Generating media-mayhem, singing witty lyrics layered with sexual innuendos and a song-writing style that perhaps sounds similar; the international pop star, Sabrina Carpenter, has caused mixed emotions with her newly released album “Man’s Best Friend.”

Over the years Carpenter has intertwined her own fun take on sexuality and comedic pop, while topping charts and becoming an international superstar.

Coming in at 38 minutes with 12 upbeat songs, there definitely were some great tracks on her newest album like “Sugar Talking,” “When Did You Get Hot,” and of course the single that released in June and had fans excited all summer “Manchild,” but fans are saying her songs are sounding a bit redundant.

Carpenter has been known to take risks and be bold in her own style but her sultry album cover that released as a tease to the record created some hefty backlash in the media. 

In the cover Carpenter can be seen being pulled by her hair from a faceless man while on her hands and knees.

Critics discussed whether her cover was a genuine statement to her own artistic disposition on the album as a whole or if it was just an attention-grabber for audiences. 

“On the one hand, you’ve got people who think Carpenter is being clever. On the other hand, you’ve got people who think she is being crass and catering to the male gaze in a way that is extremely unhelpful to women,” The Guardian said.

Soon after the media uproar, Carpenter released a secondary cover where she can be seen leaning against a man in a suit. “Here is a new alternate cover approved by God,” Carpenter wrote on an Instagram post. 

Her humor and fun-loving attitude can be seen in her song writing, her interviews and really wherever she goes making her someone the media can’t get enough of. 

Even so, “Man’s Best Friend” generated lots of mixed reviews about multiple aspects of the album overall. 

After a full listen to the popstar’s latest release it’s hard to grasp the exact creative decisions taken revolving around this project and the cohesiveness of it as a whole.

Her clever wording makes for catchy hits and her “sexy girl” vibe has increased audience interactions because of her ability to be in charge of her own sexuality while still singing cute and fun pop songs. 

But there was a let down when her striking cover and male-centered lyrics on each track ended up being very similar to what we’ve heard from her before. 

Following her extremely successful 2024 album, “Short and Sweet” that became her most streamed project yet, there seemed to be very little change in what Carpenter wrote about and was inspired by when releasing “Man’s Best Friend.” 

It’s hard to decipher whether she’s sticking to a style of her own or starting to get stuck in a horny cycle making her songs all sound too similar. 

And yet, it’s hard to listen to anything Carpenter releases and not have a good time. 

The “pearl grabbers” out there might be a little stunned when listening to what Carpenter has to say about her love life but there’s no way they aren’t tapping their feet and swaying by the time the chorus comes around. 

The hysteria and differing opinions surrounding this release also pushes the question if audiences would be in this big of an uproar if a male artist wrote about similar things and whether or not he would be judged on writing an “intellectual enough” album like Carpenter. 

“Female performers are expected to cut themselves open and share their most vulnerable thoughts with the world. But men can write “watermelon sugar, high” and win a Grammy,” Allie Daisy King from Missing Perspectives said.

Since the album has been out for a week now and audiences have had time to talk and listen, maybe it’s time to just have fun with the work Carpenter put out and take on her attitude of “it’s not that deep.”

While there can be many critiques given to “Man’s Best Friend” and its release as a whole, there are lots of fun, catchy and sexy lines that make for a good listen. Music is what you make it and whatever it is, it should be fun!

Check out Sabrina Carpenter wherever you get your music and listen to “Man’s Best Friend” for a pleasurable (and maybe deja vu inducing) 38 minutes.