Sabrina Carpenterhas released another alternative album cover forMan’s Best Friend,and it only makes the album’s central theme even more confusing.The pop star’s controversial seventh studio albumwill be out on August 29th, 2025.
TheShort n' Sweetartist released the album’s first track, “Manchild,” as a single in June, and itquickly rose to the top of the Billboard charts. She caused a controversy when she revealed theMan’s Best Friendalbumcover, but hassince announced two alternative covers that have fans bewildered.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Album Cover Variants Are All Vastly Different
Carpenter Is Making It Hard To Figure Out The Theme Of Her New Album
Sabrina Carpenter has released three different album cover variants forMan’s Best Friend,and they are all vastly different. The first cover caused extreme controversy, as Carpenter is on all fours while a man pulls on her hair. The internet had visceral reactions,claiming Carpenter was setting feminism back fifty years by exploiting women.
Carpenter then put out another cover, whichreferences an old black and white photo of Marilyn Monroe.Now, her most recent cover is of the pop star sitting in a room surrounded by flowers. The coloring of the photo is very soft, similar to some of the garden photos from theShort n' Sweetera.
The confusing part is thatnone of these covers match aesthetically. Typically, when an artist does multiple covers, they all appear to be from the same photoshoot. Taylor Swift did this withThe Tortured Poets Department, as well as1989 (Taylor’s Version).
It seems Carpenter might have something up her sleeve in terms of the album’s themes.
In Carpenter’s case, she went in a different direction, andall three covers look like they were shot in different locations with three different artistic directions. With the vastly different covers, it seems Carpenter might have something up her sleeve in terms of the album’s themes.
Carpenter’s Concept For This Album Already Seems Perfectly Complex
There’s Definitely A Deeper Meaning Behind Man’s Best Friend
Based on the covers, it seems there may be a complex message behind the album. One possibility is thatMan’s Best Friendwon’t be as sonically cohesive as Carpenter’s past work. The singer’sdifferent album covers could represent a range of emotions and genresofMan’s Best Friend.
After all, Carpenter is releasing her new album a year afterShort n' Sweet,which is a pretty short time between albums. She’s also releasing it before herShort n' SweetTour is officially over, proving she’s not interested in following any rules.
It’s clear she wants to do something different this time around. The “Espresso” singer mentionedStevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, and Donna Summer as inspirationsfor why she’s putting an album out so soon after her last. It’s likely these musical icons are also inspirations behind the genres she’ll explore onMan’s Best Friend.
Her message might be unclear now, but there’s certainly a bigger picture that will be revealed when the album drops.
There also may be a complex message Carpenter is trying to send that initially went over everyone’s heads. The three different album covers prove thatCarpenter wants to make a statement withMan’s Best Friend.Her message might be unclear now, but there’s certainly a bigger picture that will be revealed when the album drops.
Even if some of her behavior has been interpreted as anti-feminist, it’s clear thatthis is not what Sabrina Carpenter stands for. Carpenter is incredibly clever, and it’s more likely she’s using her new album as an opportunity to mess with the public.
We Can’t Take Carpenter Or Her Music At Face Value
Sabrina Carpenter Is The Queen Of Satire
While the internet may have taken the firstMan’s Best Friendalbum cover at face value, they shouldn’t have. The singer is a pretty comedic pop star and loves utilizing satire in her work. Carpenter has been pretty sexually explicit in her music and performances, and she has defended it, sayingthere’s nothing wrong with a woman expressing her sexuality.
However, the public’s reaction hasn’t been great, and it seems Carpenter might be delivering commentary on the public’s perception of her. Carpenter has been called out for infantilizing and oversexualizing women, and it seemsher initialMan’s Best Friendalbum covercould be mocking the public’s opinion of her.
It also seems like a commentary on the way men treat women in society. Carpenter is seemingly comparing herself to a dog, only here to entertain men. Her lead single “Manchild” certainly fits this theme. The song is about how Carpenter keeps dating men who need her to parent them, and she’s tired of it.
However, Carpenter also jokes about how she’s not choosing these men, but they keep coming to her. In reality, she is responsible for the men she chooses to date, and she knows that. The song seems to hint thatCarpenter knows she plays a role in the messes she gets involved in.
Her alternative album covers support the theory thatshe’ll be exploring the public’s perception of her as well as how she’s contributed to it. One cover shows her mimicking Marilyn Monroe, a woman who was loved by men because of her appearance and utilized it for success.
She might be exhausted from the attention she’s gotten from her Short n' Sweet blonde bombshell persona.
The other shows Carpenter surrounded by flowers, looking bored, as if she’s tired of all the male attention. This suggests she might be exhausted from the attention she’s gotten from herShort n' Sweetblonde bombshell persona. While the internet initially interpreted Carpenter’s album cover as misogynistic,Man’s Best Friendmight actually beSabrina Carpenter’s attempt at reclaiming the narrative.
