Music
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” has many fans wondering about Carpenter’s relationship with Barry Keoghan. Here’s what she said about that fascination.
The best celebrities get you interested in their love lives. Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” has many fans wondering about Carpenter’s relationship with Barry Keoghan. Here’s what she said about that fascination.
‘Please Please Please’ is changing everything for Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan
Sometimes, a music video is the best way to make a celebrity couple iconic. The Beatles each brought their significant others to the shoot for “Something,” and now all of those women are a part of rock ‘n’ roll history. Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley will always be one of the defining celebrity couples of the 1980s because of “Uptown Girl.” No matter what they do now, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s relationship will always be most associated with “Jenny from the Block.” Carpenter and Keoghan are now a power couple because they play a couple in the “Please Please Please” clip.
During a 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, the “Espresso” star said she’s fine with fans wanting to know about her personal life. “The [dating] pool is the pool, and when you meet people that feel authentic and are so brilliant and amazing in every way, that’s what you do,” Carpenter said. “Obviously, I write songs about exactly how I feel, so I guess I can’t be so surprised that people are interested in who and what those songs are about. That’s something that comes with the territory.”
Even if Carpenter is fine with people wanting to know more about her relationships, that doesn’t mean she wants to open up. Rolling Stone reports that she seemed hesitant to talk about Keoghan. The weird paradox of modern celebrity is that it’s possible for two stars to be a power couple while refusing to give fans any hint of their dynamics, history, shared interests, or struggles. Perhaps this sort of mystique makes the public want to know more.
Sabrina Carpenter said her risque music is just as honest as her sad music
The “Nonsense” star explained why her experiences inform her music. “When I was younger, I think I’d almost feel pressure to write about mature subject matter because of the people around you being like, ‘This is something that is cool and what works,’” she recalled. “I didn’t do it until I felt like it was actually authentic to me.
“Those real moments where I’m just a 25-year-old girl who’s super horny are as real as when I’m going through a heartbreak and I’m miserable and I don’t feel like a person,” she added. Carpenter’s statement is fascinating if you interpret it as a response to music critics. Critics often believe that a singer’s downbeat songs feel more personal than their sex jams. However, Carpenter seems to imply that her upbeat, risque hit “Espresso” and “Nonsense” are just as honest as her more recent, tormented single “Please Please Please.”
‘Please Please Please’ is a hit
“Please Please Please” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 during its first week on the chart. So far, it’s Carpenter’s highest-charting song. It’s her only top 10 single besides “Espresso.” “Espresso” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for nine weeks. Regardless of which song is happier or more popular, it seems safe to assume that both tracks are just as honest.
We can speculate about Carpenter’s relationship with Keoghan but it looks like her lips are sealed for now.
