2008–2014: Breakthrough with Disney In October 2008, Carpenter was one of 7,000 to enter the online singing contest
The Next Miley Cyrus Project, run by
Miley Cyrus. Around this time, Carpenter signed with manager Bill Perlman. Around the same time, she performed as part of the
Hunan Broadcasting System's
Gold Mango Audience Festival program in China, singing "
Something's Got a Hold on Me". In the summer of 2012, Carpenter had a recurring role in the
Fox sitcom
The Goodwin Games. She appeared as young Merrin Williams in
Horns (2013) and recorded "Smile" for the compilation album
Disney Fairies: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust, inspired by the
Disney Fairies film series; the song charted on
Radio Disney. She had a recurring role as Princess Vivian in
Sofia the First from 2013 to 2018, for which she recorded various songs, including "All You Need" with
Ariel Winter. In January 2013, Carpenter was cast in a
Disney Channel series
Girl Meets World, a spin-off of
Boy Meets World, as
Maya Hart. The show consisted of 72 episodes, and concluded on January 20, 2017. Carpenter recorded the show's theme song alongside her co-star
Rowan Blanchard. From 2010 to 2013, Carpenter released various independent promotional singles before signing a five-album deal with Disney label
Hollywood Records in 2014. In March 2014, Carpenter released her debut single, "
Can't Blame a Girl for Trying", which was co-written by
Meghan Trainor. The single received positive reviews and titled her debut EP
of the same name that was released in April 2014. In July 2014, Carpenter contributed lead vocals to the
Disney Channel Circle of Stars cover version of "
Do You Want to Build a Snowman?". She recorded "Stand Out" for the Disney Channel movie,
How to Build a Better Boy, which premiered in August 2014. She released her first Christmas single, "Silver Nights", that same year.
2015–2017: Eyes Wide Open and Evolution In January 2015, Carpenter released "We'll Be the Stars". It served as the lead single for her debut studio album
Eyes Wide Open, which was released on April 14, 2015, and peaked at number 43 on the
Billboard 200. According to
Billboard, it sold over 12,000 copies in its first week. Upon release, the album received positive reviews and went on to win two
Radio Disney Music Awards. In August, Carpenter performed at the
D23 Expo. In December, Carpenter released her second Christmas single, "Christmas The Whole Year Round". at
Staples Center in
Los Angeles in 2016 In February 2016, Carpenter released the standalone single titled "
Smoke and Fire". For the film, the two performed the theme track, "Wildside", together. Later that year, she appeared in a
Pasadena Playhouse production of ''Peter Pan and Tinker Bell: A Pirate's Christmas''. In August, Carpenter headlined the
Bethlehem's Musikfest festival. In October 2016, Carpenter released her second studio album,
Evolution which debuted on the
Billboard 200 at number 28, selling 13,000 copies in its first week. which peaked at number one on
Billboards
Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and was later certified Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Two promotional singles were released from the album including "All We Have Is Love" and "Run and Hide". In May, Carpenter featured on the single "
Hands" with
The Vamps and
Mike Perry. In July, Carpenter released the single "
Why", which received positive reviews, and peaked at number 21 on the
Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, becoming her second entry on the chart. It was nominated for a Radio Disney Music Award. In the summer of that year, Carpenter embarked on her second headlining concert tour,
the De-Tour. She opened for
Ariana Grande on her
Dangerous Woman Tour in
São Paulo. In December, Carpenter released a cover of "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". That same year, she released covers of "
Sign of the Times" and "
You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" with British singer
Jasmine Thompson and
violinist Lindsey Stirling respectively.
2018–2020: Singular and film projects In March 2018, Carpenter released the song "
Alien" with English DJ
Jonas Blue. The song reached number one on the US
Dance Club Songs chart and number 12 on the US
Dance/Electronic Songs chart. In May, Carpenter was included in
Nylon magazine's "25 Gen Z'ers Changing The World". In September, Carpenter appeared in
The Hate U Give (2018), based on
the novel of the same name. On November 9, 2018, Carpenter released her third studio album,
Singular: Act I, which received positive reviews. Originally set to be released as one album, Carpenter announced that the album would be split into two acts with second act set for release in early 2019. Two
promotional singles preceded the album: "Paris" and "Bad Time". Carpenter promoted the album on
The Today Show, as well as
Live with Kelly and Ryan. In March 2019, Carpenter embarked on her third headlining concert tour, the
Singular Tour. That month, Carpenter featured on
Alan Walker's single, "
On My Way", alongside
Farruko. In June 2019, she starred in the drama film
The Short History of the Long Road. The film had had its world premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival and was released by
FilmRise. It received positive reviews with Carpenter's role being praised. On July 19, 2019, Carpenter released her fourth studio album,
Singular: Act II. Various promotional singles were released for the album including "
Pushing 20", "
Exhale" and "
In My Bed". To promote the album, she performed on
Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series and released a promotional single titled "I'm Fakin" ahead of the album's release. The album features Carpenter's most successful song released under Hollywood Records, "
Looking at Me". In September 2019, Carpenter appeared in the
Netflix film
Tall Girl. She was cast in an adaptation of
The Distance From Me to You. In February 2020, Carpenter released an
R&B single titled "
Honeymoon Fades" which was received positively by critics. A month later, she made her
Broadway debut in
Mean Girls. The show closed the day after Carpenter's debut due to the
COVID-19 pandemic closing Broadway and never reopened. She performed in two performances of the show. In May 2020, she performed "
Your Mother and Mine" on the
ABC broadcast television special,
The Disney Family Singalong Volume II. She had a recurring role in
Royalties for which she performed "Perfect Song" for the soundtrack. In July 2020, Carpenter released the song, "Let Me Move You", for the
Netflix film
Work It, in which she starred and executive produced. Her role received generally positive reviews. The film's soundtrack featured
Zara Larsson's "
Wow", which led to Carpenter featuring on the remix of the song, released in September of that year. In October, Carpenter starred in the
Disney+ film
Clouds, based on the life of
Zach Sobiech. She contributed to the
film's soundtrack. In December 2020, Carpenter was listed under
Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Hollywood and entertainment category.
2021–2023: ''Emails I Can't Send'' and wider recognition In January 2021, Carpenter announced that she had signed to
Universal Music Group's
Island Records. She released her first single under the label, "
Skin", on January 22, 2021. The song peaked at number 48 and 33 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and the
Billboard Global 200, becoming her first entry on both charts. Carpenter performed the song on
The Late Late Show with James Corden and at the
32nd annual GLAAD Media Awards. In September, she appeared in the third volume of
Prime Video's
Savage X Fenty Show. On September 9, 2021, Carpenter released "
Skinny Dipping", the lead single from her then-forthcoming fifth studio album. She released "
Fast Times" on February 18, 2022, as a follow-up single. That same month, she appeared in
Tall Girl 2. In May 2022, Carpenter appeared in
Amazon Studios' film
Emergency which had premiered at the
2022 Sundance Film Festival that January. in 2022 On July 15, 2022, Carpenter released her fifth studio album, ''
Emails I Can't Send, which debuted and peaked at number 23 on the Billboard'' 200 with 18,000 album equivalent units sold. The album was further promoted with the singles:
"Vicious" "
Because I Liked a Boy", and
"Nonsense". The
Emails I Can't Send Tour began in September of that year. "Nonsense", the album's fifth single, went viral on
TikTok due to Carpenter performing newly improvised sexually suggestive outros for the song on tour. The song peaked at number 56 on the Hot 100, was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and reached the top-10 on the US
Pop Airplay chart. One of the bonus tracks, "
Feather", became the final single in August 2023, peaking at number one on the US
Pop Songs chart and number 21 on the
Billboard Hot 100. She performed the song at the
2023 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show and at
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. The song's music video, released in October 2023, drew polarized reactions due to its violent imagery and was filmed at the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in
Brooklyn,
New York. The pastor apologized for allowing the shoot, unaware of the content. Carpenter responded, stating advance permission was granted and noting, "
Jesus was a carpenter."
Bishop Robert J. Brennan relieved the pastor of his administrative duties in the diocese and held a
Mass of
reparation to "restore the sanctity of this church". The investigation into the priest who granted permission uncovered evidence that led to the
indictment of New York City mayor
Eric Adams. Carpenter was the opening act for
the Eras Tour by
Taylor Swift for a number of its Latin American, Australian and Singaporean shows throughout 2023 and 2024. She released a cover of Swift's "
I Knew You Were Trouble" as a Spotify special and said that opening for Swift was a "childhood dream come true". Carpenter described her experience at the Eras Tour as "unlike any crowd I've ever played to before". On November 17, 2023, Carpenter released a
Christmas-themed EP,
Fruitcake, featuring "A Nonsense Christmas" which was released a year earlier.
2024–present: ''Short n' Sweet and Man's Best Friend'' In March 2024, Carpenter featured on Norwegian singer-songwriter
Girl in Red's single "
You Need Me Now?". On April 11, Carpenter released the single "
Espresso", and performed at the
2024 Coachella Music Festival the following day. "Espresso" topped the
Billboard Global 200, peaked at number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart and went on to win the
MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year. At the end of the year, "Espresso" became the second most streamed song of the year on Spotify at 1.6 billion. Carpenter followed with a second single, "
Please Please Please" on June 6, 2024, which became her second global chart-topper and her first US Hot 100 number one single. With these songs, she became the first female artist to hold the number one and two positions on the
UK singles chart for three weeks in a row. as part of her
Short n' Sweet Tour in 2025 Carpenter released her sixth studio album, ''
Short n' Sweet, on August 23, debuting at number one the Billboard'' 200 with 362,000 units sold in its first week. All tracks charted in the top 50 of the Hot 100. At the
67th Annual Grammy Awards, Carpenter earned six nominations, including
Best New Artist, while the album was nominated for
Best Pop Vocal Album and
Album of the Year. It won Best Pop Vocal Album, and "Espresso" won
Best Pop Solo Performance. The third single, "
Taste", debuted at number two on the Hot 100, making Carpenter the first act since
the Beatles to chart their first three top-five hits within a single week. The first three singles stayed in the top ten for seven consecutive weeks, a record for any female artist. Carpenter also became the first artist in 71 years to spend 20 weeks atop the UK singles chart in a calendar year, with "Taste" as the longest-running UK number one of 2024. A deluxe version with five additional tracks including a duet of "Please Please Please" with
Dolly Parton, was released on February 14, 2025. In September 2024, Carpenter appeared on
Christina Aguilera's live
Spotify-exclusive special celebrating the 25th anniversary of Aguilera's
self-titled debut album, duetting on "
What a Girl Wants", which was later nominated for a
Webby Award. That month, she embarked on the
Short n' Sweet Tour, her first
arena tour. Carpenter produced and starred in a
Netflix holiday special,
A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter, released on December 6 and featuring duets with
Chappell Roan,
Tyla, and
Shania Twain, among others. On June 5, 2025, Carpenter released the single, "
Manchild", which debuted at number one the Hot 100, marking her first debut number one and second number one song overall on the chart. She performed it for the first time at
Primavera Sound 2025 and then at
BST Hyde Park. Her seventh studio album, ''
Man's Best Friend, was released on August 29, 2025. The reveal of the cover art–depicting Carpenter on her hands and knees with an out-of-frame man grabbing her hair while she "paws" at his leg–divided both critics and fans. Some found it degrading to women, while others found it provocative and satirical. The album debuted atop the US Billboard'' 200, selling 366,000 equivalent album units in its first week, marking the highest-selling week for an album by a female artist in 2025 and third highest-selling week for an album overall that year. In August 2025, Carpenter performed as a headlining act at the
Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, where she was joined by
Earth, Wind & Fire. She featured on the
title track of Taylor Swift's album
The Life of a Showgirl, released on October 3, 2025. Carpenter was a headlining act at the
Austin City Limits Music Festival in October, performing with
Shania Twain and
the Chicks. She headlined several festivals throughout 2026, including
Lollapalooza Chile, Brazil and Argentina;
Asunciónico;
Festival Estéreo Picnic; and
Coachella. She sparked controversy during the
latter festival after dismissing a fan's
zaghrouta, a traditional
Arabic celebratory chant, as "weird"
yodeling; she later apologized for her reaction following backlash.
Madonna made a guest appearance at Carpenter's second weekend Coachella performance, where they debuted their new duet "
Bring Your Love" from Madonna's upcoming album
Confessions II and performed "
Vogue" and "
Like a Prayer". ==Artistry==