Espresso (song)

On January 16, 2024, Carpenter was confirmed as part of the American festival Coachella, held in Indio, California.^[2] 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!".^[3] Carpenter announced the release of "Espresso" on her social media accounts on April 8, 2024, along with its release date and cover artwork.^[4] She captioned the post with: "Just wanted to put out a little song before Coachella".^[5] Island Records released the single via streaming and digital download, while Polydor Records released it through vinyl and cassette formats.^[3]

Writing and composition

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.^[6][7][8] In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Carpenter confirmed that she wrote the song there^[9] in a "very quick process", and that inspired "how the song ended up feeling".^[10] 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'".^[11] Music journalists described the song's genre as pop, funk, and dance,^{[12][13][14][15]} encompassing synth-pop, electropop, disco,^[16][17] post-disco, nu-disco,^[18][19][20] and bubblegum.^{[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]} Musicologist Dr. Joe Bennett considered the song to be part of the ongoing disco revival and drew comparisons to songs by Daft Punk, Dua Lipa, Lizzo, and Doja Cat.^[24] 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.^[29]

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"Espresso" received widespread acclaim from critics.^[30][31] Vulture highlighted the song's catchy hook, referring to it as an "instant earworm", while also appreciating its "whimsical" lyrical approach.^[32] 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".^[33] Similarly, Rolling Stone lauded the song's "irresistible rhythm" and "clever" lyrics, emphasizing Carpenter's distinctive flair for storytelling.^[34] Despite only being released in April, NME stated "Espresso" quickly became a substantial hit in Carpenter's career and one of her signature songs.^[35] 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.^[36]

Pitchfork included "Espresso" on its 2024 list of the 100 Best Songs of the 2020s So Far, ranking it at number 30.^[37] Trent Reznor, frontman of the rock band Nine Inch Nails, named "Espresso" the best song of 2024.^[38][39]

Analysis

The song received attention for its lyrics, particularly the use of a recurring line in the chorus, "That's that me espresso".^[55] Two journalists consulted with grammar experts to help with their analyses of the phrase; linguistics expert and journalist Samantha Allen noted that the "nonsense" line became a meme and noted its ambiguous meaning, discussing with grammar blogger Jeffrey Barg whether "me espresso" is a single noun phrase or two noun phrases in apposition.^[56] Vulture writer Justin Curto consulted linguistics professor Ekkarat Ruanglertsilp who suggested "that's not grammatically correct, right?".^[57]

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"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.^[58][59] By the week of June 22, 2024, the song had reached its peak at number one, becoming her first song to top the chart.^[60] 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.^[61] The song had risen to a new peak at number three on the chart dated June 22, 2024.^[62] This achievement also represents Carpenter's fourth entry on the Hot 100 and second top 40 hit overall.^[63] Furthermore, "Espresso" is Carpenter's eighth entry and second number one single on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart.^[64]

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.^[65] It is Carpenter's first chart-topper and top ten song in Britain, and her fourth top 40 hit overall there.^[66][67] 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, 2,4 – for the week ending date August 1, 20, – "Espresso" was dethroned from the top of the UK Singles Chart by "Please Please Please". The song fell to number nine on the chart.^[68]

In Ireland, the song debuted at number four on the Irish Singles Chart and then climbed to number three the week after.^[69][70] "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.^[71] It also reached the top of the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia.^[72]

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.^[73] The song also debuted at number 70 on the Brasil Hot 100.^[74]

In Europe, Latin America, and Asia, the song met an unexpected success, topping the charts in some countries, including India,^[75] Singapore,^[76] Malaysia,^[77] and Iceland,^[78] top ten in Indonesia,^[79] France,^[80] Portugal,^[81] Germany,^[82] Sweden,^[83] Norway,^[84] Denmark,^[85] and Belgium,^[86] top twenty in Taiwan,^[87] Austria,^[88] and Finland,^[89] top thirty in Kazakhstan^[90] and Hungary,^[91] and top forty in Brazil^[92] and Argentina.^[93]

An accompanying music video for "Espresso", directed by Dave Meyers, was filmed at Castaic Lake, California, through the span of March 26-27 2024, and released on April 12, 2024.^[94][95] 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".^[96]

The video begins with Carpenter driving a man across the lake in a speedboat. As the man leans close behind her, she makes a sharp turn that leads to him falling out of the boat. Carpenter retrieves his wallet and pulls out his gold credit card. As she makes land, she meets with other girls and engages in various activities such as reading a book, receiving massages and pedicures, enjoying espresso served in distinctive conical demitasse cups with a small spoon for stirring,^[97] 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 man from the beginning of the video, along with the police, who apprehend Carpenter and recover the man'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.^[95]

Carpenter performed "Espresso" live for the first time at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held on April 12.^[98] On May 18, Carpenter performed the song on Saturday Night Live.^[99] On May 26, the song was also performed by Carpenter at the 2024 BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton, England.^[100][101] On September 11, Carpenter performed the song alongside "Please Please Please" and "Taste" at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won Song of the Year for "Espresso".^[102][103]

"Espresso" was included on the set list to Carpenter's fifth concert tour, the Short n' Sweet Tour, in 2024.^[104] On October 26, Carpenter performed the song with Taylor Swift at a show in New Orleans for Swift's Eras Tour, in a mashup with "Please Please Please" and Swift's song "Is It Over Now?".^[105] On February 2, 2025, Carpenter performed "Espresso" at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.^[106]

On April 10 and April 17, 2026, Carpenter performed the song as part of her Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival setlist.

On May 4, 2026, Carpenter performed the song at the Vogue Met Gala.

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"Espresso" is featured on the main tracklist of the dance-rhythm video game Just Dance 2025 Edition. It was later featured in Fortnite as an emote.

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".^{[107][108][109][110]} The sketch was immensely popular on TikTok, garnering over 80 million views as of October 18, 2024^[update].^[111]

Foodbeast reported in November 2024, Carpenter had worked with Absolut Vodka and Kahlúa to release her own martini kit, the "Short n' Sweet Espresso Martini Kit" named 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, an edible cocktail topper and in the shape of the singer's kiss mark. The martini kit was released on November 14, 2024.^[112][113] In December 2024, Carpenter collaborated with coffee and doughnut company Dunkin' Donuts to release an iced beverage, "Sabrina's Brown Sugar Shakin' Espresso", named in honor of the song.^[114]

The song was used in the DreamWorks Animation film The Bad Guys 2, as Snake is listening to it upon his arrival in the gang's home following a workout.

The song also was used in the Yomiuri TV and Nippon TV Spring 2025 Japanese drama are called If She Calls That Love Too (彼女がそれも愛と呼ぶなら, Kanojo ga Sore mo Ai to Yobunara), which starring by Chiaki Kuriyama, Kentaro Itō, Kento Senga and Tomomi Maruyama as official theme.

The song was also used on the NBC TV show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, in the opening scene of the Season 26 episode, "Rorschach", where Ellie and her boyfriend, Chris, were on a video montage of their cross-country trip; it would later transition to a woman hiking in a forest listening to the song on her headphones where she would later find the couple injured on the ground near their camping spot.

The song was also used in season 5 episode 2 of the Netflix TV series Emily In Paris. Mindy Chen performs the song while in Rome. The performance occurs during a Bavazza coffee event for Agence Grateau, featuring an elaborate, multi-day filmed sequence where Mindy opens the song in a similar way to Sabrina Carpenter in the Espresso music video, on a speedboat and later Mindy appears in a giant martini glass.

Recording and management

• Recorded at Flow Studios (Chailland, France), The Perch (Calabasas, California) and The Nest (Nashville, Tennessee).
• Sabalicious Songs (BMI) administered by Songs Of Universal, Inc., Music Of Big Family/Dragon Bunny Music (BBM I 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.

Personnel Credits adapted from the single's liner notes.^[119]

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