''Can't Blame a Girl for Trying'' is the debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by American singer

Sabrina Carpenter Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer and actress. Carpenter made her acting debut with an appearance in the television crime show ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and had a recurring role on Fox Broadcasting ...

. It was released by

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...

on April 8, 2014. On music provider

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

, it was later replaced by her 2015 studio album which all four tracks were included. The EP was produced by

Brian Malouf Brian Malouf (born September 8, 1955) is an American producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with acts such as Michael Jackson, Queen, Madonna, Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, Tokio Hotel, Wolfmother, and All Time Low. Also ...

, Jim McGorman, Robb Vallier,

Matt Squire Matt Squire (born May 7, 1976) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixing engineer, and songwriter. His production, songwriting, and mixing credits include Underoath, Panic! at the Disco, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Kes ...

, Steve Tippeconic, Scott Harris, John Gordon and

Julie Frost Julie Frost is an American songwriter, singer, guitarist and record producer. She is the recipient of Golden Globe and Eurovision Song Contest awards for songs written, as well as a Parent's Choice Award for album production and performance. She ...

. Musically, the album has a pop sound with

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

. Its production consists on

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

. In general, the album talks about love and teenage problems. ''Can't Blame a Girl for Trying'' produced two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, " Can't Blame a Girl for Trying", released on March 14, 2014 and "

The Middle of Starting Over "The Middle of Starting Over" is a song recorded by American singer Sabrina Carpenter from her debut extended play ''Can't Blame a Girl for Trying'' (2014), serving as the second track of the EP. The track also appears on her debut studio album '' ...

", released on August 19, 2014.

Background and recording

Carpenter became heavily involved with the Disney Channel in 2013, making various appearances on soundtracks like "Smile" for the album '' Disney Fairies: Faith, Trust And Pixie Dust''" and "All You Need", featured on the ''

Sofia the First ''Sofia the First'' is an American animated fantasy children's television series. The show follows a young peasant girl named Sofia ( Ariel Winter), who becomes a princess after her mother marries the king of Enchancia. Episodes focus on her ad ...

'' soundtrack. In that same year, Sabrina signed a record deal with

to release her own music. Sabrina was planning to launch an EP and then release a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, she released an EP with four tracks and then she released a complete version of the EP plus eight new tracks in the next year. Sabrina start recording songs for the EP in 2013 when she was filming for ''Girl Meets World'' until 2014. She worked with various such as

Jim McGorman Jim McGorman (born c. 1974), a native of Philadelphia, is an American musician, songwriter/producer and multi-instrumentalist: guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and drummer. McGorman is best known for his work with the House Band on the CBS televi ...

, and

. She recorded "White Flag" at SOMD Studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

with Larry Goetz making the

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

and Matt Squire making the

audio mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, ...

. "Best Thing I Got" was recorded at Gordon Studio DK and was mixed by John Gordon and Sune Haansbaek. The two singles of the EP, " Can't Blame a Girl for Trying" and "

" were both engineered by Chris Thompson and mixed by Malouf at Cookie Jar Recording in

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

, California.

Music and lyrics

The final cut of ''Can't Blame a Girl for Trying'' contains four tracks. The album is a

teen pop Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...

record full of acoustic and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

vibes and it was compared to

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

's early albums. In all of the songs Sabrina talks about teenage love and issues. None of the songs were written by Sabrina. ''Can't Blame a Girl for Trying'' begins with the title track " Can't Blame a Girl for Trying" an acoustic guitar-pop folk song who talks about making mistakes and being foolish in love; Sabrina says that the song "perfectly described being a 13-year-old girl and being a teenage girl". The second song and single, "

" has country and teen pop influences. The song talks about moving on, start all over again and forget the mistakes. "The Middle of Starting Over" was compared to

's work in her early albums. A folk-pop guitar-driven

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, "White Flag" talks about changes in our daily life and that none of the bad things we do will last forever. The last track of the EP, "Best Thing I Got" is a piano pop song with drums and guitar. Lyrically, the song talks about love and "being a non-perfect girl who wants life to be full of freedom and learning ur own way of how to deal with problems".

Singles

" Can't Blame a Girl for Trying" is the lead single from the EP. It was released on March 14, 2014, onto iTunes and was premiered a day before exclusively on

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

. The music video premiered on March 28. The song won a Radio Disney Music Award in the category "Best Crush Song." The second single, "

" was released on Radio Disney in July and it was available on August 19, 2014. The music video premiered on September 21.

Track listing

;Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer * signifies a vocal producer

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Can't Blame a Girl for Trying''.''Can't Blame a Girl for Trying'' liner notes D

(2014)

Recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered at

* Sherman Oaks, California * Los Angeles, California * Gordon Studio DK * Bernie Grundman Mastering

Performers and production

* Sabrina Carpenter – vocals * Brian Gardner – mastering * Brian Malouf – drum programming ; production, mixing, keyboards * Chris Thompson – engineering * Jim McGorman – glockenspiel, hand percurssion ; acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass ; co-production, piano, keyboards * Robb Valler – co-production, backing vocals * Marc Slutsky – drums * Daniel Kalisher – mandolin * Michelle Moyer – backing vocals * Matt Squire – production, mixing, all instruments * Steve Tippeconic – additional production, all instruments * Scott Harris – additional production * Larry Goetz – all instruments, engineering * John Gordon – production, mixing, programming, guitars, piano, additional instruments * Sune Haansbaek – mixing, additional guitar * Julie Frost – vocal production * Kim Thomsen – drums * Mikkel Riber – bass

Design

* Rebecca Miller – photography * Anabel Sinn – art direction, design * Enny Joo – art direction * Dave Snow - creative director

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut EPs Sabrina Carpenter albums Hollywood Records EPs