Pop star Sabrina Carpenter has released her seventh studio album Man\u2019s Best Friend, telling fans it is \u201cnot for any pearl clutchers\u201d in reference to those easily offended by risqu\u00e9 lyrics and provocative themes. The record, which dropped on Friday, features 12 tracks \u2013 10 of them labelled explicit \u2013 and was co-produced with Taylor Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff and songwriter John Ryan. Carpenter described the project as \u201cjust fun,\u201d adding that it was designed to capture the energy of her live shows where, she said, \u201cyoung women in the front row scream at the top of their lungs with their best friends.\u201d
The album arrives after months of controversy over its artwork. Carpenter was forced to release an alternative cover \u201capproved by God\u201d after the original, which showed her on her hands and knees with a suited man grabbing her hair, was criticised as pandering to the male gaze. CBS News host Gayle King praised the new record as \u201csexual, powerful, vulnerable and unapologetic,\u201d but Carpenter acknowledged its boldness might shock some listeners. \u201cSometimes people hear the lyrics and go, \u2018I don\u2019t want to sing this in front of other people,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cBut I think even pearl clutchers can find something that makes them smirk.\u201d
Critical response to Man\u2019s Best Friend has been mixed. The Times described it as \u201cnegligee-thin, surprisingly vanilla,\u201d while The Independent praised stand-out track House Tour as \u201ca chugging slice of 80s power-pop\u201d but said much of the album \u201cstruggles for lift-off.\u201d The I newspaper dismissed it as \u201cTikTok slop,\u201d while The New Statesman noted that despite muted music, Carpenter remains \u201cthe only popstar with comic talent.\u201d Many reviews highlighted her strong visuals and stagecraft, with her videos and artwork described as \u201cuniformly inspired.\u201d
Carpenter, 26, celebrated the album\u2019s release with a Spotify fan event at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, telling Rolling Stone the project was not about \u201cone-upping\u201d her Grammy-winning 2023 album Short n\u2019 Sweet but about authenticity. \u201cThat record was a magical gift\u2026 it unlocked my brain to know myself more and more,\u201d she said. Known for pushing boundaries, the former Disney star has faced criticism for her sexually charged performances, including 825 complaints to Ofcom over her provocative Brit Awards routine earlier this year.
Despite the controversies, Carpenter remains one of pop\u2019s most talked-about performers. Recent shows have seen her adapt her stage act, with a Hyde Park performance in July notably toned down to include family-friendly moments, such as firing T-shirts into the crowd instead of suggestive choreography. Still, her bold lyrics and unapologetic persona continue to divide opinion, ensuring Man\u2019s Best Friend will be one of the year\u2019s most debated pop releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Pop star Sabrina Carpenter has released her seventh studio album Man\u2019s Best Friend, telling fans it is \u201cnot for any pearl clutchers\u201d in reference to those easily offended by risqu\u00e9 lyrics and provocative themes. The record, which dropped on Friday, features 12 tracks \u2013 10 of them labelled explicit \u2013 and was co-produced with Taylor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-featured","category-international"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/images-20-4.jpeg?fit=678%2C452&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17629"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17630,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17629\/revisions\/17630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}