Sabrina Carpenter has become a worldwide phenomenon after her songs “Nonsense” and “Feather” from her album Emails I Can’t Send, blew up in late 2023. She was the definition of overnight success, even though she had been in the industry for over a decade. She took this rise to pop girl stardom and ran with it. She opened for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour, then had a festival run summer of 2024, where she dropped her single “Espresso,” and followed it up with her critically acclaimed album Short n’ Sweet that August.
Carpenter was able to perfectly craft this creative image of bouncy blowouts, baby doll dresses, and sweet seduction, which had fans obsessed. What no one expected was for her to announce a single and new album just one year later, while she was still riding on the success of the Short n’ Sweet era. Many fans were confused by the singer’s choice to do this, since they did not feel like she should be moving on to a new album rollout.
The album cover, which depicts Sabrina kneeling down getting her hair tugged by a male who is only pictured from the waist down, was extremely controversial. Fans claimed that this picture was “tone deaf”and that she was depicting physical abuse. Many begged for Carpenter to change the cover or drop an alternate version; she went with the latter on an Instagram post that said this one was “approved by God.” After this, the public became a lot more open to receiving Man’s Best Friend, following the success of the lead single, “Manchild,” which charted at #1.
When the album finally dropped, it was a success. It topped the charts, which means that commercially, it did better than Short n’ Sweet, but based on the artistry, how does it compare to her previous work? She does not have a bad project, but as a longtime Sarbrina fan, Man’s Best Friend feels very her. I would even compare it to Emails I Can’t Send, but grown up. She also manages to make an album that is raw, personal, tongue in cheek, sexy, and iconic. It is everything her previous albums have, but doubled.
This project feels like a wine stain, it feels New York, and it feels ‘70s. She is rejecting every idea that a man owns her, without denying that she likes being with one. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Sabrina addresses the discourse surrounding her album cover, explaining that it is meant to be playful, and that by looking directly at the camera, she is proving she is the one in control; she wants to be in that position. She also detailed how much this project meant to her.
Carpenter says that unlike Short n’ Sweet, which took two years to create, this album just flowed out of her due to what she was going through in her personal life. She did not care if Man’s Best Friend was not for everyone, she already created something for people to enjoy, and this was all about her. If you like it, great! If you hate it, whatever. I think that truly is the highlight of this new side of her, just how much emotion and vulnerability you hear. Songs like “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” and “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” showcase her emotional side, then she adds a seamless transition into the fun like “When Did You Get Hot?” and “Tears.”
This album is now Grammy nominated in all of the major categories, and I would be willing to say it will age like fine wine, and it may even see a resurgence in a few years. Sabrina Carpenter will not be going anywhere, and she has a long way to go in her career as a pop star, and projects like this, which she only makes for herself, will be what make her stand out in the future.