Eyes Wide Open

Lore & Background

The era surrounding Eyes Wide Open was built on Carpenter's growing presence with the Disney Channel, where she made appearances on soundtracks like "Smile" for Disney Fairies: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust and "All You Need" for Sofia the First. After signing with Hollywood Records in 2013, she released her debut EP Can't Blame a Girl for Trying in March 2014, which laid the groundwork for the full album. The album's twelve tracks include four from that EP, and Carpenter co-wrote four songs herself. The title track, "Eyes Wide Open," features her favorite lyric: "Everybody loves to tell me / I was born an old soul." The album also includes "Darling I'm a Mess," co-written by Meghan Trainor, but the first track recorded for the project was "Can't Blame a Girl for Trying." The album sold over 12,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number 43 on the US Billboard 200.

Reader's Guide

Eyes Wide Open is a folk-pop and teen pop album with acoustic and country influences, exploring themes of personal experience, friendship, love, and teenage problems. The tracklist features twelve songs, including all four from Carpenter's debut EP Can't Blame a Girl for Trying. The album was supported by two singles: "We'll Be the Stars," released on January 13, 2015, and the title track "Eyes Wide Open," released on April 7, 2015. The latter won the Radio Disney Music Award for "Best Anthem" in 2016. Critically, the album received positive reviews, with Brian Cantor of Headline Planet praising its "loose in construct but rich in personality" approach, while Taylor Weatherby of Billboard highlighted the vulnerable side of Carpenter's sound on "We'll Be the Stars." The album debuted at number 43 on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 12,000 copies in its first week.

Origins and Recording Process

Sabrina Carpenter's debut studio album emerged from a plan initiated in 2014 after she launched her debut EP, Can't Blame a Girl for Trying, as she wanted to make a full-length LP. After signing a record deal with Hollywood Records in 2013—the same year she became heavily involved with the Disney Channel, contributing to soundtracks like Disney Fairies: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust and Sofia the First—Carpenter began recording. The album was recorded from 2013 to 2015, with the majority of the work done in 2014. All four tracks from her debut EP were included on the final twelve-track album. The first song recorded for the project was "Darling I'm a Mess," a Hawaiian folk song co-written by Meghan Trainor. The album was released by Hollywood Records on April 14, 2015.

Musical Style and Songwriting

Musically, Eyes Wide Open is a folk-pop and teen pop record with acoustic and country influences, embodying elements of pop rock, power pop, and Hawaiian folk. Its production consists of guitars, piano, drums, and keyboards. Lyrically, the album focuses on Carpenter's personal experiences, friendship, love, and teenage problems. Carpenter wrote four of the songs on the album. The title track, "Eyes Wide Open," demonstrates a "darker mood" where Carpenter sings about finding who she is and her path; her favorite lyric on the album is its opening line: "Everybody loves to tell me / I was born an old soul." "Can't Blame a Girl for Trying" is an acoustic guitar-pop folk song about being foolish in love and making mistakes. "The Middle of Starting Over" has country pop influences and was compared to Taylor Swift's early work. "Darling I'm a Mess" is a Hawaiian folk song about being friend-zoned. "White Flag" is a folk-pop guitar-driven ballad about change. The closing track, "Best Thing I Got," is a piano-driven pop song with jazz influences about love and freedom.

Commercial Success and Singles Campaign

Upon its release, Eyes Wide Open debuted at number 43 on the US Billboard 200, number 31 on the US Billboard Top Album Sales chart, and number 14 on the US Billboard Digital Albums chart. According to Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan, the album sold over 12,000 copies in its first week. The album's lead single, "We'll Be the Stars," was released on January 13, 2015, and made its radio premiere via Radio Disney a day earlier. The title track, "Eyes Wide Open," was made available for those who pre-ordered the album on iTunes on April 7, 2015, and was released as the album's second single, with its music video premiering on June 14, 2015. In 2016, the song won the Radio Disney Music Award for "Best Anthem."

Critical Response and Artistic Identity

Music critics gave Eyes Wide Open positive reviews. Brian Cantor of Headline Planet praised the album as "decidedly loose in construct but rich in personality," noting that it provided Carpenter with an opportunity to establish her own identity. He felt the more heavily produced songs put Carpenter at a disadvantage but wrote that "with every passing moment–even on her weaker tracks–Carpenter creates distance between the conception and reality of a teen artist." Taylor Weatherby of Billboard praised "We'll Be the Stars" as one of Carpenter's best songs, saying it "shows the vulnerable side to her sound – and it's just as awesome as the more upbeat tunes." The album's production was handled by various contributors, with credits for vocal producers, co-producers, and additional producers noted in the track listing.

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