Sabrina Carpenter Recalls Hugging a Shirtless Zac Efron When She Was 12

While Sabrina Carpenter is one of the biggest pop stars of the moment, even she has gotten starstruck.

The singer sat down for a recent interview with W Magazine, where she revealed a particularly monumental moment of her pre-teen years. “Oh god—I had a really dangerous Zac Efron phase, when he was in Hairspray,” she told the publication. “I was 12 years old, and I was on a beach for the Fourth of July. He would never remember this, but I saw him and said, ‘I’m a big fan of your work!’ He gave me a hug. And I remember thinking, Oh my god—he wasn’t wearing a shirt and he gave me a hug! I was like, This is amazing. I’m never washing my body!”

Carpenter surely has that effect on others now, given her recent breakout success. The singer hit a career milestone this week as her latest studio album, Short n’ Sweet, topped the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking her first leader on the tally.

Short n’ Sweet is Carpenter’s seventh charting album but first to reach the top 20. Her first visit to the chart came in 2015 with Eyes Wide Open, peaking at No. 43. Until this week, Carpenter’s best chart rank came with the 2022 release Emails I Can’t Send, which debuted and peaked at No. 23. 

She also simultaneously has three songs in the top five of the Hot 100 songs chart. At No. 2 is Carpenter’s “Taste,” followed by “Please Please Please,” which boosted up from 9-3 after it became her first No. 1 in June. “Espresso” jumps 7-4 after previously peaking at No. 3.