Sabrina Carpenter struggled to adjust to her current image and initially felt like she was ‘playing a character,’ after record bosses suggested she overhaul her look in a bid to achieve the same success as fellow artists Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past year, with recent chart topping singles Espresso and Please Please Please finally cementing her status as a household name after years of trying to get her break.
But insiders claim her newfound popularity is a result of embracing a ‘sexpot’ image and extremely tongue-in-cheek demeanor after joining Island Records in 2021 – a move which has reportedly left some struggling to recognize the former Disney star.
‘She didn’t connect with a mass audience and drastic changes needed to be made,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.
‘With a new record label [Island] and new management she was guided to ditch her everyday image and pivot 180 and sell herself as a ‘sexpot’.’
Sabrina Carpenter as Jenny Parker in 2016 Disney movie ‘Adventures in Babysitting’
The source continued: ‘It made her very uncomfortable as behind closed doors she wears sweats, little make up, and likes to stay home and watch Netflix’
Despite appearing at ease with her racy songs lyrics and revealing ensembles – even going as far as hitting back at trolls who have slammed her sexy tour outfits – Sabrina initially struggled with her image overhaul.
‘It made her very uncomfortable as behind closed doors she wears sweats, little make up, and likes to stay home and watch Netflix,’ the insider continued.
‘She’d been a Disney girl and was told the importance of a wholesome image like Hilary Duff and Selena Gomez before her.
The 25-year-old’s newfound popularity is a result of embracing a ‘sexpot’ image and extremely tongue-in-cheek demeanor after joining Island Records in 2021
‘To suddenly be showing skin and flaunting it while singing provocative lyrics was initially a challenge. She had to embrace her acting skills, but it worked.’
Despite her mainstream success, the source added that she sometimes feels like a ‘fraud’ who is ‘playing a character.’
Another source claimed she was prepared to do ‘whatever it took’ after signing with Island Records.
‘Sabrina knows she has to just let go and accept that she will have to become a commercial product to establish herself,’ they said. ‘It is no different to what Britney, Gaga or Katy Perry did. They know what will sell and she will do that until she is at a place where she is able to call the shots.
‘She has always known that it was her voice that will make her famous. She has a sound not out there. She knows this.’
Sabrina Carpenter struggled to adjust to her current image and initially felt like she was ‘playing a character,’ after record bosses suggested she overhaul her look, insiders said
‘She didn’t connect with a mass audience and drastic changes needed to be made,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively
Another insider added: ‘Producers presented a more grown-up version of her and put the rocket ship on her back… and now she is more adult, more sexed up’
A third insider added: ‘Producers presented a more grown-up version of her and put the rocket ship on her back and actually gave her good music and now she is more adult, more sexed up.
‘If the talent wasn’t there, she’d be forgotten, but she is now a bonafide pop star who is also being considered for roles in major movies.’
Sabrina started out on Disney, playing Maya Hart in Girl Meets World from 2014 until 2017.
She also released four albums with the Disney-owned label Hollywood Records between 2015 and 2019, as well as acting in films including The Hate U Give, Tall Girl, Adventures In Babysitting and The Short History of the Long Road.
After her move to Island Records, she made headlines after fans claimed she was the mystery ‘blonde girl’ who Olivia Rodrigo was singing about in her heartbreak anthem, Driver’s License.
The internet was flooded with articles, videos and social media posts as people tried desperately to work out if Sabrina had stolen her then-boyfriend, and fellow Disney star Joshua Bassett, from his High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costar Olivia.
Sabrina and Joshua dated in 2020 and were spotted lunching together around LA. They also shared sweet snaps of them dressed up as Shark Boy and Lava Girl for Halloween that same year.
In her track, Olivia sang: ‘And you’re probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt. She’s so much older than me / She’s everything I’m insecure about.’
In 2021, the star changed her style after she moved to Island Records and made headlines for her love triangle with Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo
It didn’t take long for fans to put two and two together as Sabrina is four years older and dated Joshua right after Olivia.
Sabrina dropped her first album with Island, Emails I Can’t Send, the following year.
The album featured Skin, a response track to Olivia’s Driver’s License, in which she sang: ‘Maybe then we could pretend / There’s no gravity in the words we write / Maybe you didn’t mean it / Maybe blonde was the only rhyme…
‘You can try/ To get under my, under my, under my skin/ While he’s on mine/ Yeah, all on my, all on my, all on my skin.’
However it was her cheeky track, Nonsense which became a standout for the star.
In 2023 she was announced as the opening act for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour across dates in Latin America, Australia and Singapore.
During the tour, she delighted fans with explicit outros for Nonsense – beginning her steady transition into pop’s newest ‘sexpot.’
During a performance in Dallas, she sang: ‘I just wanna ride him like a rodeo/ but first, he gotta grow it like Pinocchio/ Sorry I’m so vulgar San Antonio.’
Earlier this year she achieved her first number-one song on the UK Singles Chart with Espresso, which also dominated the airwaves in the US.
Her follow-up single Please Please Please now has the distinction of being her first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Her sixth and latest album Short n’ Sweet topped the Billboard 200 and has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Of America (RIAA).
It features the single Taste which also topped the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The track appears to reference Shawn Mendes and the love triangle she got into with his ex-girlfriend, Camila Cabello.
She shared a steamy kiss with Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in the music video and copied the smooch with a backing dancer while performing the number at the 2024 Video Music Awards.
The music video for her song, Taste, saw her share a steamy kiss with Wednesday star Jenna Ortega
Her performance of the song at the 2024 Video Music Awards saw her kiss a background dancer who was dressed like an alien
Last week, she hit back at ‘trolls’ who have criticized her sexy stage outfits, telling them: ‘Don’t come to the show’
Sabrina kicked off her tour in support of her Short n’ Sweet album on September 23 in Columbus, Ohio.
The singer stunned fans as she hit the stage wearing a number of racy outfits, showed off sexy dance moves, used a number of swear words and did shots on stage.
Last week, she hit back at ‘trolls’ who have criticized her costumes, telling them: ‘Don’t come to the show.’
Speaking in her cover interview for TIME Magazine’s TIME100 Next list, she said: ‘It’s unfortunate that it’s ever been something to criticize, because truthfully, the scariest thing in the world is getting up on a stage in front of that many people and having to perform as if it’s nothing.
‘If the one thing that helps you do that is the way you feel comfortable dressing, then that’s what you’ve got to do.’
The star isn’t scared to strip off having happily modeled Kim Kardashian‘s Skims brand for the Spring campaign back in May.
She is also known to share a number of racy snaps with fans online, while her favored lingerie theme is also part of the design for her merch.
