Sabrina Carpenter Wrote ‘Feather’ About All the Awful Parts of Her Life

Some of the best music comes from the darkest times. For example, Sabrina Carpenter wrote “Feather” to deal with a difficult situation. Notably, she wrote it with an artist who has an interesting connection to Harry Styles and Halsey.

Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Feather’ was written to turn negative energy into positivity

During a 2023 interview with Grammy.com, Carpenter discussed the origin of “Feather.” “I was actually on the phone with my producer, John Ryan, and we were laughing about it because honestly, when we made it, we were just having fun,” the “Nonsense” singer said. “We wanted to make this song about all the s***** events happening in my life, because it’s so much more fun to turn it into a positive than to sit in the sadness.

“When we wrote it, it was me, John, and one of my closest friends, the songwriter Amy Allen,” the “Espresso” singer added. “We were just literally dancing around when John was playing a chord progression and a cool, feathery thing on the piano. We wrote it in two hours and the fact that it fit so perfectly on the deluxe [version of the album Emails I Can’t Send] was a very kismet situation.” Interestingly, Allen is the songwriter behind hits like Harry Styles’ “Adore You,” Halsey’s “Without You,” and Marshmello’s “Be Kind.”

Carpenter explained why she became a songwriter in the first place. “I wrote my first song when I was 10 years old and it was very bad,” the “Espresso” singer said. “But it was always something that I loved doing.”

Sabrina Carpenter doesn’t like singing songs written by other people

The former Disney star said she was told to sing tunes other people sent to her. Despite this, she felt more comfortable singing tracks she wrote herself. Carpenter didn’t want to sing lyrics that didn’t sound like her own manner of speaking. The singer said her insistence on writing her own tracks was connected to her stubborn, Taurus personality.

Carpenter said that writing songs is very personal for her. She uses her music to get through the different parts of her life and feels lucky that she’s surrounded by people who believe in her artistry. We’re lucky that we get to hear her triumphs and tragedies through song!

How ‘Feather’ rocked the pop charts and sparked controversy

“Feather” peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 26 weeks. It was Carpenter’s highest-charting single at the time and it remains her longest-charting single. The tune’s parent album, Emails I Can’t Send, peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 36 weeks. 

“Feather” also gained notoriety for its music video. The clip depicts violence in a Roman Catholic Church. Some found the video distasteful, while others didn’t take it so seriously. Either way, “Feather” was one of the first music videos to spark real controversy in some time. Perhaps Carpenter is on the way to becoming another provocative video vanguard on the level of Madonna or Marilyn Manson. Like her forebearers, she certainly knows how to shock religious people.

“Feather” is a great song even if it was inspired by some ugly times in the singer’s life.