Sabrina Carpenter vs. Olivia Rodrigo: Who’s the better artist?

Mark (Olivia)

Olivia Rodrigo is not only a better artist than Sabrina Carpenter, but she’s also more artistically viable. While Sabrina may still turn out to be a proverbial flash in the pan, Olivia has maintained relevancy for nearly five years now. She’s a three-time Grammy winner, and in 2021, she was named “Entertainer Of The Year,” by Time magazine. Olivia has achieved commercial success and critical acclaim, which is a relative rarity in the music business. Her success can at least partially be attributed to her originality.  

Olivia’s music is more lyrically introspective and demonstrates more gravitas than Sabrina’s plain lyricism. Olivia has gone on record as saying that her favorite song is “Cannonball” by The Breeders, which explains why her music can be so adventurous and edgy. Sabrina Carpenter has more or less offered contemporary pop songs, doing little to distinguish herself from her peers. Olivia Rodrigo on the other hand, has a highly distinctive sound and style. She has pushed boundaries by crafting unconventional pop songs like, 'Brutal' and 'Good 4 u,' which managed to top the charts and break records. 

Olivia has infused rock and alternative styles into her sound, helping to keep the somewhat fledgling genres on the radar of her audience. Many of her fans may have never known who The Breeders were, but because of Olivia, they definitely do now. Her music has an edge that Sabrina’s just doesn’t possess, giving it a more authentic and rawer quality. Sabrina Carpenter has chosen to play it safe thus far, while Olivia has done anything but. Olivia Rodrigo is doing what musical artists are supposed to do: evolving our culture and consciousness.  

Emily (Sabrina)

Though Sabrina Carpenter co-starred in Disney Channel’s “Girl Meets World” from 2014 to 2017, her spotlight has grown significantly in 2023 and 2024. During this time, she made a great effort to get exposure as she opened for Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour and performed her own set at Coachella on the main stage. If Carpenter keeps up her momentum and continues to generate hype, she will undoubtedly surpass Olivia Rodrigo as the better artist.

Though both Carpenter and Rodrigo sing about how humiliating the end of a relationship can be, Rodrigo's songs cover the sadness that comes with the loss of a relationship while Carpenter’s takes a refreshing spin on the topic. Through tongue-in-cheek lyrics, she creates catchy, playful songs about how her exes are obsessed with her, affecting their new love interests as well, as the first song on her 'Short n' Sweet' album explores. Her upbeat music, dedication to her audience, and work have earned her 39.1M Instagram followers, whereas Rodrigo has only amassed 37.7M—even after earning several Grammy awards.

Furthermore, Carpenter is catching up and surpassing Rodrigo on Spotify. For example, Kworb.net reported that Carpenter’s daily streams amount to 59,121,909, compared to Rodrigo’s 13,622,541. Additionally, “Drivers License” (2021) is only 1.13M listens ahead of “Espresso” (2024). However, “Espresso” may catch up soon as it's currently getting 8,266,531 daily listens and isn’t even a year old. Billboard also reported that Carpenter’s current album received 50% of the votes for the week’s favorite new music in the all-genre poll, earning her album the top spot. As Carpenter sings in “Espresso,” she’s “working late, ‘cause [she’s] a singer,” and her hard work is absolutely paying off.