Sabrina Carpenter had fans spiraling this week after dropping the Man’s Best Friend album cover — a cheeky, leash-pulling bombshell moment that instantly set the internet on fire. But that wasn’t the only thing making headlines.
In a new Rolling Stone interview published Thursday, June 12, the 26-year-old pop icon gave an unexpected shoutout to one very specific group: nepo babies.
“Thank God for the nepo babies,” Carpenter told the outlet. “Because they’re fans of mine, and I need to meet their parents.”
The former Disney star wasn’t kidding. Carpenter shared that a handful of music legends only found out about her because their kids and grandkids are superfans. That includes Björn Ulvaeus’ granddaughter, Paul Simon’s daughter, and Dolly Parton’s nieces and nephews.
Parton, 79, who teamed up with Carpenter on “Please Please Please,” confirmed the generational hype, telling Rolling Stone, “When they found out that I was going to do something with [Carpenter], oh Lord, I became a big shot. I was just Aunt Dolly till then.”
Earlier this year, Parton revealed she had just one rule before hopping on the remix: no swearing.
“I told [Carpenter], I said, ‘Now, I don’t cuss,’” the country legend explained to Knox News. So Carpenter swapped the original chorus’s f-bomb for a softer line and landed one of her “biggest idols” on the deluxe version of Short n’ Sweet in the process.
“Dolly and me singing in a pickup truck!!!!!!” the Girl Meets World alum wrote on Instagram in February. “I am so honored to have one of my biggest idols on a song that means so much to me. Short n’ Sweet deluxe is out now! Go watch and listen!!!! Love you forever @dollyparton 🤍🦋.”
Nepo babies and their famous parents aside, Carpenter’s fans come from everywhere — and it shows.
Short n’ Sweet debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and earned six Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. The chart-topper won two at the February ceremony, taking home Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Espresso.”
