a song about wanting to skip past Christmas because everyone has a partner to spend it with except her—the beginning tunes of the song sound similar to “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa from the Barbie movie. Upon my first listen, I was checking my phone to see if it jumped to a random song. After a few seconds, it becomes apparent that it’s not “Dance the Night” when the tune changes and Carpenter begins. This song truly encompasses Carpenter’s ability to make any emotional or sad song upbeat.
Ending Carpenter’s EP is one traditional Christmas song: “white xmas.” Of course, Carpenter does add her own artistic choices with notes and repetition, as well as vocal backing. It wouldn’t be Sabrina Carpenter covering something if she didn’t take creative liberties to make it her own, similar to what she did covering Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” for Spotify Singles. And again in typical Carpenter-fashion, she starts singing “Jingle Bells” before the song stops.
Though not all of the songs match in vibe or tone, the entirety of fruitcake has easily made its way into my Christmas Playlist. I appreciate it when an artist makes original songs for the holiday season and doesn’t only cover the traditional ones. Carpenter did just that, but who would expect her to do otherwise?
With how amazing Carpenter’s original Christmas song ideas are, I’m thinking about how no one’s seen both SCs in the same room. Maybe this EP magic is all to prove that Sabrina Carpenter is Santa Claus.
