“Humbled me very quickly”: Disastrous Situation That Started Sabrina Carpenter’s Musical Renaissance is Something Olivia Rodrigo Never Had to Face

Sabrina Carpenter, who garnered attention by starring on Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World from 2014 to 2017, has gained wider recognition with her music career. Her sixth studio album, Short n’ Sweet, became her first album to debut atop the US Billboard 200 chart. Carpenter’s singles Espresso and Please Please Please from her sixth studio album have spawned the Billboard Global 200 making her one of the successful artist in 2024.

The artist opened up for her dear friend Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour in 2023. She has also been a part of movies including The Hate U Give, The Short History of the Long Road, Clouds, and more. In a recent interview, the singer-actress opened up about her two-night stint on Broadway as Cady Heron.

Sabrina Carpenter talks about the ‘good thing’ that came out of the cancellation of her Broadway musical

In a recent interview with CBS Sunday Morning, young artist Sabrina Carpenter shared that after she was picked for the role of Cady Heron for a Broadway musical, she thought that it was going to be a turning point in her life. But it wasn’t the turn she had expected. She shared,

So I rehearsed for about three months in New York, and we opened our first two nights and then Covid. Humbled me. Humbled me very quickly. Like, I was sent home and just was like, ‘Wow. I feel like I could do eight shows a week, you know, and I’ve been training for it, and now it was just silence.

But it turns out, the silence was a blessing in disguise for Carpenter, as she took the time and worked on her fifth studio album, Emails I Can’t Send. The album received a positive response from the critics and was ranked on Rolling Stone and Billboard lists as one of the best albums of 2022.

According to the interview, the release of her fifth album launched her to wider recognition and fame. In an interview with Variety, she called her album a ‘big girl album,’ which marks her departure from her previous four pop-heavy albums, experimenting with new genres, slow songs, and using her emails as lyrics.

Talking about her on going Short n’ Sweet tour, she said on CBS Sunday Morning, that there is always going to be stress and anxiety, including the drama, but noted that for her being able to laugh about it is important. In an appearance on Chicken Shop Date back in August, the singer admitted that if she gets a chance to return to the stage, she’d take it.

Does Olivia Rodrigo owe her musical career to Sabrina Carpenter feud?

Disney Channel actress-singer Olivia Rodrigo released her single Driver’s License in 2021, which upon release peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and raised her to wider prominence. Her single, however, stirred up a controversy, which included Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter.

Some fans at the time noted that Rodrigo changed her lyrics from brunette to blonde, which hinted Carpenter’s involvement in one verse. Her song was released six months after Bassett released Anyone Else, and it was later confirmed that the song was written about falling for an unavailable friend. It was never confirmed if Bassett and Rodrigo were seeing each other, but it seemed like they were, and then Bassett went onto date Carpenter, which started the feud between the two queens.

Joshua Bassett released a song titled Lie Lie Lie and explained (via US Weekly),

I wrote Lie, Lie, Lie after I found out a friend had been lying about me behind my back for a long time. It always stinks to hear that someone you thought you could trust would throw you under the bus when it benefits them. It happens to all of us, and I think all you can do is seek out people who build you up rather than tear you down.

Carpenter released her song Skin in 2021 as a clapback to her alleged feud with Rodrigo over Joshua Bassett. But the artist decided to shut the rumors down by stating on her social media (Via US Weekly),

Skin isn’t calling out one single person. Some lines address specific situations, while other lines address plenty of experiences I’ve had this past year. It also shows that many things have gotten under my skin. And I’m still learning to not give other people so much power over my feelings.

In her interview with Radio.com, Rodrigo noted that she cannot write a song that is meaningful and emotional for her because it would be about a person she doesn’t know. Rodrigo shared that she’s never had a conversation with Carpenter to write a song about her. Carpenter shared in July 2022 that she was called a home wrecker in her song Because I Liked a Boy.

Carpenter, in her Los Angeles concert, clarified while singing Nonsense that the song is not about Joshua Bassett. The three of them never addressed their relationships, respectively, and some fans went onto believe that it was all a PR stunt. But if Driver’s License was about Sabrina Carpenter, does Olivia Rodrigo owe her musical career to a Girl Meets World alum feud?