Sabrina Carpenter showed up with gusto on Saturday at Variety‘s annual Hitmakers event, accepting her Hitmaker of the Year honor in front of a star- and executive-studded audience and quipping about the very action-packed year that brought her to this summit.
The pop superstar, who has seen her career explode in recent years, gave the Hollywood crowd some words of wisdom from an artist who started writing songs at the age of 10.
“The easiest way to write a bad song is to try to write a hit,” Carpenter said. “Write the opposite of what you think a hit is. Write what speaks to you, write something that only you can write. Write the music you want to listen to yourself. Add the weird chord progression and key change, and call men stupid in as many ways as you can.”
Carpenter’s kudo was presented by her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff. The mega-producer and Bleachers member saluted Carpenter’s versatility as a performer, songwriter and artist who has handled the burdens of success well.
“The really crazy thing is that she can write like that,” Antonoff said, praising Carpenter’s instincts as a tunesmith.
Carpenter also has the utmost respect for her fans, he said. She starts out with “the assumption that people are smart,” he said. “If you really believe people are smart, you can get away with things. That key change in ‘Please Please Please’ that is so thrilling — that is the kind of stuff that matters and is interesting.”
Carpenter, who read her remarks from a diary, praised songwriter Amy Allen, who was in the room, and others for being a support network that encourages her most “crazy ideas.”
Carpenter expressed her gratitude and awe at the artistry that happens “every time we get the privilege to be in a room with things that make noise,” she said.
The artist who is riding high on the success of her latest single, “Manchild,” thanked her label home, Island Records, for their faith in her decisions, or what she described as “not trying to tell me what a hit is. That’s rare,” she said.
Carpenter concluded with a shout-out to her audience. She echoed the comments of numerous Hitmaker award recipients in observing that songs are only hits after they are embraced by listeners.
“Thank you to the fans that makes these hits,” Carpenter said. “Thank you to the fans that learn the lyrics and sing the songs and make them hits — whatever that means.”
Carpenter is currently nominated for six Grammy Awards, including the top three all-genre categories: album of the year, record of the year and song of the year. She’s also nominated for best pop vocal album, best pop solo performance and best music video.
In February, Carpenter won her first two Grammys, taking home prizes for best pop solo performance for “Espresso” and pop vocal album for “Short n’ Sweet.” Her first arena tour launched in September 2024, and in March, she set off on the European leg, before returning to the States this fall as it morphed into a “Man’s Best Friend” tour. “Manchild,” the single that preceded the latest album, became a blockbuster immediately upon release in June, followed by the full collection, which debuted to strong reviews in August.
Variety‘s Hitmakers event had plenty of other star power. Fellow honorees at the luncheon included Rosé, Tyler, the Creator, Megan Moroney, BigXThaPlug, Role Model, Addison Rae, Tate McRae, Buddy Guy, Alex Warren, the Marías, the singing voices of HUNTR/X (EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI), Fuerza Regida, Sounwave, Mustard and Jack Antonoff.
Presenters for the Hitmakers program included Laufey, Miles Caton, Benny Blanco, Jimmy Jam, Jake Shane and others.