Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso’ is the internet’s Song of the Summer
There are four little words that the girls just can’t get out of their heads: “That’s that me espresso” — a little nonsensical, a lot catchy.
They seem to answer the season’s hottest question: What’s the Song of the Summer? Sabrina Carpenter’s sun-drenched hit, “Espresso,” is currently the top contender. While artists scramble to promote their summer bops on TikTok and stan Twitter battles it out, Carpenter is not-so-quietly poised to take the crown.
The Extremely Online — a.k.a. X / Twitter users — are constantly referencing, reworking, and memeifying the song’s lyrics.
Carpenter is no stranger to internet attention. She’s a former Disney Channel star who, back in 2021, was the infamous “blonde girl” referenced in Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Driver’s License.” But in 2022, Carpenter released her album Emails I Can’t Send, establishing herself as her own distinct pop princess.
As one user wrote, “I love the duality that Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter provide as counterparts… Olivia’s songs are like ‘I’m so insecure and crazy and I’m going to die’ and Sabrina’s are like ‘every boy is in love with me and that makes complete sense.'”
Carpenter recently opened for Taylor Swift on the Latin America leg of The Eras Tour and performed at Coachella, catapulting her to stardom. (The other pop star hovering around a similar come-up is Chappell Roan, who opened for Rodrigo on her GUTS World Tour and also performed at Coachella.)
Carpenter routinely goes viral for her suggestive outros to her biggest hit, “Nonsense,” which she tailors to the city where she’s performing. Just last week at Coachella she sang, “Made his knees so weak he had to spread mine / He’s drinking my bath water like it’s red wine / Coachella see you back here when I headline,” referencing her relationship with Saltburn star Barry Keoghan. (Keoghan brought even more attention to “Espresso” when he posted a photo of a cup of coffee on his Instagram story with the blonde queen emoji.)
But now fans and casual listeners alike can’t stop returning to “me espresso,” the odd phrasing birthing so many memes.
One user wrote, “don’t talk to me until i’ve had my me espresso.” Another clarified, “that’s that me espresso. that’s that me espresso. that? that’s that me espresso. oh that? that’s that me espresso. that thing you’ve got? right there? that’s that me espresso. yeah.” Someone else captioned a video of a waitress pouring a cup of coffee on her foot, “that’s that me espresso.”
Other users are obsessed with just how blonde both the song and Carpenter are. One user uploaded the meme “Actually, can I have five more of these little blonde bitches?” with the caption, “me listening to espresso.” Another observed, “Me Espresso..a most pleasing track to me. It’s not often you can hear the Blonde come through in the recording anymore.” Someone else said, “that espresso song by the little blonde bitch goes crazy i’m sorry.”
The coffee community is also embracing the track as their anthem. Multiple users have thanked Carpenter. One said, “13 year old girl came in to my barista job and asked ‘can i get one espresso? wait actually what’s in an espresso?’ so thank u sabrina carpenter.”
Another wrote, “Sabrina Carpenter is my hero for teaching an entire generation of people that the word is ESpresso, not EXpresso.”
Pop enjoyers, Irish “It” boys, blonde fanatics, and coffee lovers…we’ve got a hit on our hands.