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Sabrina Carpenter's Please Please Please

For those who grew up watching Disney Channel in the last several years, Sabrina Carpenter was certainly no stranger. She played a lead role in Girl Meets World as Maya Hart, the stereotypical rebel teen with a troubled background and best friend to Riley Matthews, daughter of one of the best 90's TV couples, Cory and Topanga Matthews. 

Of course, as with many of the Disney girls who are musically inclined, Sabrina Carpenter was signed to a deal with Hollywood Records in 2013, a label owned by Disney at the time. She recorded four albums in addition to her EP with Hollywood Records - Can't Blame A Girl for Trying (2014), Eyes Wide Open (2015), Evolution (2016), Singular: Act I (2018), and Singular: Act II (2019). These releases grouped with numerous singles and even several holiday song covers grew a huge audience for Sabrina Carpenter outside of her acting, which has only grown, now leaving her as Spotify's 11th most-played artist worldwide in 2024. 

In January 2021, Carpenter announced that she had signed with Island Records of Universal Music Group. Emails I Can't Send was released just two years ago in July of 2022, and when a deluxe edition was later released in March of 2023 with bonus track Feather, it became her highest charting song at the time, claiming the #1 spot on the US Pop Song Charts. 

2023 continued to prove a huge year for Carpenter's career growth when she was invited to open for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in Latin America, Australia, and Singapore. Earlier this year in April of 2024 Espresso was released, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and of course, her most recent release  Please  Please  Please is currently sitting at #2.

Carpenter's Please Please Please is the new anthem for those who find themselves drawn to toxic relationships and pray that just this once things could be different. I would bet there's not a person, man or woman, who hasn't found themselves creating excuses and defending their taste to their loved ones, especially in their twenties. The lyricism is relatable but the music video truly takes it one step further. Not only do we see the love interest played by Barry Keoghan, real-life boyfriend of Carpenter since 2023, but it gives a broader view into just how deep some (including myself) will go to defend their partner, no matter how clear it may be for those outside of the relationship. 

The video opens with Carpenter in a jail cell (while Espresso plays over the station speakers, an amusing touch) being released on bail. As Carpenter pauses at the window to collect her belongings and fix her lipstick, we see Barry Keoghan escorted in by two cops. I'll be the first to admit that his smirk as they make eye contact would have me there for visiting hours frequently and that's exactly where we find Ms. Carpenter as well.

Through plastic partitions and jail phones, we see the pair's relationship grow as they smile and press their hands together against the barrier. She picks him up as he is released, presumably on bail himself from Ms. Carpenter (yet another nod to excusing and even enabling the toxic behaviors our partners can exhibit at times) and they embrace before they travel to a restaurant where Carpenter presumes they will share a meal. Unfortunately, Keoghan seems to have other plans and leads her into a walk-in freezer in the kitchen where it suddenly becomes apparent that her new love is in fact dealing with what appears to be the Italian mafia. While Keoghan fights with the men who are presumably responsible for his capture by law enforcement in the background, we see Carpenter in the foreground singing the chorus in a dress as red as the flags she ignores. She tries to comfort him after the fact and attempts to address the wound on his face but he pushes her away. 

We then see him rob a bank as she pleads with him to just stay inside for the day, knowing that nothing good comes from her man when he leaves the house. He's then arrested again and we see the couple share a brief goodbye while she is wrapped in his jacket. She is left to bail him out once again and the reunion is strikingly different from the first. She's fed up with his behavior and does not hide it, at first with her attitude when she picks him up from jail, and at the end of the music video when she handcuffs him while he's on his knees in a parking lot, and places a piece of duct tape over his mouth. She kisses the tape once and walks away. We see him accept defeat and the video ends with him staring into the camera with disappointed eyes and a kiss mark on the tape. 

It's never easy to walk away from a relationship that you want to work and the embarrassment that comes with ending a toxic relationship that you fought for yourself, as well as defended to the people around you can be part of the reason some stay. Sabrina Carpenter has clearly been through the process enough that she can express it both through her words and music video direction in just 4 minutes. 

Of course, as far as the media is aware Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan are happy in their relationship. I think using him as her love interest is a sweet detail and I hope she does not have to bail him out of jail (or vice versa) any time. 

The music video released on June 6th, 2024 currently sits at 32.5 million views and continues to climb. I do not doubt that Sabrina Carpenter will continue to skyrocket as long as she continues on this streak. Please Please Please might be her top song for now, but with the release of her next album Short n' Sweet looming at the end of August there is certainly no end in sight for her. 

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Eminem's Houdini

Eminem's newest track Houdini, the first from his new and highly speculated LAST album "The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)" has made waves in both the rap scene and his personal career. The song has landed iTunes No. 1 in over 17 countries, debuted at #3 on Global Spotify Charts with 7.85 M streams and at #4 on US Charts with over 2.97 M streams. This is Eminem's biggest success in one-day streams and certaintly left listeners anxious for the album in its entirety set to release this summer.

However, as with most Eminem songs since his return from hiatus in 2009, there is of course a deeper meaning. Music videos are often overlooked in the days of streaming services both by listeners and artists themselves - but the Houdini music video currently sitting at 22 million views is vital to understanding the real message.

Of course, it's no secret that the Eminem we know of today has had several transformations over the past 30 years with some even identifying these changes as his "eras". Still, whether you think of him as Slim Shady, Eminem, or simply Marshall Mathers, you know that he has always taken his music game to the next level - and Houdini is certainly NOT an outlier.

The music video opens with Eminem in a very Batman-esque bedroom receiving a video call from none other than Dr. Dre himself (dressed as a rather convincing Professor X) while a sample of Without Me plays in the background. A portal from 2002 has been opened and Slim Shady, blond buzzcut intact, has stepped into the ultra-modern - and hypersensitive - world of 2024. Eminem (operating as the superhero Rap Boy) immediately springs into action. The video then cuts to the rapid-fire spread of the news, comic book-style text bubbles appearing over faces both unrecognizable and VERY familiar with Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and even the Pope all asking the very same question. "Guess who's back?"

We then see both Eminem and Slim Shady next to each other and while it's nice to see that Eminem has aged well (seriously the blond buzzcut is all he needed. Who is his plastic surgeon??) it's very clear this is not a welcome reunion. This video has it all - the sampling of many nostalgic songs of his own and of course Steve Miller Band's Abracadabra, Dre and Eminem cruising in a yellow Lambo (still donning their superhero garb), and 2002 Eminem wreaking havoc in 2024 in an attempt to cancel the modern Eminem. It's well known that Eminem, both past and present, takes delight in a little shock factor and has always thought that society was too sensitive. However, throughout both battles (one in the superhero universe on a city rooftop and one taking place in a liminal space) one thing is very clear - Eminem has changed.

The video climaxes when Eminem (2024) and Slim Shady (2002) both land a punch and seemingly fuse and create a new monster. Eminem returns to the Lambo with his facial hair well intact and a new blond cut as well. We see a cameo from Pete Davidson when the merged Eminems get too out of hand for Dre to handle and even from his very own kids. While this video holds the level of cinematography required to make a splash in 2024 and the Eminem brand humor we've grown to love, it also contemplates a deeper question - How do you deal with problematic behaviors from your past? There's a lot to be said for the behavior of Marshall Mathers throughout his career and I truly think the media has done its due diligence. Still, this video makes it clear you can't outrun your past. There will always be someone (or in Eminem's case, thousands) waiting in the wings to bring it back to light. In an age where no one is safe from their past actions, no matter how much time has passed, there is no escaping - there is only reconciliation. At the end of the video, we see the visualization of what every person who has a toxic past has to go through to heal. You can't destroy who you used to be. You have to learn acceptance and build upon your past. Eminem is no stranger to this, having recently celebrated 16 years of sobriety, and he's certainly no stranger to having his past thrown in his face. He does what he's always done - says "Fuck you" to anyone and anything who stands in his way. At the end of the day, Eminem's existence is still widely controversial but trust me when I say that whether this is his last album or not he has already broken his own records and will continue to do so because of his faith in himself and what he's built. There's nothing harder than letting go of the past (except for maybe watching 2024 Eminem try to keep up with 2002 Slim Shady's moves - turns out not even Eminem is excluded from aging knees).

Love him or hate him, Eminem has proven that he's not playing games. His use of modern technology mixed with his never-ending lyrical genius will leave a significant portion of the world begging for more every time. All I can hope for is a farewell tour when it finally does come to a halt.