“In the studio, I’ve had a few moments where men seem to be shocked if I know how to do a certain thing, like, ‘Comping my own vocal – yes, I can do that’”: Sabrina Carpenter songwriter Amy Allen on the challenges faced by women in the music industry

The Espresso and Manchild co-writer also says that she likes to “go off of emotion” rather than writing to a formula

Songwriter Amy Allen is on quite the hot streak. She co-wrote every track on Sabrina Carpenter’s two recent hit albums, Short n’ Sweet and Man’s Best Friend, and also has a credit on Rosé and Bruno Mars’ Apt, a massive worldwide hit.

However, although it seems as if Allen has hit on a winning formula – one that earned her a Songwriter of the Year Grammy in 2025 and has her very much in the frame for the same award next year – she says that she doesn’t really think about the science of what makes a pop smash.

“I don’t know much theory at all,” she tells Paper Magazine, but Allen is also happy to acknowledge that there are certain songwriting ‘rules’ that others follow and she also likes to keep in mind.