Sabrina Carpenter released her seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend, on Aug. 29. The pop star gets candid about a rocky relationship on the 12-track record, weaving in her humorous and provocative songwriting style.
At a Spotify event in Los Angeles the night prior, she described the album as “like a diary entry.”
When Carpenter said her album wasn’t “for any pearl-clutchers,” she meant it.
After months of anticipation, the pop star’s seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend, arrived Friday. Hours before the album release, Carpenter made an appearance at An Evening with Sabrina Carpenter and Spotify and opened up about making the record.
“I started writing this album pretty much the day after I finished Short n’ Sweet because I was in the midst of a lot, personally in my head, and I was like, ‘It would be really bad if I just stopped writing'”
Carpenter, 26, said in a Q&A with Adults and Overcompensating actor Owen Thiele.
The album began with “Manchild,” the first single off the record. She said it marked “a specific, unfortunate chapter of my life.”
“When I started writing the rest of the album and there was some reoccurring themes, I thought, ‘I think this all goes together in one place and it should be while I’m still this confused and young. So this album happened and it feels like a diary entry.”
Breakup Songs and Sexual Frustrations
On Man’s Best Friend, Carpenter gets candid about a breakup, her sexual frustrations, and getting treated poorly in a relationship. She also wishes her ex the worst. Though she doesn’t name anyone directly, several songs on the record seem inspired by her most recent ex, Saltburn star Barry Keoghan.
The former couple first sparked dating rumors in December 2023. PEOPLE confirmed they’d pumped the brakes in December 2024. “They are both young and career-focused, so they’ve decided to take a break,” a source said at the time.
On “Tears,” Carpenter leans into her sultry songwriting by writing that she gets “wet at the thought of you being a responsible guy” and “treating me like you’re supposed to.” However, in this case, treating her right means doing “the dishes,” “a little communication” and assembling an IKEA chair.
On “My Man on Willpower,” Carpenter seemingly indicates she was in a relationship with a man who got so into self-improvement that he held back in bed. She couldn’t take it anymore: “Can I return it, get back the version I like? This one’s bulls—, baby.”
“My man on his willpower is something I don’t understand / He fell in love with self restraint / And now it’s getting out of hand. He used to be literally obsessed with me / I’m suddenly the least sought after girl in the land / Oh, my man on his willpower is something I don’t under / Something I don’t understand.”
Calling Out Empty Promises
On “Sugar Talking,” the pop star calls out a man for constantly “sugar talking” her. In the chorus, she sings, “your paragraphs mean s— to me, get your sorry ass to mine.”
“You filled my whole apartment with flowers that die / The first to open up your wallet. But the last one to flag, a heart only breaks so many times / Save your money and stop makin’ me cry.”
On “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night,” Carpenter opens up about a relationship that was rocky. Every time she reached to “pull the plug,” things would start “working out” again.
“All the ‘I love yous’ and ‘I’m sorry’s’ were said / We had our sex and then we made amends, that’s right. Called it a false alarm to all of our friends / Then we almost broke up again last night.”
However, on “Nobody’s Son,” Carpenter gets candid about the pain she endured being the one who was broken up with. She also expresses her disappointment in men: “Hi, I hope you’re great / I think it’s time we took a break / So I can grow emotionally / That’s what he said to me.”
“Here we go again, crying in bed, what a familiar feeling / All my friends in love and I’m the one they call for a third wheeling. Probably should’ve guessed he’s like the rest, so fine and deceiving / There’s nobody’s son, not anyone left for me to believe in.”
Moving Forward and Provocative Metaphors
On the track “When Did You Get Hot?” Carpenter brings the mood back up by singing about being back at the “prospect convention” after a breakup. In this song, her provocative songwriting comes in full swing as she does a “double take” on someone who went through a glow up.
“Congratulations on your new improvements / I bet your light rod’s, like, bigger than Zeus’s. Hey, wait, can you lift my car with your hand? / You were an ugly kid, but you’re a sexy man.”
Then, on “House Tour,” she turns up the heat with a blush-worthy metaphor for a sexual encounter.
“Do you want thе house tour? /I could take you to the first, second, third floor (We can take it to the – ) / And I promise none of this is a metaphor (Ah). I just want you to come inside (Come inside) / But never enter through the back door.”
Perhaps the most clever rhyme scheme on the album is on “Go Go Juice.” Carpenter contemplates calling an ex: Larry (seemingly Barry Keoghan), John (likely Shawn Mendes, who she was linked to in February 2023) or the one that rhymes with “villain.”
The odds point to Dylan O’Brien, who she was reportedly linked to in September 2022.
