Background
Sabrina Carpenter began singing at age six and was posting covers on YouTube by ten. Her rise to fame came through her role as Maya Hart in Disney Channel’s “Girl Meets World.” She then ventured into a music career, later signing with Hollywood Records and releasing albums like “Short n’ Sweet” and “Emails I can’t Send.” Carpenter saw a quick rise in fame in 2023, following the release of her hit song “Espresso.” Streams of this single topped 2,000,000,000, marking a significant milestone in her career and solidifying her status in the pop music scene.
Album Cover Controversy
At the end of August, Carpenter’s newest album was released. Unfortunately, one of the most talked about aspects of ‘Man’s Best Friend’ is the album cover showing her in a provocative pose, with a man pulling her hair. Although Carpenter is known for themes of female empowerment, this cover sparked backlash and critics alleged it objectified women.
For her part, Carpenter defended it as a creative expression, telling critics they “need to get out more.”
According to NME, Carpenter stated, “I was honestly surprised by all the backlash. I just thought it was a fun, creative expression.” Despite the squabble, Carpenter’s newest album, “Man’s Best Friend,” is worth a listen.
Top five songs in my opinion and meaning behind them
- Tears- Heartbreak, letting emotions out and finding strength in sadness
- Go Go Juice- Fun upbeat, energy, confidence, pushing forward no matter what happened
- House Tour- Showing glamorous and hidden sides of Sabrina
- Goodbye- Letting go of someone she once loved but outgrew
- My Man on Willpower- Strong and determined love interest
The album’s lead single, “Manchild,” is assumed to be about her ex-boyfriend Barry Keoghan and was the first song released as a teaser for her new album. Topics of this album include disappointment, toxic relationships, humor. They all call out men for poor behavior and that all men are just positively energized by many women at a time and not just a singular one. Although this song gets all the attention, in my opinion, the top five songs are “Tears”, “Go Go Juice”, “House Tour”, “Goodbye”, and “My Man on Willpower”.
When I listened to the album for the first time, I felt joy and humor. Now she broke up with her ex, and it deeply resonated with me because it can happen to anyone.
The song that stuck out to me most was “Goodbye” because it felt like she was releasing bad energy away from her and her voice helped deliver the message of her final goodbye to her ex in her attempt to get over him and move on.
One lyric in particular that struck me was “Put your loving where your mouth is.” implies that if your significant other is speaking negatively about you, their love feels insecure. But speaking positively, you would want their love to match what they say.
Even though there was controversy over her album cover, Carpenter will be headlining Coachella 2026 in Empire Polo Club, Indio, California on April 10th and 17th.
