“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

Amy Allen.

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.