Sabrina Carpenter Said This Classic 1990s Song Inspired Her Music
Throwaway classic rock lyrics can have a big influence on other artists. For example, Sabrina Carpenter said one line from one 1990s song changed her attitude toward music forever. However, she might have misunderstood the track.
Sabrina Carpenter loves a song that has some classic rock references
During a 2018 interview with Teen Vogue, Carpenter said Santana and Rob Thomas’ “Smooth” was one of the tunes that defined her life. “You know what jumped out for me on this song?” the “Espresso” singer said. “When he just name-dropped Mona Lisa. ‘Cause I was like, ‘Oh, I know the Mona Lisa.’ I was also like 12, being like, ‘I love art.'”
The “Nonsense” star explained this name-drop had a big impact on her. “As far as what I then took with me in songwriting is that you can almost find one little moment in a song that can be an entire song,” she said. “Even though the song was ‘Smooth’ and obviously it was just like such a vibe in general, I just always remember that particular lyric and phrase.”
The tune has a line where Thomas calls his lover a “Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa.” This is a reference to both “Spanish Harlem” by Ben E. King and Elton John’s “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters.” It’s less of a reference to art history than a reference to the history of rock ‘n’ roll, but Carpenter is free to interpret the song however she likes. Most listeners probably felt the track included a shout-out to Leonardo da Vinci rather than any rock star.
Sabrina Carpenter draws inspiration from songs from many genres
Carpenter named other tunes that changed her life. She praised songs from numerous different genres, including pop (Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”), soul (Etta James’ “At Last”), folk (The Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon”), country (Skeeter Davis’ “The End of the World”), disco (ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”), and contemporary R&B (Rihanna and SZA’s “Consideration”). That approach to genre definitely had a big influence on Carpenter’s style as a musician.
“This is the playlist of my life,” the “Please Please Please” singer said. “All these songs kinda represent a different period in my life in the past, my life in the present, probably in the future. Hope you guys like my playlist. Hope you listen to it. And I hope you like it. I said that already, I said that twice. Cool, I’m gonna go home now.”
‘Smooth’ took over the world
“Smooth” became the biggest hit of Santana’s career. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping 12 weeks, staying on the chart for 58 weeks in total. “Smooth” was the band’s longest-running No. 1 single and their longest-charting single altogether.
“Smooth” appeared on the album Supernatural. That record topped the Billboard 200 for 12 weeks and remained on the chart for 103 weeks. It was the band’s biggest studio album. On top of the massive hit “Smooth,” the record also gave us the classic hit “Maria Maria.” That track was No. 1 for 10 weeks and lasted on the chart for 26 weeks.
“Smooth” is a great song and it helped make Carpenter into the artist that she is today.
