Myana Brown

The cover for Sabrina Carpenter’s EP, “Fruitcake”

Sabrina Carpenter has a gift for her fans this holiday season. On November 8th, she announced on Instagram that her new EP, Fruitcake, would debut on November 17th. Along with the announcement, she included the tracklist; “A Nonsense Christmas,” “santa doesn’t know you like i do,” “cindy lou who,” “is it new years,” and “white xmas”. Fans had previously heard “A  Nonsense Christmas”, since it was released in 2022. However, the rest of the songs are new to the Christmas music genre, other than “white xmas” which is a cover.

Going into this EP, I hoped that there would be a similar vibe to Ariana Grande’s Christmas & Chill EP. That album experienced major success due to the fact that it was a pop album that included original holiday songs with cheeky wordplay. 

This album definitely delivered in that regard, starting off with “A Nonsense Christmas”. She switches up the lyrics to have a festive tone to it, while keeping it flirty like the original. “Here’s a lil’ Carol I wrote, it’s / about you and me / You’re my wish list / Lookin’ at you got me thinkin’ / Christmas / Snowflakes in my stomach / When we’re kissin’”. The original version, titled “Nonsense,” wasn’t written with the intent to be put out. Making it ironic that she ended up releasing a dirtier Christmas version of that song. The track ends with Carpenter’s laugh signifying her intentions for the song — to have a laugh.  

Starting really upbeat, “buy me presents” explains the feeling of wanting your partner to go above and beyond, because there is always someone out there who will treat you better. Carpenter sings, “If you’re not gonna race here from the / North Pole to Beverly Hills / just to keep my stocking filled / well, I know somebody who will”. This “theres always someone better” message is one that a lot of young girls need to hear. Despite having a clear message, she still includes the Christmas spirit. 

In “santa doesn’t know you like i do,” there are holiday themed mentions of Santa, Christmas trees, and fireplaces, but Carpenter still manages to make the theme of the song about how she’s best for a guy, but he doesn’t want to commit. She sings “Santa doesn’t know you like I do / I know all of your favorite songs / Pick up each time you call / So, why can’t I be the one / To give you everything you want?”. It seems as though the guy may be moving on from her, Santa taking the place of his new love interest. Carpenter is claiming that his new love interest doesn’t know him or love him more than she does.

The slowest and saddest song on the EP, “cindy lou who,” is named after a character in the popular Christmas work, The Grinch. It’s about her jealousy towards her ex’s new girlfriend, and the wish that they could be together. Carpenter sings “I saw you laughin’ in one of his pictures / But you’ll be the one with his ring on your finger” She also sings “The snow’s gonna fall and the tree’s gonna glisten / And I’m gonna puke at the thought of you kissin’ / The boy who I love is now in love with you / Cindy Lou, who?”. This is a truly heartbreaking song, a lot of people can relate to the feeling of an ex moving on while you’re still stuck on them. Carpenter is brilliant in her ability to create a lasting and relatable message in her songs, topped with a  Christmas/holiday theme. 

The last original track on Fruitcake is “is it new years yet?,” has an upset and angry Carpenter singing about her disdain for Christmas, wishing for it to be over already. “Santa, Santa, boy you’re the worst / It’s the 25th, I wish it was the 1st / Couples all around me, damn it hurts / Wanna push ‘em in the fireplace, and watch ‘em burn”. Along with her hatred of Christmas due to the loneliness she feels, her family also annoys her with the arguing and dumb questions. “Is it new years yet?” is another relatable song included on this EP. 

Sabrina Carpenter ends the album with a cover of the classic Christmas song, “White Christmas”. Her version is named “white xmas,” but it includes the same lyrics as the original song, other than her outro mentions another Christmas classic, “Jingle Bells”. The song sounds different hearing a woman sing it, rather than the Bing Crosby version that most people listen to. It’s much softer sounding and slower, but I prefer the Bing Crosby version, due to the fact it is what I grew up on. 

Overall, Sabrina Carpenter’s Fruitcake is amazing, with the deeper meanings in the songs rather than just focusing on Christmas. The EP is filled with heartbreak, love, laughs, and holiday references, making it a perfect addition to many people’s holiday playlists for years to come. 

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