The official cover art for Sabrina Carpenter’s holiday EP “Fruitcake.” The new EP features six holiday-themed songs and offers a refreshing take on traditional carols. PUBLIC DOMAIN
Sabrina Carpenter’s holiday extended play (EP) “fruitcake,” released on Nov. 17, explores the emotional highs and lows of the holiday season with originality and a sense of humor. The release coincides with Carpenter’s appearance as the opening act for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour.”
The six-song EP opens with “A Nonsense Christmas,” a Christmas remix of her hit song “Nonsense” from her most recent album,“emails i can’t send.” “Nonsense” gained widespread popularity on TikTok for Carpenter’s improvised outros that often included double entendres and wordplay on the tour location names. The remix not only builds on the popularity of these ad-libbed outros but also showcases Carpenter’s sense of humor through tongue-in-cheek Christmas references throughout the song.
Elevating the holiday cheer, “buy me presents” has a classic Christmas ring to it with its bells and saxophone instrumentals. Carpenter continues to showcase her playful songwriting style with cheeky Christmas-theme innuendos like the opening lines, “If you were a wise man, baby, you would drop / Every other ho, ho, ho and put me on top.”
The cheeriness settles in the mellow and nostalgic song, “santa doesn’t know you like i do,” where Carpenter showcases her soothing vocals. She remixes the famous lines of Santa Claus keeping an eye on your good and bad deeds from the classic song “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” — originally sung by Harry Reese — into a tender love song about deeply understanding your partner after experiencing both their highs and lows. Over hushed instrumentals toward the end of the song, there is a spoken interlude that resembles an intimate conversation. The interlude closes with Carpenter hoping that her love will come to realize she’s the one for them.
In the EP’s most somber track, “cindy lou who,” Carpenter likens her ex’s new girlfriend to Cindy Lou Who, the sweet little girl from Dr. Seuss’ picture book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” The heartbreaking lyrics vividly convey Carpenter’s jealous and lovelorn emotions, such as “Guess you make him happy like I couldn’t do,” which marks it as a standout song that counters the cheery holiday songs with holiday blues.
The disco, dance-pop track “is it new years yet?” serves as a groovy anthem for those who are tired of the holidays. Carpenter sings about wanting New Year’s to come as she’s exhausted from the overplayed holiday songs, relatives who “always know what to say to piss me off” and spending the holidays alone. The track brings out the best of Carpenter’s humor as she playfully raps, “Couples all around me, damn, it hurts / Wanna push ’em in the fireplace, and watch ’em burn.” She contrasts the song’s pessimism with her comedic and confident sensibilities when she adds, “Santa, Santa, why do you hate me? / I’m a gift, look how God made me.”
The EP revives the festive holiday spirit with “white xmas,” a cover of Bing Crosby’s holiday classic “White Christmas.” Trading out Crosby’s slow, deep melody, Carpenter infuses the song with her sweet and velvety vocals, culminating in a harmonious interpolation of “Jingle Bells” that closes the song with the ultimate Christmas cheer.
Carpenter’s wordplay and wit on “fruitcake” stand out and offer a refreshing take on holiday carols with originality and clever quips. From capturing the joy of holiday spirits to the depths of holiday blues, every track makes for jolly and candid additions to spice up the festive playlists.
