This past August 29, 2025 Sabrina Carpenter released Man’s Best Friend, her seventh studio album. John Ryan and Jack Antonoff collaborated to produce this album, ending up with 12 tracks. Her previous release, Short n’ Sweet, was also worked on by Ryan and Antonoff. Her discography of fun, charismatic pop continues with the release of “Man’s Best Friend” as Carpenter explores multiple themes including the drudgery of dating, old flames, and the difficulty of navigating love. She uses her love of 70’s disco to produce fun, disco-inspired tracks that convey her journey of romantic disappointments.
However, lots of backlash surrounded Carpenter regarding the cover of the album. The cover consists of Carpenter on her knees as a man in a suit holds her by her hair. Many women claimed its nature to be feeding into misogyny and setting women back into societal norms. Carpenter addressed it, saying that she didn’t mean for it to look like a hair pull, and instead she explains “I wanted a man playing with my hair and I actually used maybe five different men to take that photo because none of them could play with my hair.”
Already a hit, the lead single of the album “Manchild” earned over 500 million streams by the time the album came out. “Manchild” takes stabs at immature men and mentions her patterns of choosing such types of men. Another notable track, “When Did You Get Hot?” dissects the feeling of seeing an old friend, but he’s had a bit of a glow up form last time Carpenter saw him. My personal favorite from the 12 tracks is “Goodbye”, a perfect ending to the album. “Goodbye” is a fun, personal final farewell to Carpenter’s ex after he broke her heart.
Overall, I enjoyed this album! Carpenter has the witty lyrics and upbeat music style to put me, and anyone else in a good mood. It’s a relatable album to many, and Carpenter’s charisma could lure anyone in with one song. Taking in the album as a whole, I do believe that it deserves its Album of the Year nomination for the 2026 Grammys.
