After making waves and breaking into mainstream pop culture last year for her album “Short n’ Sweet,” former Disney actor turned songwriter Sabrina Carpenter is back with her 7th studio album “Man’s Best Friend.” The album, which was released on Aug. 29, 2025, broke the all-time streaming record for a female artist this year and achieved a No. 1 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 in June. This album is already successful in every right commercially, but is it worth the hype?

As a music producer for fun and for hire, I can provide you, the reader, with a very deep perspective of this album with my training in film scoring and composition. So, let’s see if this album is worth it or if I need to call my mommy halfway through to come pick me up.

Disclaimer: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Even Sabrina Carpenter said in an interview with CBS Morning News that she’s “OK if Tommy from Arkansas doesn’t like what I do.” If my opinion doesn’t align with yours, that’s OK. Everyone views the world differently.  Feel free to speak your mind in the comments of this article below to try and change my mind, but just note, y’all’re gonna be looking like this.

*Insert photo of a man talking to a brick wall

“Manchild” | 9/10

The album starts off with an absolute banger of a song called “Manchild,” which was the lead single for the album. The song was a perfect intro track for the album; it hooks you into the album with a very simple, unspoken question: “Wanna come see what we are cooking in the kitchen?” The very simple retro pop synth lead grabs your hand softly and walks you through the first verse, almost saying, “pay attention.”

The pre-chorus comes into the room, screaming at you the answer to the question you had before, when country guitars and percussion get added into the mix. Then the chorus hits, and it blows you out of the water. The country aspects of the song mix so uniquely with the retro pop sound that it gives you no option but to move your shoulders to this song.

The main reason this song is successful in the first place is because of its unique sound. No other song on the Billboard Hot 100 sounded like “Manchild,” allowing the global market to get a whiff of fresh air. You can compare this similar effect to The Neptunes’ rise to power in the early 2000s, or with the success of “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

“Manchild,” should be in textbooks on how you start an album off right. You hook the audience with a new, unique sound and leave them wanting more.

“Tears” | 9/10 

The more in question leads us to Track 2 of the album, “Tears.” I’m only reviewing the songs and not music videos, but if you’re looking for a one-word description to the “Tears” music video, the internet’s reaction to the video sums it up perfectly: 

“DAMN!”

“Tears” leads off with these ‘70s disco strings that, after a while, are joined by a heavy piano laydown, the funkiest groove I have heard this year. They take all that country sound they introduced with “Manchild” and told it to wait by the water cooler while Sabrina Carpenter goes full “Saturday Night Fever” on the dance floor. The chord progressions draw me in, but the lyrics kind of pull me out of the world they are trying to build.

Yeah, turns out the tears referenced in the song are not from her eyes at all — I was way off with that guess. The whole song is centered around how a guy being nice gets Sabrina Carpenter going, if you know what I mean. Sometimes, the subject of the lyrics pulls you from this disco fever world, but after countless listens, I don’t think any other lyrics would fit the song aside from the ones she and her team wrote.

After a while, she goes into this really cool Madonna “Vogue” mode, and she goes to the chorus one more time before ending the song. This is a certified banger in my books. I don’t care about the lyrics; I’m playing this song full blast in a residential neighborhood.

“My Man on Willpower” | 4/10

The third song of this album, called “My Man on Willpower,” is — in a bad way — the biggest rug-pull of the decade for me. I was so excited when I heard the intro to this song. I thought it was going to be full-blown peak ABBA, only for me to be fooled harder than the audience of Falling in Reverse. For those who do not know, essentially this band likes to start off their girly pop songs at there concerts with a metal intro.

I am so mad about this switch-up that I dislike the rest of this song by default. She also dares to tease me with the idea of a beat switch by having the intro play after the chorus. How dare you, Sabrina Carpenter, but I forgive you because the chorus is catchy and my name is in the title. 

“Sugar Talking” | 4/10

“Sugar Talking,” which is the fourth song of the album, is a nice, slow, groovy song and that’s pretty much it. Everyone likes this song for some odd reason, while I think it’s one of the weakest on the album. The song itself is fine, but it feels so bald and forgettable.

“We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” | 5/10

“We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” was this album’s star ballad that needed a filler song to hype up to. This song is the true ABBA sound we have been waiting for since “Tears.” The synths on this song almost yanks you back to the ‘70s, including how the harmonies are structured. 

Is this her best ballad? Far from it. But the song fits what Sabrina and her producer Jack Antonoff were trying to recreate for the album. I can see the positive effects this song could have on someone going through a rocky relationship, but for now it’s definitely a highlight of the album and the song is getting better on re-listening.

“Nobody’s Son” | 5/10

“Nobody’s Son” feels like Sabrina Carpenter was too scared to fully commit to reggae music. She started off with this nice boppy intro and then switched it back to her comfort zone and then back to the reggae feel. She then added these strings to the beat, which added such a weirdly fun vibe to the mix, but its inclusion in this album cannot be excused. 

The track itself is OK. I actually think this track brings out Sabrina’s fun energy and clever songwriting, but the reggae vibe threw me off. It’s not even reggae — it’s American reggae. This whole song just feels like I went to Olive Garden for “real Italian food.”

“Never Getting Laid” | 7/10

“Never Getting Laid” hit home for me. I am a massive Beatles fan and the intro reminded me so much of the Magical Mystery Tour era of The Beatles. Besides my déjà vu, this song truly is a standout on the album.

The production of the song blends from “Nobody’s Son” nicely, almost as if the two are connected. The performance from Sabrina almost feels like she is talking to the guy in person as the song unfolds. The lyrics were very good and also very comedic at times.

I think we will be hearing this song a lot more often. Not because the song is a classic, but because I totally think Miller Lite and Sabrina are going to collaborate due to her referencing the beer brand. Y’all owe me $5 if I’m right.

“When Did You Get Hot” | 8/10

“When Did You Get Hot” is nasty in a good way. The melody and lyrics are so infectious and catchy that I caught myself humming it at random. The harmonies are very clean and processed and the groove is hypnotic in a way.

This is definitely a sleeper pick to some. I feel like some people look over this track, but its value should not go unspoken. Definitely the most underrated song on the whole album.

“Go Go Juice” | 6/10

I am not old enough to experience “Go Go Juice” yet, but truly, this song is a blast. It’s not a song you would expect on this album considering this is a bar song, but it welcomes back the fun, happy energy we have been missing for a bit. 

The song talks about Sabrina getting drunk and calling her exes, which are conveniently replaced with similar-sounding names. The song is meant for a bar like Traxx, but since they think Manchild is too pop, I wont say that this is country (Even though it is Traxxs). I see that, but it also gets repetitive for my nature. Not a bad song, but I feel like it’s meant to top the charts. 

“Dont Worry, I’ll Make You Worry” | 4/10

“Dont Worry, I’ll Make You Worry” generally made me worried. This song was just boring with a very slow and simple-sounding melody, meant for late-night pondering after you just broke no contact with your ex. I wonder why this song is even on the album considering how out of the mood it took me from the previous song. 

“House Tour” | 8/10

Dear Sabrina, thank you for your humble invite to come tour your house, but unfortunately I saw past your double entendre. The premise of the song is about Sabrina inviting someone to explore her “house” — or in more literal terms, her body. Again, it doesn’t matter because this song is a certified banger. 

The whole song reminds me of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. Its ‘80s sound really does shine and allows Sabrina to have fun. It’s catchy, it’s goofy, and — most importantly — it’s a strongly produced song. I just wish this song were longer. I want more of this sound.

This song is electric in every way — or totally tubular if you grew up in the ‘80s. This song allows Sabrina and the team to have fun while also allowing her to write freely.

“Goodbye” | 7/10

“Goodbye” was a catchy yet sorrowful goodbye to the project. Nothing could have prepared me for the brought back of the ABBA-sound to finish off the album strong — and most importantly, on a positive note. This generally felt like a proper ‘70s ending to the album, with the party ending with — weirdly enough — British trumpets, with a similar sounds to “Goodmorning Goodmorning” by The Beatles.

I liked “Goodbye.” I feel like Sabrina should end her albums like this more often.

“Man’s Best Friend” | 6/10

The album is a mixed bag. Sabrina Carpenter’s vocal performance shines as per usual on every track, while her producers carried in the beat department. The album is filled with very unique and very well-replicated sounds from the ‘70s and ‘80s, but it left me feeling like Sabrina is having a quarter-life identity crisis. 

The album kept going in and out of genres and ideas to the point where I lost the plot. One moment you have these incredibly produced ‘70s-inspired pop powerhouse hits and they flip it to country music then back to ‘70s, then weirdly to reggae and then once again back to ‘70s, and then back to country — only to rinse and repeat. This album felt like three separate EPs all crammed into one.

This project needed more time to be thought out. I totally thought when “Manchild” released that it would be the end of Sabrina’s country style and into her era of ‘70s produced pop songs, but generally I feel like that holds her back from making the album flow nicely.

Yet, she is proud of her work regardless of how it performed and generally had fun while making her songs for the album. Many people strive toward the impossible goal of perfection, and truly, Sabrina is the master of focusing her energy into making music to the best of her abilities.

The album is a good first draft to a larger project. This should not set back Sabrina’s career in the slightest, but it should serve as a warning for her not to rush her projects. Take your time. Fans won’t hurt you for taking time.

This album will definitely be in my rotation for the year to follow, but also will be the soundtrack to my quarter-life crisis. I don’t know what I want to be, and this album doesn’t know either.

Advertisement