Initial Release
On August 29th, Sabrina Carpenter released her seventh studio album titled Man’s Best Friend. The album was overall quite successful, selling 366,000 album equivalent units and debuting at #1 on the Billboard top 200 list. Sabrina even managed to break a Spotify single-day streaming record for a female artist in 2025 with the release. In spite of its massive accomplishments in only a month after its debut, Carpenter and her album were the center of controversy, and for every positive review of the record, there was an equally defensible negative one to counter-balance it.
2025’s “Funnest,” Flirtiest Album
Man’s Best Friend does a great job of showcasing what Sabrina does best, incorporating her raunchy sense of humor into high-energy pop songs. In an era that lacks the carefree upbeat hits of previous decades, Sabrina Carpenter’s music has been a refreshing change of pace. The album does not take itself seriously and makes a point to avoid doing so. The synthpop beats and playful lyrics make for an uplifting listening experience.
The jovial tone of the album is seen throughout the songs, promotion and music videos. So far, Carpenter has only released two music videos for this album, Manchild and Tears. The Manchild music video was the first to debut, it depicted Carpenter hitchhiking in the middle of the desert, sporting her signature blonde Hollywood curls and pleasers. The video maintains a “Vintage Americana” aesthetic throughout its almost four-minute run. Sabrina is pictured flipping off vehicles that don’t stop for her and hopping into half-finished, ridiculous-looking cars driven by incompetent and immature men. She goes from one car to another, depicting the cycle of dating “manchildren” that she has found herself in. In the final scene of the video, we see Sabrina drive off into the sunset with yet another guy, which is where the video for Tears picks up.
The opening scene of Tears shows Sabrina and her assumed lover in the aftermath of a car crash, a potential metaphor for how the men she dates ruin their relationship. While Sabrina lies face down on the ground, the driver is slumped over the steering wheel, giving the impression of being dead. Sabrina wakes up and looks for help at a nearby house; the rest of the video consists of dance numbers and references to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). The video ends with Sabrina leaving the house and coming across her lover, whom she kills simply because “you have to give the people what they want” (for context: Sabrina’s music videos over the course of the past few years have almost all consisted of men dying in some horrific way). There are three alternate endings to the video, all equally irreverently entertaining. Upon its initial release, the video showed Carpenter throwing her shoe at the man as if it were a Shuriken. In the next three, which were released in September, the man is crushed by a tree, then a falling piano and then it is revealed that he survived the video, emerging from the house in women’s lingerie. The playful and macabre video explores sexual liberation and experimentation in an exciting way, which is consistent throughout the album and one of its biggest strengths.
The cheeky, racy lyrics found in most songs also contribute to their listenability. Lines like “I’m just drinking to call someone / Ain’t nobody safe when I’m a little bit drunk.” from Go Go Juice, “Why so sexy if so dumb? / And how survive the Earth so long?” from Manchild, and “Congratulations on your new improvements / I bet your light rod’s like bigger than Zeus’.” from When Did You Get Hot? are just a few examples of the snarky and campy lines that give the album its uniqueness and charm. Throw these chuckle-inducing lyrics on top of a good beat, and you have a hit.
Where the Album Fails
While her dirty and comedic songwriting is what makes Sabrina stand out among other artists, she’s been doing this for the past two or so albums, which can make her come across as a “one-trick pony”. Many of the songs sound similar to those on her last record, Short n’ Sweet (2024). Upon its initial release, I couldn’t help but think that Manchild sounded very, very similar to Busy Woman, which was a song on the deluxe version of Short n’ Sweet. Many of the tracks seem like demos from previous albums that would’ve been more appreciated by listeners had they been either contained to one album or leaked instead of officially released. The album itself is quite repetitive, and at times it’s hard to even distinguish between songs.
The album also faced a lot of controversy and was labeled as “anti-feminist” before it even came out. While Carpenter and her team have tried to explain that the album cover, which features Sabrina on all fours while a faceless man tugs on her hair, was satirical, the “joke” was lost on many. In naming the album “Man’s Best Friend,” Carpenter is drawing a comparison between women and dogs, which many viewed as distasteful and objectifying. People claimed she was pandering to the “male gaze” and oversexualizing herself. Some have even pointed out that a man being pictured tugging on a woman’s hair could be triggering to some survivors of domestic violence, as it has undertones of control and abuse. This was clearly not Sabrina’s intention, but it still left a sour taste in the mouths of certain fans and tainted Sabrina and her latest album’s image. The songs themselves don’t seem to pander to men, and many actually joke about their incompetence and stupidity, but even her most male-bashing, sardonic lyrics didn’t erase the controversy.
Album Highlights
Tears is one of the most popular songs off the album and rightfully so. It’s a fun, 70s-inspired banger that perfectly portrays Sabrina’s songwriting at its best, and her live performances of it have really displayed her undeniable star power. When Did You Get Hot? is another highlight and recently went viral on TikTok, particularly the beginning of its chorus, where Sabrina sings: “Big riff coming, I need a minute/Wait, I need a minute/Okay, here it comes” then proceeds to demonstrate her incredible vocals. Nobody’s Son is a direct call out of the awful men she’s dated, and Sugar Talking is a sexy, melodic song that gets stuck in your head (in a good way) almost immediately.
Album Lowlights
As previously stated, the tracks tend to be similar to a lot of her other songs, particularly Manchild and Goodbye, which sound like they could fit seamlessly into her last few records, maybe even better than on this one. Never Getting Laid is also a low point of the album. The lyric “I just hope you get agoraphobia some day” came across as corny at best and tone-deaf at worst. Finally, although it’s catchy, House Tour sounds like a parody of the rest of Sabrina’s discography. Much of my criticism comes from the fact that I am a fan of hers and have been since her Disney Channel days. I believe that Sabrina Carpenter is a very talented artist who has accomplished a lot in the past few years and has finally started to receive her flowers. In my opinion, Sabrina could’ve created a better album. Maybe if she had taken more time to work on it, as opposed to releasing it while still on her Short n’Sweet tour, it could’ve been much more interesting.
My Official Rating
Pitchfork gave Man’s Best Friend a 7.9/10, which I think is a very appropriate rating. After extensive listening, I gave it a 7.5/10. It’s not Sabrina’s best, but certainly not her worst or a bad album by any means. Despite its flaws, the album is certainly worth a listen. Fans of Short n’ Sweet and emails I can’t send: fwd are sure to enjoy it. Despite its minimal competition, Man’s Best Friend is one of the better mainstream pop albums of 2025, and we’re sure to see Sabrina at plenty of award shows in the next year.