“Vicious” by Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter has described “Vicious” as speaking to toxic relationships with loved ones in more of a general context than is presented. But this being pop music and all, lyrically those sentiments are put into a romantic framework. And as much as some of us may not want to acknowledge it, yes, “Vicious” can neatly fit into the whole Carpenter-Rodrigo-Bassett love triangle thingy of yesteryear. But being that we’re no longer in yesteryear, we won’t harp on such clues, like the fact that the bridge implies that the addressee is a singer (as is Joshua Bassett).
Instead, more generally put what we’re dealt with here are the type of musings you would expect from an artist like Sabrina when it comes to calling out a no-good romantic interest. Said addressee is depicted as someone who, in the eyes of the world, is “an angel”. But the vocalist, knowing him better, also knows that such is not actually the case.
Rather as implied in the second verse, he is some sort of an unfaithful womanizer. But as further insinuated, it isn’t because he’s a sex fiend or anything like that. Instead, it’s like women who know themselves intimidate the addressee. Furthermore, his insecurity is such that he prefers to be with whatever romantic interest has the most to offer at any given moment.
You’re “so vicious”!
So as put thesis-wise, the vocalist perceives the addressee as being “so vicious”. This is because he is toying with her heart in an unscrupulous way. And the worst part is that in the process, he is trying to make her look bad to the public.
And with that in mind, it should be noted that the vocalist never goes as far as to say that she’s going to dump the addressee. So it is clear that the character Sabrina is portraying is in love. However, going back to another dimension of her afore-referenced explanation, she is hurt that the man she decided to trust did not materialize as the quality person he initially advertised himself as.
Release of “Vicious”
On 1 July 2022, this song became the third single issued from the album “Emails I Can’t Send”. This project is actually Carpenter’s first album since the well-publicized Olivia Rodrigo / Joshua Bassett drama of early 2021. The whole project is backed by Island Records.
“Skinny Dipping” was the first single to be issued from the album mentioned above. “Fast Times” was its second single.
Credits
Jason Evigan, a musician from Los Angeles, produced and co-wrote “Vicious”. As to be expected, Sabrina is also credited as a co-writer. So is Amy Allen.
