By Madeline McGuire
Sabrina Carpenter is a very famous actress, singer, and songwriter. She was first known for her role on Girl Meets World on Disney Channel back in 2014. After that, she got a record deal. In 2021, she became a pop music sensation with songs like “Feather” and “Nonsense.” She is now 26 years old and is taking the world by storm with her music.
She recently came out with her seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend. Short n’ Sweet, her sixth studio album, released in 2024, was also extremely successful due to its popularity on TikTok and Instagram. Music critics have mixed reviews of Sabrina Carpenter, often praising her pop sensibility, charisma, and playful wit while sometimes finding her recent albums lyrically repetitive or lacking depth, much like Taylor Swift’s critics. While many critics acknowledge Carpenter’s success and artistry, opinions are divided on her current musical direction, particularly regarding her more overtly sexualized image and lyrics, which draw both praise for female empowerment and criticism for being overly provocative.
She is widely known in the media lately for her concert wardrobe, which has been known to be a bit provocative and sexual. She usually wears a glamorous piece of lingerie with a matching cover-up, which she opens up to reveal her outfit during the show. The reviews of her fashion for her shows are quite mixed: many fans admire the outfits’ cohesive, high-fashion aesthetic and see them as both glamorous and “bubbly,” while some critics have expressed distaste, particularly those who view the looks as “risqué.” The criticism she gets also comes from society’s war on women. However, Carpenter doesn’t care what people think about her. To her, her role as a pop star is a character, and her identity is detached from this. This is what makes her such a refreshing figure in the music industry right now.
The album is about heartbreak, disappointment in relationships, and the feeling of being treated like a dog by men. The album features tongue-in-cheek lyrics and retro-inspired pop sounds to explore themes of frustration, frustration, and self-critique regarding her romantic experiences and relationships. The music sounds like a blend of sassy, euphoric pop with live instruments, drawing from 70s disco, ABBA, Dolly Parton, and the Carpenters, while featuring both synth-pop and a country-tinged track. Grammy.com review and Pitchfork say the production is “a mix of bright synths and natural instrumentation, creating a sound that is distinct from her previous work and notably features a “whipsmarter” and punchier production style.”
I personally haven’t listened to a whole lot of her music, but I have enjoyed what I have listened to on social media. She is definitely at the age where she doesn’t need to be overly cautious about what she does with herself. I like the album and I will definitely listen to it again. She has some good jamming-in-the-car type of music on her latest few records. It seems to me like her sound and her vibe are very similar to Olivia Rodrigo and even Taylor Swift in some ways, and I feel I have missed out on some really good music these past few years.
She has a mix of fast, upbeat songs and slower, more relaxed melodies on this album, which I really like. The album itself has a nice sound overall and a very powerful message behind her lyrics, which is something I feel like a lot of listeners, especially around her age, relate to and enjoy listening to.
My takeaway from this album is that Sabrina Carpenter is speaking her mind and she is doing that in a very beautiful and catchy way. She knows what she is doing with her music and she is just getting started. I look forward to listening to more of her music and getting to know her better through her voice and lyrics.
Spring 2026 
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