How Branding Catapulted Sabrina Carpenter into Stardom
- Rain Hashimoto
- Jul 29
- 10 min read
July 28th 2025
Hello my lovely readers! Today I'll be covering the rise of Sabrina Carpenter and how marketing/branding plays a large role in success nowadays. As always, I hope you enjoy reading <3
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With the rise of social media and technology each year, comes the oversaturated internet term, "viral sensation" and an influx of young and talented people arising online. When we look back to the early 2000s to 2010s, it was simply put, easier to become famous. This is due to the fact that social media was relatively a new thing to exist. People were just starting to move away from platforms like MySpace and onto Instagram and Facebook. It was nothing like the social media that we see today. There wasn't a new trend or video to create every single week, and the term "influencer" was close to obsolete. Because of this, there were so many people who were able to go viral for fairly simple things.
Many Gen-Z TikTok users joke that doing anything online back then could land you on the Ellen Show, which may be true. The Ellen Show had guests like, "Alex from Target" who went viral in 2014 for a picture taken of him bagging items at Target, where people ogled over his looks. The famous "Damn Daniel" video, of two high school boys making a simple joke, had popularized on Vine and had also gone onto Ellen.
My personal favorite was Sophia Grace and Rosie, two little girls in tutu's who went viral for their Super Bass by Nicki Minaj cover. I remember watching it over and over when I was a kid and learning the song lyrics after.
It's almost appalling to watch this back, as it seemed like any "common" person who was able to make a video go viral, got to go on a talk show. Nowadays, there are thousands of creative and amazing people on the internet who have the most unique skills or talents. I'll scroll through hundreds of funny, quirky, videos that could've gone onto the Ellen show if it was 2010, but now it just gets lost through the oversaturated sea of content. Now that the internet has cemented its place in daily life and it's proven to be around for a long time, the term "viral" is not as spectacular as it used to be. There's constantly new videos and trends being produced all the time, causing the lifetime of a trend to die just as quickly as it started.
Most notably the trend, "Very demure, very mindful" that was popularized by Jools Lebron went viral and crashed almost within the same week. As soon as it got popular, many people made videos stating how "annoying it is" and how it made no sense. Although we have more access to fun videos and content, it's also harder than ever to create something that'll leave a long lasting impression on the Internet nowadays.
This change has not only impacted content creators and influencers, but also celebrities as well. Back in the late 2000s, a young boy was creating covers of popular hip-hop/pop songs recorded by his mom. A grainy home video of him singing on the guitar garnered the attention of Scooter Braun, a famous investor and record executive. This young boy, famously known as Justin Bieber now, went on to become a two-time Grammy winning, 2010s pop heartthrob sensation, and A-list celebrity.
The 2000s saw many celebrities get discovered via social media, some names including Tori Kelly, Chloe and Halle Bailey, and Charlie Puth. Nowadays, the internet is heavily saturated with small name musicians and talented singers performing covers in their bedroom. Search any pop song title with "cover" attached to it on TikTok and hundreds of videos will show up on your feed. It's forced musicians/singers to raise the bar if they truly want to make it big in the industry. Being a "good singer" is simply not enough anymore, with agents, executives, and record labels looking for someone who can stand out in that sea of talent.
This is where branding and marketing play a giant role in a celebrity's pathway to success. Branding is how a person is able to establish themselves as a unique figure in the industry and separate themselves from just a "regular" artist.
The most notable example of how branding completely shaped public perception and popularity is Sabrina Carpenter. One of the biggest women in pop currently, she's credited online with bringing back "true white girl pop". Many people online express how they want more white female celebrities to embrace the early 2000s genre of pop music (e.g Carly Rae Jepsen, Hilary Duff) versus trying to venture into the rap/hip-hop genre, which is what Sabrina really plays into.
However, even though she's been creating music for a long time, her popularity and fame wasn't always this large. Let's take a look at how her career started, what didn't work, what changed, and how she achieved stardom today.
Sabrina Carpenter Beginning
Sabrina Carpenter rose to fame at 14 years old with her breakout role as Maya in the Disney Channel show Girl Meets World. In this Boy Meets World sequel, Sabrina starred alongside Rowen Blanchard for three seasons. During her Disney Channel era, Sabrina started to release teen pop music, with her first hits titled, Can't Blame a Girl For Trying and Eyes Wide Open which was also the title of her first album.
I remember growing up and seeing these music videos on Disney Channel and falling in love with her earlier music. I loved Eyes Wide Open and I have vivid memories every time it came up on screen. After Girl Meets World she released her second studio album in 2016, Evolution featuring the hit song Thumbs. Publishing a couple of singles following, she released her next studio album, Singular Act: I and Singular Act: II. All of these albums were similar in terms of lycrism and aesthetics. Sabrina focused on creating a brooding, mature, and moody concept through her music videos and songs. Most Disney Channel stars attempt to go for more mature concepts to try to break out of their typecast, kid-friendly look, which is exactly what Sabrina attempted. Dark eye makeup, straightened hair, more revealing/mature clothing, and lyrics about adult themes were present in Evolution and both of the Singular Act albums.
While these albums received some level of success, with Evolution debuting at number 28 on the Billboard 200, she still hadn't reach the level of fame we know her for today.
Why?
Her dark teenage concept couldn't compete with other celebrities in that era. The late 2010s saw Ariana Grande's Dangerous Woman, Taylor Swift's Reputation, and Billie Eilish's Don't Smile At Me. Established, famous, and popular with teenagers, these A-list celebrities had already dominated the genre of mature pop. However, Sabrina struggled to break free from her Disney typecast and couldn't seem to connect with a wider audience of fans.
Sabrina Carpenter: The Turning Point
Then came emails i can't send in 2022, her album that changed everything. The album featured an upbeat and "traditional" pop sound, with simple and catchy lyrics. Her single Nonsense went viral on TikTok for its fast and fun rhythm. She finally had found something that worked for her, a signature sound combined with witty and vulnerable songwriting. Although her album didn't initially chart very high in terms of streaming, emails i can't send slowly built Sabrina into popularity.
Songs on the album including, Because I Liked a Boy gained buzz on social media for its possible connection to Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett drama, as around this time Olivia had released her album Sour, which painfully covered her breakup with Joshua and his new relationship with Sabrina. It's highly speculated that Sabrina wrote the song to share her perspective on the hate and opinions she received from Olivia's fans.
With her song Nonsense trending on every video and people gossiping about the lyrics of Because I Liked a Boy Sabrina was getting more attention than ever. On tour, Sabrina's shows featured girly coquette and retro imagery, evoking a feminine and nostalgic feeling. Girly babydoll dresses, pastel colors, balloons, and hearts were a staple of a Sabrina Carpenter show, a complete switch up from her Evolution tour, which featured dim lighting, lacy dark outfits, and a darker, more grungy vibe.
During the second month of her tour, she began a trend that would be the final kick into propelling her into the spotlight. At the end of Nonsense she began adding unique outro lines that shined a light on whatever city she was performing at. The lines were often funny, flirtatious, and utilized sexual innuendos to create a cheeky memorable end.
Fans started filming and uploading them to TikTok and Twitter, which went viral. This helped to humanize her as a performer and become more relatable to fans. She had amassed so much popularity that by late 2023-2024 she was opening for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
Finally finding her signature, Sabrina was gaining her footing to be the next big star in pop. Her next studio album Short n' Sweet solidified that status completely for her. The album featured songs like Espresso which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Please Please Please which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album featured a strong summer vibe and turned up the girly imagery that was popular on emails i cant send. She used catchy and sassy lyrics along with captivating music videos to propel her album into a pop sensation. Short n' Sweet cemented her image as a cheeky romantic artist that wasn't afraid to sing an indecent lyric or two.
However, Sabrina's hair became the biggest signature on the album that everyone associated her with. She went from straight and "messy" hair in her Evolution tour to voluminous and curly hair to match the fun and new bubbly theme we associate her with. This started a wave of people on TikTok and Instagram attempting to cut and style their hair like her. People made videos of themselves asking to get the "Sabrina Carpenter haircut" which was just curtain bangs with lots of layering. Sabrina managed to turn her simple 70s inspired hair into a viral trend that had people talking about not only her music but her personal style as well.
My favorite part of this era however, was how captivating her tour performances were. Learning from the emails i can't send tour, Sabrina completely leaned into all the things that made her viral. It was fun, girly, and utilized those sexual innuendo jokes that people loved from last time.
Still following a retro theme, Sabrina's set featured a 1970s-style TV penthouse. The stage was designed like a glamorous vintage mansion, featuring a bathtub, heart-shaped bed, fireplace, and spiral staircase. Before and between acts, she used playful animations and fake commercials which was something very fresh and unique. Many fans loved how her show felt like an old timey Hollywood movie or play, channeling an I Love Lucy energy.
Bed Chem was one of my favorite performances, which was sang on a circular glittering bed that closed out with a curtain and suggestive silhouettes behind. She also used actress-like theatrics by using an ad-style screen for lyric callbacks and different reveals throughout the show.
Sabrina also incorporated crowd work and memorable funny moments throughout her tour. Similar to her different Nonsense outros, Sabrina incorporated a different pose in one of her songs for every location. Juno one of the hit tracks on the album, features a line that sings, "Have you ever tried this one?" and Sabrina would choose a different pose that referenced a sexual innuendo at each tour stop. Most notably, her stop in Paris had her recreating an "Eiffel Tower" pose that went viral on TikTok. In this same song, she would also theatrically "arrest" an audience member with fluffy handcuffs for being "too hot", which echoed a cheeky and retro crime show gag. Furthermore she incorporated games like "spin the bottle" and sang surprise covers (eg. ABBA's Mamma Mia) which made the night feel like a 70s slumber party. These small interactions allowed her show to feel spontaneous and fun and kept the audience hooked the whole way. Sabrina knew how to make viral moments happen and what people liked about her brand, which helped boost the tour and album popularity.
However, I have to say that as someone who doesn't listen to her music much, what really captivated me was the costumes. She made it a point to start her show coming out of a bubble bath in what looked like only a towel, but underneath it was a fully blinged out sequin corset bodysuit. She had a rotating cast of custom Victoria Secret bodysuits that were sometimes in pastel or bold hues combined with gartr accessories. This left the audience guessing what corset she was going to rock that night and how she would do the reveal. These outfits emphasized the vintage glam that Sabrina had at her show and played into the sexy and fun theme of her songs.
Sabrina Carpenter Now
Sabrina was able to achieve commercial success not just by being a talented artist, but by playing heavily into branding and marketing. She managed to keep the internet hooked on a different trend with each of her albums/tours quickly, during a time when trend turnover is rapid. Like I stated earlier, the internet and social media is flooded with talented people everyday, which is why it's important to make yourself stand out in a unique way.
Sabrina knows her audience and knows her brand, allowing her to play into an almost satirical over the top image. Currently, she's working on her new album that will be dropping late August. She released the single Manchild which featured even bigger hair and a retro country fantasy. This song generated massive buzz and charted #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
However, her and her team is facing controversy with her new album cover, which features Sabrina kneeling on the floor and a man grabbing her hair. People took to TikTok and Instagram to express their disgust and frustration, stating that she took it too far. Many people argued that it's all her brand image and plays into the irony and satirical humor she uses in her songs. To which many responded that the image was not appropriate in the current political climate and when you do something very often, it's no longer considered satirical, it's simply who you are.
I'm interested to see the public reception of her new album and how she'll create more creative and viral moments with her music videos and outfits. I do believe she'll continue to be very successful if she's able to maintain her brand image throughout her tours and media campaigns.
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Till Monday, bye my fashion and beauty baddies. <3
☆Rain☆
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