Jack Antonoff on Sabrina Carpenter's hit “Please Please Please”

Jack Antonoff, one of the most prominent figures in modern music production, sat down with us diversity for an episode of Behind the Song that offers a look at his collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter on her summer hit “Please Please Please.”

Antonoff recalled hearing Carpenter's voice for the first time several years ago. “I was always in love with her voice,” he said, describing how her vocal presence made an instant impression. “Certain voices, like all great voices, have something about them. You just stop thinking about what's happening and think, 'Oh, that's always been there.'” He emphasized that Carpenter's voice has a rare quality that makes it unforgettable: “Those voices don't exist many. 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, “From the day we made 'Please Please Please' to everything we've done since, the three of us have figured something out.” He described Carpenter and Allen's songwriting process as “magical ” and explained that “on a song like 'Please Please Please' I didn't touch any lyrics.”

The trio's dynamic led to a production process full of experimentation, with each person helping to shape the emotional depth of the song.

Antonoff described how “Please Please Please” began with an acoustic guitar and a tight LinnDrum beat, striking a balance between man and machine. “I always kind of want to play things like it's the first time I'm playing them,” Antonoff said, emphasizing his preference for music to seem fresh and spontaneous. The contrast between a rough, precise drum machine and loose acoustic elements made the track seem “a little drunk, a little dreamy.”

One of Antonoff's key production strategies was to use minimal vocal layers to create a massive sound. Instead of relying on heavy effects, he preferred to focus on Carpenter's voice itself, saying, “The interesting thing about this song is that there's actually very little going on. It's about her voice.” He explains that the vocal group, which sounds like “the sky opening,” consists of just a few harmonies. “It's literally eight vocals and three of them barely count,” Antonoff noted.

Through Antonoff's inventive process and his deep admiration for Carpenter's voice, “Please Please Please” became a song that feels both intimate and expansive, reflecting his ability to create complex sonic worlds without overwhelming the artist's natural talent.

Regarding his production style and the way he creates one hit after another, he said: “I really emotionally invest in things and spend a lot of time on moments that someone else would say go by.” The Secret of Antonoff's success lies in his understanding of how smart and capable the listener is. He explained: “The reason it sounds so big is because we left a lot of space for the listener.”

Watch this episode of diversity's Behind the Song here.