Pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter has joined forces with country music legend Dolly Parton for a reimagined version of ‘Please, Please, Please’ — and they’re not pulling any punches with the subtle digs at Carpenter’s ex, Barry Keoghan.
The collaboration, released Thursday night, has already racked up over a million views. It’s part of Carpenter’s expanded “Short n’ Sweet” album, now available in a deluxe edition that features this country-tinged rendition with slightly modified lyrics.
What’s catching everyone’s attention isn’t just the unexpected pairing of these two platinum-blonde powerhouses — it’s the clever callbacks to Carpenter’s original video. In that version, Keoghan (Saltburn, The Banshees of Inisherin) played her love interest who ends up handcuffed in an abandoned warehouse after returning to his criminal ways post-prison.
The new video doesn’t miss a beat.
This time, a man wearing an identical outfit to Keoghan’s original costume appears bound and gagged in the bed of a pickup truck. As Carpenter and Parton cruise away from pursuing police, the closed captions notably include “Muffled Screaming” while they share a laugh.
Carpenter took to Instagram to express her excitement:
“Dolly and me singing in a pickup truck!!!!!! I am so honored to have one of my biggest idols on a song that means so much to me. Short n’ Sweet deluxe is out now! Go watch and listen!!!!”
Meanwhile, fans are buzzing about recent photos of Carpenter sporting dark hair — a dramatic departure from her signature blonde look that’s sent social media into a frenzy. One X user claimed they “almost had to call out of work” after seeing the transformation.
The timing of Carpenter’s hair change suggests it might not be connected to this Parton collaboration, hinting at possible new projects on the horizon.
Parton shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse of their harmonizing session on Instagram, showcasing the natural chemistry between the two artists despite their generational gap.