Sabrina Carpenter’s newest album, “Man’s Best Friend,” follows Carpenter over the course of 12 songs as she navigates the ups and downs of an unhealthy relationship with a person who manipulates emotions and cannot properly communicate their wants and needs, a “manchild.”

“Manchild” is the opening track of Carpenter’s album and the most listened to, with over 360 million streams on Spotify. The song was originally released as a single in the spring of 2025 and reached #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 by mid-June, one of only two of Carpenter’s songs to hold that position.

I think beginning the album with “Manchild” was wise because its popularity draws listeners in. The song gave me the same upbeat vibes as “Feather” from Carpenter’s “Emails I Can’t Send Fwd” from 2023. I think it captures the album’s theme of reclaiming identity apart from your partner’s complicated love.

Although well-produced, there were aspects of the album I didn’t enjoy.

Certain songs like “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” and “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” felt weak, lacking depth and personality as stand-alone tracks, instead functioning as filler music and relying on the context of the rest of the album to make sense.

Despite Carpenter’s catchy tunes, her style of music is controversial for some.

Carpenter has a history of writing songs with explicit lyrics and performing on tour with suggestive dance moves. I think her most recent album cover, which depicts Carpenter on her knees in a dog-like position whilst being pulled by the hair, is simply on par with her sexual image as a musician.

Some fans specifically felt that the album cover of “Man’s Best Friend” glorified domestic abuse and promoted the objectification of women. For example, USA Today reported on multiple Instagram comments made under one of Carpenter’s posts, which claimed the album cover is “insensitive.”

In today’s political state, the boundaries of reproductive healthcare rights are constantly being stretched to take away bodily autonomy from women, and Carpenter’s choice sets back a lot of the efforts of activists trying to promote female empowerment, especially because she’s such an influential artist.

Despite the album having all the right lines for car karaoke, “Man’s Best Friend” does not deliver the modernized values I was hoping for.