Jack Antonoff, one of the most prominent figures in modern music production, sat down with Variety for an episode of Behind the Song, offering an inside look at his collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter on their summer hit “Please Please Please.”
Antonoff recalled hearing Carpenter’s voice for the first time a few years ago. “I was always in love with her voice,” he said, describing how her vocal presence made an immediate impact. “There’s something about certain voices, like all of the greatest voices, you just stop even thinking about what’s happening and you’re like, ‘Oh, it’s always existed.’” He emphasized that Carpenter’s voice has a rare quality that makes it unforgettable: “There’s not a lot of those voices. So, when you hear one, you never forget it.”
When it came time for their studio session, Antonoff described how the songwriting process unfolded between Carpenter, songwriter Amy Allen, and himself. He explained that “from the day we made ‘Please Please Please’ to everything we’ve made since, it’s been the three of us figuring something out.” He described Carpenter and Allen’s songwriting process as “magic,” stating that “on a song like ‘Please Please Please,’ I didn’t touch a lyric.”
The trio’s dynamic led to a production process filled with experimentation, where each person contributed to shaping the song’s emotional depth.
Antonoff described how “Please Please Please” began with an acoustic guitar and a tight LinnDrum beat, creating a balance between the human and machine. “I always want to play things, in some way, like it’s the first time I’ve played them,” Antonoff said, highlighting his preference for keeping the music feeling fresh and spontaneous. The contrast between a gritted, precise drum machine and looser acoustic elements made the track feel “a little bit drunk, a little bit dreamlike.”
One of Antonoff’s key strategies in the production was using minimal vocal layers to create a massive sound. Rather than relying on heavy effects, he preferred to focus on Carpenter’s voice itself, saying, “What’s interesting about this song is there’s actually very little going on. It’s about her vocal.” He explains that the vocal stack, which sounds like “the heavens opening up,” is composed of only a few harmonies. “It’s literally eight vocals and three of them barely count,” Antonoff noted.
Through Antonoff’s inventive process and deep admiration for Carpenter’s voice, “Please Please Please” became a song that feels both intimate and expansive, reflecting his ability to craft intricate sonic worlds without overwhelming the artist’s natural talent.
When it comes to his production style and how he creates hit after hit, he stated, “I really invest in things emotionally and spend a lot of time on moments that someone else might say, it’s passing.” The secret to Antonoff’s success lies in his understanding of how smart and capable the listener is. As he explained, “the reason why it sounds that big is because we left a lot of space for the listener.”
Watch this episode of Variety‘s Behind the Song here.
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