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"Skin"
Single by Sabrina Carpenter
Released	January 22, 2021
Recorded	2020
Genre	Synth-pop
Length	2:58
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Sabrina Carpenter Tia Scola Ryan McMahon
Producer(s)	Ryan McMahon
Sabrina Carpenter singles chronology
"Wow (Remix)" (2020) "Skin" (2021) "Skinny Dipping" (2021)
Music video
"Skin" on YouTube

"Skin" is a song by American singer Sabrina Carpenter. It was released through Island Records on January 22, 2021. The song marks her first release with Island after previously being signed to Hollywood Records since 2014. It was written by Carpenter, Tia Scola and its producer Ryan McMahon. "Skin" is a synth-pop ballad.

Composition

"Skin" is a synth-pop ballad with a length of two minutes and fifty seven seconds. It was written by Carpenter, Tia Scola and Ryan McMahon. McMahon also handled the song's production. "Skin" is composed in the key of G major, and has a tempo of 106 BPM. It uses compound time
₈ in verses and common time
₄ everywhere else with a chord progression of Em-D-G-B-C-D.

Several publications suggested the lyrics are centered around the highly publicized "love triangle" between Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett, posing as a response to Rodrigo's single "Drivers License", as the track was released only two weeks after Rodrigo's single had come out. Carpenter has since denied the claim that the song is a diss track, explaining that it isn't "calling out one single person". Carpenter has stated that,

"People will make a narrative out of something always and I think this was like a really interesting song for people to kind of misinterpret and make into something that it wasn’t really supposed to be in the first place."

Commercial performance

The week of its release, "Skin" debuted at 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it the highest debut on the chart for the week. The song also marked Carpenter's first Hot 100 entry with her previous singles "Thumbs" and "Why" charting on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 at numbers 1 and 21 respectively. Furthermore, the song reached number 12 in Ireland and the top 30 in the United Kingdom.

Music video

The music video for "Skin" was directed by Jason Lester and released on February 1, 2021. The 3-minute long music video features an appearance by Gavin Leatherwood, who plays Carpenter's love interest.

Live performances

Carpenter performed the song live on The Late Late Show with James Corden. She also performed the song at the 2021 GLAAD Media Awards. During this performance, Carpenter sang in front of a montage of videos with transgender youth appearing behind her, "sending a powerful message of love and acceptance to the trans community". On May 11, 2023, Carpenter performed the song during the second night in New York of leg two of the Emails I Can't Send Tour.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

• Sabrina Carpenter – lead vocals, songwriting, background vocals
• Ryan McMahon – production, songwriting, programming, record engineering
• Tia Scola – songwriting
• Kevin Reeves – masterer
• George Seara – mixer

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

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2. "Sabrina Carpenter Drops Provocative New Song 'Skin'". Billboard. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
3. Curto, Justin (January 22, 2021). "Sabrina Carpenter New Song 'Skin', Lyrics Explained". Vulture. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
4. "Key, BPM of Skin By Sabrina Carpenter". musicstax.com. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
5. Chiu, Melody. "Sabrina Carpenter Addresses Olivia Rodrigo Drama on New Song 'Skin': 'Don't Drive Yourself Insane'". People. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
6. Aswad, Jem (January 22, 2021). "Sabrina Carpenter Addresses 'Drivers License' Drama in New Song, 'Skin'". Variety. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
7. Bonner, Mehera (22 January 2021). "Sabrina Carpenter 'Skin' Lyrics About Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
8. Hautman, Nicholas (25 January 2021). "Sabrina Carpenter Denies Writing 'Skin' as a 'Diss Track' About Olivia Rodrigo: 'The Song Isn't Calling Out One Single Person'". Us Weekly. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
9. ^ "Sabrina Carpenter Gets Drenched Again While Performing 'Skin'". Vulture. 10 February 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
10. ^ "Five Burning Questions: Sabrina Carpenter's 'Skin' Answer Song Debuts at No. 48 on the Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
11. "29 January 2021 - 04 February 2021". Official Singles Chart Top 100. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
12. "Sabrina Carpenter Releases Music Video For Latest Single 'Skin'". uDiscover Music. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
13. Mamo, Heran (February 1, 2021). "Sabrina Carpenter Weathers the Storm With 'Sabrina' Actor in 'Skin' Video". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
14. "Sabrina Carpenter Performs 'Skin' and Says There's No Drama Behind it on 'Late Late Show': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
15. "Chika, Rebecca Black, Sabrina Carpenter to Perform at GLAAD Media Awards". Rolling Stone. April 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
16. "Sabrina Carpenter honors trans youth during Hulu exclusive performance at the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards". GLAAD Media Awards. 9 April 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
17. "In Focus: Sabrina Carpenter's Birthday Show at Terminal 5 - NYS Music". nysmusic.com. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
18. "Skin / Sabrina Carpenter". Tidal. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
19. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 1 February 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1613. Australian Recording Industry Association. February 1, 2021. p. 4.
20. "Sabrina Carpenter – Skin" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
21. "Sabrina Carpenter – Skin" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
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23. "Top 20 Republica Dominicana Anglo – Del 19 al 25 de Febrero, 2021". Monitor Latino. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
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26. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
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29. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
30. "Sabrina Carpenter – Skin". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
31. "RIAS International Top Charts Week 5". Recording Industry Association (Singapore). Retrieved February 12, 2021.
32. "Sabrina Carpenter – Skin". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
34. "Sabrina Carpenter Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
35. "Sabrina Carpenter Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
36. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
37. "Brazilian single certifications – Sabrina Carpenter – Skin" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
38. "American single certifications – Sabrina Carpenter – Skin". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
39. Skin, retrieved January 22, 2021
40. "Top 40/Mainstream > Future Releases". AllAccess. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

• 2020s ballads
• 2021 singles
• 2021 songs
• Sabrina Carpenter songs
• Songs written by Sabrina Carpenter
• Synth-pop ballads
• Island Records singles