From our March 2024 issue, Sabrina Carpenter and actor and singer Maya Hawke unpack the complexities of pop stardom.
has finally escaped the prefab pressures of Disney-kid stardom by snatching back her artistic identity. She followed up her first four albums with 2022’s, a more dangerous departure that saw the 24-year-old performer finding vulnerability in pop star problems like public breakups and internet hate. Taylor Swift took notice , as did the Catholic Church, which beefed with Sabrina over the video for her single “Feathers” (MAYA HAWKE: I’m good. I just got to Atlanta.
HAWKE: Thank you. But part of why I look up to you is that the visual aspect is really hard for me. I love to paint and I love to act and sing, but connecting the dots between the three is a really big challenge. I’m curious, did it come all at once or have you been piecing it together slowly? HAWKE: That’s such a zen way to think about it. Sometimes I look back at things I did early on, like, “I wish I’d known what I now know about myself,” so that I could’ve been more consistent. But if I hadn’t experimented in all the ways that I did, I don’t think I would be myself now.
HAWKE: You talked about being insecure about pop music, and I was curious, did you consciously select a genre or did the style of songs you were writing just lend themselves tCARPENTER: Honestly, I don’t love the idea that a pop star is someone who makes catchy songs with easy-to-grasp concepts. It resonates with part of me, but I grew up with Stevie Nicks and Dolly Parton and Carole King and Patsy Cline, and that music didn’t necessarily feel like pop to me.
HAWKE: I put my debut album out at 20 and I wouldn’t have put it out this year. But every time you change you look back and say,“I would have done it differently.” It’s all just organic growth. And it’s great you put out your debut album when you did. It started the train, and now you haveHAWKE: It’s one of my favorite albums of the year. The whole thing makes you feel good, but the lyrics fill you with powerful thoughts about your own life and relationships.