Fruitcake (Sabrina Carpenter EP)

Prior to signing with Island Records in 2021, Carpenter released various Christmas songs including "Christmas the Whole Year Round" which reached number 17 on the US Holiday Digital Song Sales chart.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/sabrina-carpenter/|title=Sabrina Carpenter Chart History|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2024-05-04}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.elitedaily.com/p/10-celebrities-with-original-christmas-songs-you-didnt-even-know-existed-19498012|title=Here Are 10 Celebrities With Original Christmas Songs You Didn't Know Existed|accessdate=May 4, 2024|website=Elite Daily|last=Spence|first=Sade|date=December 21, 2019}} In December 2022, following the success of her fifth studio album Emails I Can't Send, Carpenter released a Christmas remix of her single "Nonsense", titled "A Nonsense Christmas".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sabrina-carpenter-a-nonsense-christmas-1235182905/ |title=Sabrina Carpenter Celebrates the 'Hoelidays' With 'A Nonsense Christmas' |magazine=Billboard |date=December 7, 2022 |access-date=November 25, 2023}}

A year later, on November 8, 2023, Carpenter announced that she would be releasing her first Christmas-themed EP,{{cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2023/11/17/Sabrina-Carpenter-Fruitcake-holiday-album/6161700234243/ |title=Sabrina Carpenter releases Fruitcake holiday EP |last=Martin |first=Annie |website=UPI |date=November 17, 2023 |access-date=November 25, 2023}} and revealed its track list through a post on her social media accounts.{{Cite web |url=https://uproxx.com/pop/sabrina-carpenter-fruitcake-ep-tracklist/ |title=Sabrina Carpenter's Fruitcake EP's Sweet Tracklist Reveal Is Looking To Spice Up The Festive Holiday Season |last=Pointer |first=Flisadam |website=Uproxx |date=November 13, 2023|access-date=November 25, 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ks95.com/sabrina-carpenter-announces-new-christmas-ep-fruitcake/|title=Sabrina Carpenter Wants You to Buy Her Presents on Nostalgic Holiday EP Fruitcake|publisher=KS95 |date=November 8, 2023 |access-date=November 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125060420/https://www.ks95.com/sabrina-carpenter-announces-new-christmas-ep-fruitcake/|archive-date=2023-11-25 |url-status=live}} The EP was released on November 17, 2023.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sabrina-carpenter-drops-fruitcake-ep-1234885989/|title=Sabrina Carpenter Wants You to Buy Her Presents on Nostalgic Holiday EP Fruitcake|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=2023-11-17 |accessdate=2023-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125054934/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sabrina-carpenter-drops-fruitcake-ep-1234885989/ |archive-date=2023-11-25 |url-status=live}} On her website, the announcement followed the same aesthetic of her album Emails I Can't Send (2022), being presented in a designed email-style.{{cite magazine |url=https://americansongwriter.com/sabrina-carpenter-announces-holiday-ep-fruitcake-i-have-a-sweet-treat-for-you/ |title=Sabrina Carpenter Announces Holiday EP Fruitcake: 'I Have a Sweet Treat for You' |last=Boisvert |first=Lauren |magazine=American Songwriter |date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 25, 2023}}

The EP begins with "A Nonsense Christmas", a holiday remix of her viral single "Nonsense".{{Cite web|url=https://brignews.com/2023/12/14/album-review-sabrina-carpenters-fruitcake-is-certainly-a-chrismash/|title=Album Review: Sabrina Carpenter's fruitcake is certainly a "Chrismash"|accessdate=May 4, 2024|website=Brig News|date=December 14, 2023|last=Gruber|first=Becs}}{{Cite web|url=https://nyunews.com/arts/music/2023/11/21/sabrina-carpenter-fruitcake-review/|title=Review: Sabrina Carpenter delivers evergreen holiday hits with 'fruitcake'|website=Washington Square News|date=November 21, 2023|accessdate=May 4, 2024}} Throughout the song, Carpenter sings puns about Charles Dickens, Christmas Tree trimmings, and was described as "goofy and unserious". Carpenter also changed the lyrics to the song to match the Christmas-theme with lyrics "Sounds like bleh-blah-blee" changed to "Sounds like ho ho ho".{{Cite web|url=https://z100.iheart.com/featured/z100-jingle-ball/content/2023-12-08-sabrina-carpenter-turns-one-of-her-biggest-songs-into-a-fun-christmas-tune/|title=Sabrina Carpenter Turns One Of Her Biggest Songs Into A Fun Christmas Tune|accessdate=May 4, 2024|website=Z100|date=December 9, 2023|last=Tate|first=Sarah}}

{{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Sabrina-carpenter-nonsense-lyrics|title=Nonsense Lyrics (Genius)}}

Carpenter also recorded a new outro for the song. "Buy Me Presents" follows with similar Christmas-themed wordplay and was described as a "bright and bouncing tongue in cheek love song".{{cite news |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/11/21/sabrina-carpenter-fruitcake-ep-review-a-creative-bite-of-christmas/ |title='Fruitcake' Review: Sabrina Carpenter Takes A Creative Bite of Christmas |last=Healy |first=Millie Mae |newspaper=The Harvard Crimson |date=November 21, 2023 |access-date=November 27, 2023}} The song features a saxophone-solo against a "smooth atmospheric production" and is reminiscent of a Hallmark movie soundtrack.{{Cite web|url=https://www.redbrick.me/ep-review-sabrina-carpenter-fruitcake/|title=EP Review: Sabrina Carpenter – fruitcake|accessdate=May 4, 2024|website=Redbrick|date=December 13, 2023|last=Ahad|first=Halima}}

"Santa Doesn't Know You Like I Do" is a ballad and shifts the mood of the EP. Described as a sad love song,{{Cite web|url=https://thecentraltrend.com/144805/opinion/sabrina-carpenter-brings-originality-to-christmas-music-with-fruitcake/|title=Sabrina Carpenter brings originality to Christmas music with fruitcake|accessdate=May 4, 2024|website=The Central Trend|date=December 4, 2023|last=Kemppainen|first=Kiera}} and featured a spoken word bridge which was described as a callback to Carpenter's 2022 single "Skinny Dipping". The production of the song was called a "juxtaposition between the snare kicks and gentle production" which works towards creating a sombre atmosphere. This is followed by "Cindy Lou Who" which is named after the How the Grinch Stole Christmas character of the same name. The song tells the story of a heartbreak leading to the singer questioning her feelings about her ex-lover's new girlfriend.

Carpenter follows this with a pop-infused song "Is It New Years Yet?" where she wants to "skip past Christmas because everyone has a partner to spend" it with. The song was compared to "Dance the Night", and sings that "Fruitcake just makes [her] sick". The EP closes with a cover of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" titled "White Xmas". Carpenter's vocals were called a highlight of the song, being described as an outro rather than a full-song. The song also interpolates "Jingle Bells".

In its original chart run upon release, Fruitcake debuted at number 198 on the Billboard 200 chart and later peaked at number 121.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/sabrina-carpenter/|title=Sabrina Carpenter's chart history in Billboard|magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 19, 2024}} Following the release of Carpenter's holiday special A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter in December 2024, the EP grew 27,326% in album activity, earned 54,000 equivalent units with 39,000 pure copies sold (31,000 of which were vinyl sales) and reached a new peak of number 10 on the Billboard 200.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/sabrina-carpenter-fruitcake-billboard-200-vinyl-sales-1235858850/|title=Sabrina Carpenter's 'Fruitcake' Hits Top 10 on Billboard 200 With Record-Breaking Vinyl Sales|magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 19, 2024}} It became the holiday album with the biggest week based on pure sales in four years since Carrie Underwood’s My Gift (2020) and the album with the biggest vinyl week sales since Luminate began to track in 1991.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/fruitcake-mw0004148997|title=fruitcake – Sabrina Carpenter|last=Collar|first=Matt|publisher=AllMusic|date=November 17, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2024}}

}}

Upon release, the EP was well received by critics. Alex Hopper of American Songwriter complimented Carpenter for not relying exclusively on traditional Christmas songs and for writing original material.{{cite magazine |url=https://americansongwriter.com/review-sabrina-carpenter-brings-her-own-kind-of-holiday-spirit-with-fruitcake/ |title=Review: Sabrina Carpenter Brings Her Own Kind of Holiday Spirit with fruitcake |last=Hopper |first=Alex |magazine=American Songwriter |date=November 17, 2023 |access-date=November 25, 2023}} Amy Britton of The Indiependent wrote that the record is "a sugary sweet musical feast" and that, although it was full of the "usual Christmas song stereotypes", it kept the artist's essence.{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiependent.co.uk/ep-review-fruitcake-sabrina-carpenter/ |title=EP Review: fruitcake // Sabrina Carpenter |last=Britton |first=Amy |website=Indiependent.co.uk |date=November 17, 2023 |access-date=November 27, 2023}}

Sabrina Carpenter's holiday music has earned significant recognition from various publications. Her song "A Nonsense Christmas" was ranked by Billboard as the 14th best Christmas song of the 21st century.{{Cite magazine |last=Dailey |first=Hannah |date=2024-12-06 |title=The 25 Best Christmas Songs of the 21st Century (So Far): Staff Picks |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-new-christmas-songs/dan-shay-take-me-home-for-christmas/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}} Additionally, Cosmopolitan magazine ranked it 77th on their list of top Christmas songs.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-18 |title=These Are, Hands Down, the Best Christmas Songs of All Time |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/music/a8471157/best-christmas-songs/ |accessdate=2024-12-10 |website=Cosmopolitan |language=en-US}} Carpenter's song, "Santa Doesn't Know You Like I Do," was ranked by Parade magazine as the 203rd best Christmas song of all time.{{Cite web |last=Sager |first=Jessica |date=2023-12-21 |title=200+ Best Christmas Songs of All Time to Get You in the Holiday Spirit |url=https://parade.com/1123813/jessicasager/best-christmas-songs/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=Parade |language=en}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Fruitcake track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title_width = 32%

| writing_width = 43%

| extra_width = 25%

| title1 = A Nonsense Christmas

| writer1 = {{hlist|Sabrina Carpenter|Julian Bunetta|Steph Jones}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Bunetta|Dylan McDougle{{ref|v|[v]}}}}

| length1 = 2:33

| title2 = Buy Me Presents

| writer2 = {{hlist|Carpenter|Jones|John Ryan}}

| extra2 = Ryan

| length2 = 2:57

| title3 = Santa Doesn't Know You Like I Do

| writer3 = {{hlist|Carpenter|Bunetta|Amy Allen}}

| extra3 = Bunetta

| length3 = 3:09

| title4 = Cindy Lou Who

| writer4 = {{hlist|Carpenter|Ryan|Allen}}

| extra4 = Ryan

| length4 = 2:01

| title5 = Is It New Years Yet?

| writer5 = {{hlist|Carpenter|Ryan|Allen}}

| extra5 = Ryan

| length5 = 2:38

| title6 = White Xmas

| writer6 = Irving Berlin

| extra6 = Ryan

| length6 = 2:26

| total_length = 15:46

}}

Note

• {{sup|{{note|v|[v]}}}} signifies a vocal producer

Musicians

• Sabrina Carpenter – lead vocals
• Julian Bunetta – programming (tracks 1, 3), background vocals (1); bass, drums, keyboards, percussion (3)
• Steph Jones – background vocals (track 1)
• John Ryan – bass, guitar, keyboards, programming (tracks 2, 4–6); synthesizer (2, 4, 5), drums (2, 5, 6), percussion (5), organ (6)
• Leon Silva – saxophone (track 2)
• Rob Moose – viola, violin (tracks 4, 6)

Technical

• Nathan Dantzler – mastering
• Julian Bunetta – mixing, engineering (track 1)
• Rob Kinelski – mixing (tracks 2–6)
• Jeff Gunnell – engineering (tracks 2–5)
• Rob Moose – string arrangement (tracks 4, 6)
• Eli Heisler – mixing assistance (tracks 2–6)

{{Reflist}}

{{Sabrina Carpenter}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2023 Christmas albums

Category:2023 EPs

Category:Christmas EPs

Category:Sabrina Carpenter albums

Category:Island Records EPs