By Solé Scott
Editor-in-Chie
My fellow five-foot queen, Sabrina Carpenter, released her seventh studio album, “Man’s Best Friend,” on August 29, and honestly, it is a slight disappointment.
Do not get me wrong, I absolutely adore her creative directions when it comes to music videos and her brand partnerships, like the one with Dunkin’, but this album just does not stick with me.
The first two songs are instant bangers. “Manchild” is one of her most relatable songs yet. She sings about an immature man who struggles with having an adult relationship, and Carpenter is fed up. “Tears” is a ’70’s pop-inspired song which is accompanied by a magnificent music video inspired by “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with Colman Domingo playing a drag queen.
What I can say about Sabrina Carpenter is that she is our generation’s best music video artist. There is always a story being told that we follow throughout the video, and the color grading is spectacular and should be duplicated in all movies we see today.
Cohesively, this album was mediocre at best, Most of the songs sound generic with a country influence. Out of the 12 songs, a solid six are fillers.
I am currently still on the fence about “Sugar Talking” and “Never Getting Laid.”
I fear this album is a downgrade from her last two albums, “emails I can’t send” and “Short n’Sweet,” both released respectively in 2022 and 2024.
The one thing that is an instant turn-off about this album is the original cover art. Carpenter is featured on her knees, wearing a black dress and black heels while a masculine figure whose face is obscured is gripping her hair in a fist. The whole album is such a tone-deaf statement in this political climate around women’s rights.
Carpenter is known for being cheeky and risqué, but this is too much for me, considering the music is not even all that. I guess I am confused with the angle because I misjudged her to be a feminist due to her song lyrics being about women empowerment, sex, body positivity and equality.
In an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, Carpenter shut down the public’s meltdown over the graphic.
“Y’all need to go out more,” Carpenter said.
King had her elaborate what message was she trying to send with this album and more specifically the cover.
“My interpretation is being in on the control, being in on your lack of control and when you want to be in control,” Carpenter said.
After watching the full interview, what I gathered is that it is about allowing us grace to make mistakes and being aware of situations that may not end well.
I can still say over a week later, I do not see where she is coming from, and I have a strong belief that Carpenter and her management chose the controversial photo to incite engagement on social media and to sell her album.
As of Friday, Sept. 5, Carpenter’s new album is No. 1 in the United Kingdom and debut on the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1 with 366,000 units in the United States.
