Sabrina Carpenter’s seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend, has officially arrived, marking a new chapter in the 25-year-old pop star’s career. Released today, the 12-track LP was unveiled alongside a fan event at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, hosted by Spotify, where Carpenter fielded questions from her audience before a screening of the Audrey Hepburn classic Sabrina.

The project comes with plenty of anticipation and a clear disclaimer from the artist herself. “The album is not for any pearl clutchers,” Carpenter warned earlier this week, setting the tone for a record that leans into bolder, less restrained themes than her previous work. The album’s rollout, marked by provocative visuals and confident storytelling, reflects an artist who has no interest in playing it safe.

Man’s Best Friend opens with its lead single, “Manchild,” a track that introduced fans to the era with sharp hooks and self-assured lyrics. The album closes with “Goodbye,” giving the project a bookended narrative that moves from playful defiance to a more reflective conclusion. At midnight, Carpenter also dropped the music video for “Tears,” the record’s second offering, further fueling excitement around the release.

The singer-songwriter co-wrote and co-produced throughout the album, working closely with collaborators Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff, and John Ryan. Antonoff, who has shaped recent records for Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Lorde, praised the project in a recent conversation with Rolling Stone, calling it “some of the most honest work I’ve ever heard.”

Controversial Artwork and Visual Identity

The record stirred conversation even before its release, largely due to its cover art. The primary image features Carpenter kneeling next to a suited figure tugging her hair: a choice that sparked debates about power, gender, and artistic provocation. Rather than backing down, Carpenter leaned into the dialogue, releasing multiple alternate versions of the artwork for vinyl variants and cassettes.

“Here is a new alternate cover approved by God,” she joked on social media, underscoring her mix of humor and defiance in navigating public reaction. The approach mirrors her broader aesthetic for this album cycle: playful, self-aware, and unafraid to test boundaries.

Carpenter’s last album, Short n’ Sweet, proved to be a breakthrough moment in 2023, yielding her first Hot 100 Top 10 hits and a new level of mainstream recognition. Reflecting on that record, she told Rolling Stone, “ was this magical gift; it fed me, and it fed a lot of other people in the world. It felt true to me, and it felt authentic to a lot of other people. It’s rare that those line up ever, let alone more than once. It unlocked my brain to know myself more and more.”

That sense of self-discovery appears to inform Man’s Best Friend. Unlike some artists who seek to replicate past formulas, Carpenter emphasized that this album was not about topping her last effort but about deepening her honesty. “It wasn’t written from a place of ‘How do I one-up myself?’ or ‘How do I re-create something else?’” she explained. The result is a body of work that aims to stand on its own, both sonically and thematically.