On Purpose

Lore & Background

According to Carpenter, the song "Smoke and Fire" was originally intended to be the lead single from *Evolution*, but it was eventually excluded from the track listing. Carpenter later said this was due to the "evolution" occurring after the song. She described "Smoke and Fire" as "the first story that I was waiting to tell out of the many stories from the second album," and intended for it to be the first single because she felt it was a great transition from *Eyes Wide Open*. The music video for "Smoke and Fire" was said to "show flashback memories of an innocent love story in the midst of post breakup beauty and heartbreak." Instead, "On Purpose" was released as the lead single on July 29, 2016. "Thumbs" later impacted Top 40 radio as the second single on January 3, 2017. The album was made available for pre-order alongside the first promotional single, "All We Have Is Love," released on September 23, 2016. "Run and Hide" was released as the second promotional single on September 30, and "Thumbs" was initially released as the third and final promotional single on October 7.

In Their Own Story

On April 18, 2017, Carpenter performed "Thumbs" on *The Late Late Show with James Corden*. In 2017, she also performed "Thumbs," "On Purpose," and "Feels Like Loneliness" at the Pandora Headquarters, with all three performances later released under the title "Pandora Sessions" on both Pandora and Spotify. These live appearances supported the album's promotion alongside the Evolution Tour through the United States from October to December 2016, and The De-Tour through the United States and Canada in July and August 2017, featuring Alex Aiono and New Hope Club as special guests.

Reader's Guide

To find "On Purpose" in Sabrina Carpenter's discography, look to her second studio album *Evolution*, released October 14, 2016, by Hollywood Records. The song is the lead single from that album, released on July 29, 2016. The album itself reached number 28 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 11,500 copies in its first week. It also charted at number 44 on the Australian Albums Chart, number 84 on the Canadian Albums Chart, number 98 on the Irish Albums Chart, number 171 on the Dutch Albums Chart, and number 181 on the Flanders Albums Chart. Critics praised the album for Carpenter's maturity and growth, with Matt Collar of AllMusic giving it a rating of 3.5 out of 5, noting its dance-pop sound and describing it as a "mix of heartfelt acoustic balladry, R&B-influenced pop, and dance-oriented anthems."

Did You Know?

• "On Purpose" was released as the lead single from *Evolution* on July 29, 2016.
• The song was originally intended to be "Smoke and Fire," but Carpenter said that song was excluded due to the "evolution" occurring after it.
• Carpenter performed "On Purpose" at Pandora Headquarters in 2017, and the performance was released as part of the "Pandora Sessions."
• The album *Evolution* reached number 28 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 11,500 copies in its first week.
• Matt Collar of AllMusic gave *Evolution* a rating of 3.5 out of 5, describing it as a mix of acoustic balladry, R&B-influenced pop, and dance-oriented anthems.