By Halle Brindley – Opinions Editor

You’re probably familiar with names like Chappel Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo. Forget the ‘big three,’ I’m talking about the ‘Holy Trinity’ of female artists who are taking the reins of the music industry. Aside from their talented voices, what distinguishes them from other pop artists? Why these three? 

Their lyrics encompass another stage of the love cycle: spite, anger, guilt – the honest truth.

In 2017, Taylor Swift released her album “reputation,” an album composed of spiteful, revenge-like songs that were an honest depiction of her feelings at the time. Unfortunately, the album did poorly upon its release. For me, I literally thought Tay-Tay had lost herself and was going into rap. Sad day for a Swiftie! With the album recently spiking in sales, she proved to be ahead of her time. By 2021, Olivia Rodrigo’s successful first album, “SOUR,” performed so well that it was the precedent for what was to come: albums consisting of the reality of feelings, the good AND the bad. There is no longer a market just for the perfect “Love Story,” but rather a market for relatability.  

Carpenter’s song “Lie To Girls” implies that if a girl likes you enough, she will lie to herself, romanticize a relationship, overlooking the bad, a seemingly shameful act that isn’t talked about aloud. Arguably, songs like this could be eye-opening for someone who is conflicted in a relationship, serving as reminders that they deserve better.  

I’ll be the first to admit that I have romanticized someone because I had such a big crush on them, when in reality, we couldn’t have been further from being compatible. To admit to that in high school? Oh, absolutely not! In no Universe would that have EVER happened. Thank you, next! 

Even worse, I was willing to become the perfect “all-american” girl who “[doesn’t] get angry when [she’s] pissed/ … the eternal optimist/… [is] grateful all the time/ [is] sexy and kind/ … pretty when [she] cries,” you know that one (Rodrigo, “all-american b****”)? Well turns out, the man of the hour “did have a type and it [wasn’t] me” (Carpenter, “opposite”). Surely, “my friends [were] calling me a loser/ ‘Cause I [was] still hanging around,” but the movies and the music felt made me feel like I was going to have a different situation (Roan, “Casual”). Everything in the media was about hope and love, so was it so wrong to think that my reality would be just that?  

Eventually, I did change my perspective on this, which I will certainly credit with the help of Miss Rodrigo. And so, where am I now? Oh baby, I’m that Espresso! I’ve been that “me espresso,” no doubt! I mean, my boyfriend probably got so into coffee because of me. He “can’t sleep/…[he’s] thinkin’ ‘bout me every night,” because, well “that’s that me, espresso” (Carpenter, “Espresso”).  

 Do you see what I mean, now? The pop singers have created a twist on the conventional love song, they have put into lyrics the things that we wouldn’t even verbalize ourselves. As if it were a group choir, me and 20,000 other people sang our hearts out the other night, all united by that 5-foot blondie: Sabrina Carpenter. 

SC since ‘03! (I was born in 2002, but it’s still a good line, let it go!)