Sabrina Carpenter has been in the music industry since 2015, with her first song “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying,” and even before then, she had a main role in Girl Meets World as Maya. Yet it seems as though she just started to rise in fame after the release of her album Short n’ Sweet just last year, so it surprised fans to hear she was releasing yet another album with a somewhat controversial cover, and it concerned fans about the topics of the album and the meaning behind the cover art. Man’s Best Friend was released on August 29th; now that it’s had time to ruminate, fans have their opinions, and not all are good ones.

Coming off of Short N’ Sweet, fans were on a high since the album seemed to finally find its right audience.

Carpenter was receiving the recognition she deserved after years of making music. The expectations for the Man’s Best Friend were high, given how loved the last album was and how the tour was constantly talked about over socials. She then released the Manchild music video, and some loved the country pop and some hated it, but everyone could agree that the video was fun and playful. It depicted Carpenter hitchhiking and coming across multiple “manchilds” as she sings in the back about how stupid and useless they are. So when the cover depicts Carpenter on her hands and knees with a man seemingly pulling her hair, people were up in arms. Confusion spread since her single

was about hating men and making fun at their expense, so to see the cover, it felt as if she was sending the opposite message. Some audiences felt it was offensive and put women back, while others felt it matched the Carpenters’ innuendos and cheeky humor that she laced in all her songs.

This humor was what made her first start to rise, but her songs held much deeper meaning within them.

Manchild:

The album starts with Manchild, which describes Carpenters’ struggle to find a good man when it feels like only incompetent men gravitate towards her. Fans theorise it’s about Barry Keogan, Carpenters’ most recent ex-boyfriend, since the lyrics seem targeted at a certain person. The song has a country-pop sound and is very upbeat, given the lyrics and meaning.

Tears

Tears describe how Carpenter finds polite behavior and actions attractive. This represents how low women’s standards are that even the simple action of building furniture and doing the dishes can make a woman more attracted to them since it’s hard to find a man with those qualities. She sings, “a little respect for women can get you very very far” and “offering to do anything, I’m like ‘Oh my God”. This song is very upbeat and even includes a “dance break” section and is disco-inspired, which fits well with the later released music video.

My Man on Willpower 

Quite a switch from Tears, My Man on Willpower describes Carpenter expressing her frustration with her partner becoming obsessed with self-growth and self-restraint, so much so that they stop being interested in their relationship. “He fell in love with self-restraint, and now it’s getting out of hand.” She hopes it’s all a joke and that the man she knew will come back, but by the end of the song she’s given up, saying “whre hes gone God only knows”.

Sugar Talking

Carpenter has finally had enough; she is ranting over how all her partner does is talk, but none of it means anything: “Aren’t you tired of saying a whole lot of nothing?” She is challenging her partner to “put [their] loving where [their] mouth is” and actually show her that they mean what they say through actions, not just words. This is one of the slower songs on the album, which fans automatically compared to “Don’t Smile” from Short n’ Sweet, saying it was the predecessor’s sister, which also backs the opinion that Carpenters’ music all sounds the same.

We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night

An experience many people have gone through is the on-and-off relationship. Carpenter found a way to put the feeling into words, and many fans feel this is the song that hits them the hardest because of the relatability. Carpenter explains how she tries to end it, but then she’s afraid no other men will be as good as her partner, “When I reach to pull the plug I swear he starts working out…and how no other boys compete.” and Carpenter is afraid how her friends will think of her by saying “I know how it looks I know how it sounds least we’ll give them something to talk about”. Towards the end of the song, Carpenter is tired of the cycle, and at the same time, the music picks up as tension rises while she sings, “You say we’re drifting apart, I said, ‘yeah, I f*cking know. ‘Big deal we’ve been here before and we’ll be here tomorrow”.

Nobodys Son

“Hi, I hope you’re great. I think it’s time we took a break so I can grow emotionally.” The relationship is finally over, and Carpenter has finally lost all hope in finding a man who is good for her. She thinks he’ll reach out and the cycle will start over as she describes in We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night, but he doesn’t, and she realizes how everyone around her is in love but her. She declares him “corrupt” and blames the way he was raised, “Could you raise him to love me maybe?…and yes, I’m talking ’bout your baby”. The song, while having sad lyrics, is upbeat, and Carpenters harmonizes with herself, metaphorically and physically backing herself up on what she’s expressing.

Never Getting Laid

Breakups can be hard, so people try to end it on “good” terms just like Carpenter hopes to do. “Baby, I’m not angry, love you just the same, I just hope you get agoraphobia someday”. She hopes that he has a life full of happiness, but alone, for fear of his moving on and finding another girl. She tries to convince him to take some time away from the dating scene in hopes he’ll never come back to it. At the end of the song, the tempo and speed slow as Carpenter sings, “at the end of the rainbow I hope you find a good whole lot of nothing because you’re still inside and abstinence is just a state of mind”.

When Did You Get Hot

Carpenter is back on the market and ready to find a new man. She is reintroduced to someone from her past and finds them more attractive than she remembers. “When did you get hot? I think I would remember if you had that face”. When did you get hot is actually a line in one of her previous songs, named Nonsense which was very popular and became a special act on her tour because she would create a funny, cheeky one-liner relating to the city she was performing in. This song also reminded fans of past albums because of its different sound and production in contrast to most of her current music, which is pop-country, and this is 90s R&B and synth rock.

Go Go Juice

Another breakup, but this time, Carpenter knows exactly what she needs to feel better. “Sippin’ on my go-go juice, I can’t be blamed, some good old-fashioned fun sure numbs the pain”. She is going through a hard time, feeling heartbroken once again and tries to find happiness through drinking. But always ends up calling an ex, “I’m just drinkin’ to call someone ain’t nobody’s safe when I’m a little bit drunk, could be John or Larry, gosh, who’s to say?
Or the one that rhymes with “villain” if I’m feelin’ that way”. This specific lyric sent fans into a craze from trying to figure out who she was referencing; it was decided she was poking fun at exs Shawn Mendes, Barry Keogan, and Dylan O’Brien. This song shows Carpenters’ lyrical prowess by having the bridge be a drunken conversation with lyrics like, “how’s you’s been? What’s ups?” and “Bye, it’s me, howsmm call? Do you me still love?”. It’s one of the most fun and unserious songs on the album, and always a fun listen.

Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry

The last slow songs on the album and it’s a warning. “I’ll never call you right back, but when I do, I’m making you laugh, then I’ll b*tch you out when I please.”She expresses how she makes her partner worry, but it’s fine because no other girl makes them feel the way she does: “So don’t worry, I’ll make you worry like no other girl can”. She wonders if maybe this is the reason her relationships don’t last because she hollows out the men she’s dating with her constant back and forth of emotions. She finishes the song hinting at the relationship coming to an end with “So don’t worry
I’ll leave you feeling like a shell of a man”.

House Tour 

By far the most provocative song on the album is House Tour, filled with innuendos and cheeky humor; it has become a favorite among Carpenters’ female listeners. The reason could be because of lyrics like, “My house is on pretty girl avenue, some say it can make all your dreams come true, my house could be your house too”. It’s fun, upbeat, and a good time with no soul-crushing moments or tears, just pure girly jokes.

Goodbye 

Taking a page out of Abbas’ book, Goodbye combines Chiquitita and Dancing Queen into one perfect end-of-the-album song. Carpenter is metaphorically and physically ending an era of bad relationships by saying “Goodbye means that you’re losin’ me for life…Can’t have your cake and eat it too, by walking out, that means you choose goodbye”. She is finally putting her foot down on constantly being pushed around and starting relationships with men who think they can keep coming back, and she’ll be there waiting. Yet in her frustration, she always finds a way to be

kind by the song ending with “Goodbye! Get home safe”.

Carpenter is known for her amazing references and understanding of her fan base, which is why when the Tears music

video dropped, fans instantly clocked it as a The Rocky Horror Picture Show reference and also a support video for trans rights. Which Carpenter also backs up in her recent VMA performance, including drag queens on stage dancing with her, and having a segment where they are holding signs saying protect trans rights and love each other. The music video is iconic in itself because it stars Coleman Domingo, who has two Academy and Tony awards for acting, directing, and playwrighting. His role is inspired by Frank N. Furter, a transvestit scientist

originally portrayed by Tim Curry. It’s provocative and flashy, making it fit Carpenters new era perfectly and giving her a chance to put trans people in the spotlight and express her opinions on current political topics. She also continued a fan favorite tradition of a man being murdered in every music video she’s made recently, with Milo Manheim being killed in an elevator in Feather to her and Jenna Ortega killing their ex-boyfriend together in Taste. Carpenter recognizes this trend in Tears, with her boyfriend, whom she believed to be dead, coming back to life, and Carpenter has to unfortunately kill him because “they have to give the people what they want”.

Some have theorized that a House Tour music video may be released with pictures of Caprenter dressed up at a big mansion were posted, but it is still unconfirmed. With Man’s Best Friend being announced and released so close to Short N Sweet, fans can only hope that the next album will be just as fast, though some have expressed their hope for Caroenter to take some time and gather new experiences to write about, so she can create new music that has a different sound. Time will only tell to see what new innuendos and one-liners Carpenter thinks up, but the internet is sure to indulge her in the next chapter of her career, whatever sound she may choose.