Fast Times

Album: Emails I Can't Send (2022)
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Songfacts®:

  • Sabrina Carpenter is at the stage in her life where her heart often rules her head with romantic hook-ups. Instead of being patient, she prefers to take risks and live and learn from her mistakes. Here, Carpenter is falling for a guy. Rather than getting to know him before taking the relationship to the next level, Sabrina is diving in.

    Fast times and fast nights
    Closed eyes and closed blinds, we couldn't help it
    Outlines on bed sides
    Give me a second to forget I ever really meant it


    Carpenter explained in an Instagram post: "I'm always told how fast life goes and to make sure I really live life to the absolute fullest and appreciate the moment I'm presently in, cause we don't get any rewrites - so I wrote this to remind myself of that."
  • Carpenter turned 20 in May 2019, and this breezy pop song is very indicative of her 20s so far. "[It's] really about the feeling when you're letting life steer the wheel and you think 'Let me enjoy this now and I'll process the emotional repercussions of this later,'" she explained to Rolling Stone.
  • Carpenter co-wrote the playful track with her close friends: American singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, Canadian singer-songwriter J.P. Saxe, and American producer John Ryan. They imitated the track by sampling a tequila bottle and playing drums with pencils. "We weren't taking ourselves too seriously making it," said Carpenter, "which really reflects the energy of the song."
  • Island Records released "Fast Times" on February 18, 2022. Michaels and Saxe also helped Carpenter write her previous single, "Skinny Dipping."
  • John Ryan also produced the track. The American producer co-penned many of One Direction's hits.
  • The tune features Sabrina playing pencils for percussion on the bridge. John Ryan plays all the other instruments: keyboards, percussion, drums, guitar and bass.
  • Amber Park directed the video, imagining Carpenter as the star of her own action film. "There's some Charlie's Angels vibes, Kill Bill Quentin Tarantino vibes," she explained. "Turning fast times and fast nights into something more literal!" Park also directed the clip for "Skinny Dipping."

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