While Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Espresso” never hit #1, you could argue that it’s at least one of, if not the, songs of the summer. But Sabrina claims that she was the only one who believed the song would be a hit.

Speaking to Variety, Sabrina says, “I was completely alone in wanting to release ‘Espresso.’ Not so much from my immediate team. But when it came to ‘the powers above,’ there was a lot of questioning behind whether it made sense. But they trusted me in the end, and I was happy that I believed in myself at that moment.”

“Espresso,” as well as her #1 hit “Please Please Please,” are both on Sabrina’s new album, Short n’ Sweet, due Aug. 23. She describes it as the “hot older sister” of her previous album, 2022’s emails i can’t send.

“It’s my second ‘big girl’ album; it’s a companion but it’s not the same,” Sabrina notes. “When it comes to having full creative control and being a full-fledged adult, I would consider this a sophomore album.”

In reality, though, it’s Sabrina’s sixth album: Her first, Eyes Wide Open, came out in 2015.

Speaking of “Please Please Please,” Sabrina says her boyfriend, actor Barry Keoghan, who stars in the video, is “obsessed with the lyrics” of that song. She notes, “Getting to see him on the screen with my song as the soundtrack made the video better and all the more special.”

Sabrina also discusses her friendship with Taylor Swift, calling her a “gangster” when it comes to fame. She adds, “No matter what people are saying, everything that I’ve ever seen her tackle, she’s done so with grace.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.