IF you haven’t heard the song Espresso – even just in the passing, over the last few weeks – I am unsure if I am jealous or think you are missing out. The likelihood is even if you don’t know it by name, you will almost certainly have heard the chorus against your will. If the words “I’m working late, cause I’m a singer” doesn’t low-key traumatise you at this point, you must be seriously unplugged.

It has dominated TikTok, the charts, streaming platforms and the radio since its release back in April and has even been tipped as 2024’s “song of the summer”. It was closely followed by Sabrina Carpenter’s follow-up release Please Please Please, which has, quite incredibly, been just as popular – currently sitting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a first for the 25-year-old artist.

What’s interesting is that Carpenter isn’t a new face, she’s been on the scene for quite some time, starting as a child Disney star, she released her debut album Eyes Wide Open all the way back in 2015, but it would be some nine years later before she enjoyed international success on the scale we’re seeing now. Her sound has definitely matured from bubblegum pop to the more sophisticated and versatile version that’s proving to be the soundtrack of the summer, which is at least somewhat responsible for the spike in her success.

But it’s a journey that could be pegged as unusual when you compare it to the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, who became an overnight sensation with little time to prepare.

I find it preferable actually, she is an artist that hasn’t just been lucky with TikTok exposure, but one who has worked hard over a long period of time to perfect her sound and her market, and has ultimately hit the ball out of the park with her strategy.

Merging influence from various genres like pop, R&B and even folk and indie, she’s appealing to a much wider and more receptive audience than she was with her earlier work – and that was her exact intention.

Aside from her two biggest releases so far, tracks like Skinny Dipping and Fast Times have showcased her knack for catchy melodies and lyrics while simultaneously exploring deeper themes of empowerment – and the seamless transition between genres keeps every release fresh and exciting to a whole world of listeners, literally.

I won’t pretend her recent stardom has skyrocketed completely out of nowhere – she was of course Taylor Swift’s supporting act on the Australian leg of the record-breaking Eras Tour that catapulted her exposure, and ultimately saw her knock Swift’s own Fortnight off the Global Spotify top spot back in April. One of the most extreme examples of supporting artist turned global competition I’ve ever seen. A leg-up that was exploited to perfection by her team.

Her auntie is also Nancy Cartwright, otherwise known as the voice of Bart Simpson, so it’s not like she has had trouble making connections in the industry.

But the song of the summer is a difficult accolade to perfect; it has to be relatable to a wide audience, contain memorable lyrics that even the most unlikely of fans can’t shake off – no matter how hard they try – and needs to encompass its audience in the warm, fuzzy feeling of how it literally feels to be on a beach with your friends sipping on a cold drink.

Couple that with some heavyweight competition – though her main competition at the moment is undoubtedly herself. I doubt she cares too much which of her songs take home the crown, and both are proving to be worthy of it.

It’s a niche very few have perfected, and an impressive achievement for a relatively unestablished singer to get a hole-in-one right out of the gate, only to follow it in her second round with another.

It proves though, that when it comes down to it, chart music is feeble and the established hierarchy can be bent out of shape with the emergence of a new favourite at any given moment.

Yesterday’s nobody can very quickly become tomorrow’s Madison Square Garden headliner with the right combination of melody and memorable lyric. It’s probably why someone with as versatile a repertoire as Carpenter has enjoyed so much concurrent success all summer.

As bizarre as it sounds given that she is now a multi-millionaire international popstar, she is relatable – and that’s what the masses are looking for more than anything from celebrity influence in 2024.

With increasing access to the lives, homes and personalities of celebrities – the filtered, out-of-reach, Kardashian-style appeal has dropped off in favour of more relatable and unpolished personalities that young people feel a connection to in one way or another.

Especially amongst the young girls who are often the machine operators pulling the strings when it comes to TikTok and online fame. Whether she’s singing unapologetically about the complexities of modern relationships or navigating rumours and gossip, her music as well as her style and personality feel current and relatable.

Like it or not, those who want superstardom on this level have to impress that market above most others – one of the most, if not the most, powerful forces in pop culture terms as it stands. They will make or break an artist, and have indulged in both in recent years. Carpenter has watched, listened, taken notes and acted accordingly it seems.

Though I might not have chosen to enjoy Sabrina Carpenter’s music, I am glad it was so violently forced upon me. It’s been a while since a real feel-good, lightweight summer song has really grasped my attention.

But I am definitely listening and look forward to seeing what more this polly-pocket-esque powerhouse of a young woman has in store in the coming months.