Sabrina Carpenter didn't write "Espresso" with it being "addictive" in mind

Sabrina had the world looking so cute wrapped ’round her finger this year with “Espresso,” but she initially didn’t know if the song would Mountain Dew it for anyone but herself. “I really didn’t know if it would connect, but the sentiment and the sound of the song and the confidence that it kind of just carries along with it was something that I really believed in,” she recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “I had literally no idea that anyone would like it, but I liked it, and that was kind of all that mattered to me in that moment, and something I try to remember over and over again.”

“It’s like somewhat addictive,” she continued, even though she says she didn’t write the earworm with that “with that in mind.” (She even questioned if the breezy summer hit would be better for fall since “coffee is kind of more of a fall beverage.” Imagine only hearing “Espresso” for the first time two or three months ago; the year would have sounded so different.)

“Addictive” is right. “Espresso” was Billboard‘s number one global song of the summer, and inspired not only its own SNL skit, but a spinoff a few weeks later. In the aftermath, Carpenter put out her own signature latte, an espresso-flavored ice cream flavor, and a new commercial with Dunkin’ today. She’s currently nominated for six Grammy Awards, including best new artist (“I’m the best old artist. Shit, I’ve been here,” Carpenter quipped in a reaction video on Instagram.) In the New Year, may we all relate as little to desperation (and maybe have a few perfect nonsense lyrics come to us to boot).