What We Know About Sabrina Carpenter's New Song, 'Manchild'

Sabrina Carpenter heard we needed another song of the summer, and she's here to deliver. After the global success of her megahit, 'Espresso,' which defined 2024 beyond the scorching temps, the petite pop star is back for more with her new single, 'Manchild.'
She teased the track with a blurred lo-fi clip of her hitchhiking on the side of a highway in sky-high heels and daisy dukes shorter than my last situationship. Of course, Sab's fans and friends couldn't contain themselves, responding with pure excitement.
'Thank god,' her stylist, Jared Ellner, wrote, while her Short n' Sweet tourmate and Cosmo UK cover girl Rachel Chinouriri added, 'I'm omw to pick you up babes, forget them x.'
'This one's about you!!' she wrote on social media upon the single's official announcement. Per billboards plastered across the I-69 highway (lol, touché, Sabrina), some of its lyrics might include 'Amen / Hey men' and 'I swear they choose me, I'm not choosing them.'
Fans speculate that these lines could be about her ex, Barry Keoghan, though nothing has been confirmed. 'Sabrina's not holding back and if 'Manchild' is half as sharp as that caption, we're in for a bold, catchy callout,' one fan wrote on social media while another chimed in, 'I just know she's gonna cook Barry so hard.'
Sabrina and Barry kept their relationship relatively lowkey (ya know, aside from the 'Please Please Please' music video) as they dated for nearly a year before reportedly breaking things off last December.
The song, which is rumored to be the lead single to her seventh album, drops on Thursday, June 5, at 8 p.m. EST. It comes just in time for her headlining festival run this summer at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and Primavera Sound.
'Manchild' also follows Sabrina's sixth record, Short n' Sweet, which won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album earlier this year. And, for the record: it's already gone triple platinum in my house, though it's not even out yet.

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Sabrina Carpenter Reaches A New Career Peak With Her Latest Bestseller

Sabrina Carpenter's 'Manchild' debuts at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and Streaming Songs charts, while she ... More hits a career-high No. 3 on the Digital Song Sales list. MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - AUGUST 24: EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO BOOK COVERS. Sabrina Carpenter performs onstage during the "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at Foro Sol on August 24, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management) 'Manchild' by Sabrina Carpenter is already one of the biggest hits of 2025, and it earns that distinction as it enjoys a high-profile entrance on numerous Billboard charts. The tune, which introduces the singer's upcoming album Man's Best Friend, debuts inside the top five on most of the tallies it appears on, and the cut even starts at No. 1 on several charts. The new release even brings Carpenter to a new career high on one particularly competitive list. Sabrina Carpenter's New Single Opens at No. 3 Carpenter's latest single opens at No. 3 on the Digital Song Sales chart. Luminate reports that in its first full tracking frame, 'Manchild' sold just under 5,600 copies — a fairly healthy sum in today's streaming-focused music industry. Sabrina Carpenter's New Career High That No. 3 placement now stands as Carpenter's career-best showing on the Digital Song Sales tally. Until this week, she had only appeared inside the top five with one track. 'Taste,' a single from her most recent full-length Short n' Sweet, debuted in that region in September 2024, stalling at No. 5. In addition to 'Manchild' and 'Taste,' Carpenter has also cracked the top 10 on the Digital Song Sales chart with two other tracks, 'Espresso' and 'Please Please Please.' Those singles from Short n' Sweet also spent time inside the competitive region, as 'Espresso' peaked at No. 6 in June 2024, while 'Please Please Please' climbed as high as No. 7 during the same frame. Sabrina Carpenter Follows Only Oliver Anthony Music Carpenter earns the second-highest debut this week on the Digital Song Sales tally, and she is edged out only by 'Scornful Woman,' the latest release from Oliver Anthony Music. That track opens in the runner-up spot, beating Carpenter's latest by roughly 200 copies. The list is once again led by 'Ordinary' by Alex Warren, which remains one of the breakout smashes of 2025. 'Manchild' Launches at No. 1 A healthy sales figure helps 'Manchild' debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It earns Carpenter her second champion and fourth top 10 on the tally of the most consumed songs in the U.S., which also factors in streaming activity. Plays on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Apple Music, Tidal and other sites also played a major role in the tune's immediate success, as the track launches at No. 1 on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart. Radio support contributes to a song's placement on the Hot 100 as well, and while 'Manchild' earns notable debuts on both the Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay rankings, it misses the Radio Songs chart for now.

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a day ago

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Sabrina Carpenter triggers backlash with racy photos ahead of her new album

Pop star Sabrina Carpenter has raised eyebrows by posting some very racy photos ahead of the release of her new album. Her seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend, will be out on 29 August. Fans of the 26-year-old singer, who just released the single, Manchild from the upcoming album, have been divided on the recently posted album art – a photograph of Sabrina, on her hands and knees, wearing a short black dress with heels, as an unseen man grabs her hair. 'Am I the only one who thinks this is dehumanising for women?' a social media user wrote. Another said she believed in women owning their sexuality and feeling powerful in their bodies, 'but a woman on all fours with a man pulling her hair isn't empowering. It mirrors the very objectification we're trying to break free from'. Sabrina responded to one X user after the person retweeted her album art and asked, 'Does she have a personality outside of sex?' saying, 'Girl yes and it is goooooood.' Sabrina has also faced backlash for her recent Rolling Stone cover where she poses nude with pair of white stockings as her long blonde hair and arms cover her. The former Disney child star has also been accused of being over-sexualised and inappropriate during her current Short n' Sweet tour which runs until November. For her concerts Sabrina wears glittery corsets, garter belts, lacy baby doll nighties and has very intimate choreography. When she performs her song Juno, she sings, 'Wanna try out some freaky positions? Have you ever tried this one?' and acts out sex positions. At the end of the song, Bed Chem, she lies on a heart-shaped bed, staging intercourse with a male dancer behind a curtain. | 'Fight's not over' – Justin Baldoni is still hitting back at Blake Lively's sex-pest claims 'It's always so funny to me when people complain. They're like, 'All she does is sing about this'. But those are the songs that you've made popular,' she told Rolling Stone. 'Clearly you love sex. You're obsessed with it. It's in my show. There's so many more moments than the Juno positions but those are the ones you post every night and comment on. I can't control that.' Sabrina says she finds irony and humour in all the criticism and that she isn't bothered by people's opinions. 'I don't want to be pessimistic but I truly feel like I've never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more and scrutinised in every capacity. I'm not just talking about me. I'm talking about every female artist that is making art right now,' she said. 'It's definitely not always great and I don't always feel like I know what's happening. I feel like I have some clarity on what I want, at least for the near future, which is rare. I'm so lucky to be in a place right now where I feel present.'

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The Sabrina Carpenter Man's Best Friend Discourse, Explained

Fresh off debuting her brand-new single 'Manchild' live at Primavera Sound 2025, Sabrina Carpenter hit fans with another major news alert: Her seventh studio album, officially titled Man's Best Friend, will be released on August 29, 2025, not even a year after the release of her Grammy-winning album Short n' Sweet. While some simply rejoiced at the prospect of new Sabrina Carpenter music so soon after such a significant project, many others took to social media to comment on the album's title and accompanying visuals, starting a debate around hypersexualization, misogyny, and the male gaze. Below, we break down the discourse and drama so you get the full picture. Jump to your preferred section: When and how did Sabrina Carpenter announce Man's Best Friend? What's the controversy around Sabrina Carpenter's Man's Best Friend? Are people defending Sabrina Carpenter for Man's Best Friend? What has Sabrina Carpenter said about the controversy? Sabrina Carpenter first announced her new album, Man's Best Friend, on June 11, 2025. The star simultaneously revealed that the project would include 'Manchild' as its lead single and unveiled the cover art for the project. In the album art, which you can see below, Carpenter appears on her knees before a suited figure, which many have assumed to be a man given the title, who grabs her hair. The back cover of the album appears to be a photo of a dog wearing a collar with the album's title in a heart-shaped pendant. To coincide with the announcement, Carpenter also appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, shot by David LaChapelle, wearing nothing but white stockings. 'If I really wanted to, I could have stretched out Short n' Sweet much, much longer," Carpenter said in her cover interview. 'But I'm at that point in my life where I'm like, 'Wait a second, there's no rules.' If I'm inspired to write and make something new, I would rather do that. Why would I wait three years just for the sake of waiting three years? It's all about what feels right. I'm learning to listen to that a lot more, instead of what is perceived as the right or wrong move.' Though Carpenter has gained a reputation for sexually charged and explicit innuendos, the cover art for Man's Best Friend has gained the star a fair share of criticism and a number of detractors who claim the image is degrading and even misogynistic. Many have pointed out the image bears a strong resemblance to 'misogynistic ads from the '60s.' In contrast, others claim that the photograph is intended for the male gaze and that nowadays liberation can be achieved through other means. 'Intentionally reproducing a misogynistic aesthetic, even under the guise of satire, doesn't subvert it; it reinforces it. It aestheticizes the very tropes it claims to critique,' someone wrote on X criticizing the cover. Others argued that while the point of the cover was to subvert sexist tropes, its execution failed to deliver. 'Satire implies an exaggeration,' another person wrote on X. 'The Sabrina cover and title can easily be perceived at face value, so it FAILS at being satire.' While there's a handful of people criticizing the cover of Man's Best Friend, there are also many people defending the choice of cover art, saying it's supposed to be satirical, ironic, and tongue-in-cheek. "The way people can't comprehend that an album called 'Man's Best Friend' with cover art of a man treating a woman like a dog (b*tch), and a lead song titled 'Manchild' is clearly ironic/criticizing those things," someone commented on X. Some claimed detractors are trying to police Carpenter's sexual expression, while others defended the cover as being purposely controversial, likening it to previous work from '80s, '90s, and '00s stars like Madonna, Xtina, and Britney. As far as the accusations that say Carpenter is catering to the male gaze, others jumped to the singer's defense, both in relation to the cover art for the album and the Rolling Stone cover. 'Saying a woman is 'catering to the male gaze' has become a modern form of slutshaming disguised as feminism. She has every right to show off her body,' a person wrote on X. 'Maybe this is a bad take, but I fear we have 'stop doing things for the male gaze'd ourselves back into expecting women to be modest and shaming them otherwise, and it's strange,' a second one agreed. 'Y'all are starting to say feminism=modesty, and it's really pmo. Her owning and doing what she wants with her body IS feminism,' a third one added. Some, however, saw a case for both sides. 'I think Sabrina's album cover can be satirical, but I also think it can still be very off-putting for many women and [they're] allowed to feel that way,' a user wrote on X. Sabrina Carpenter briefly addressed the discourse surrounding the cover art for Man's Best Friend replying to a fan on X. 'Does she have a personality outside of sex?' someone asked quote rewteeting a post asking people to share their opinions on the cover art of the album, to which Carpenter replied: 'Girl yes and it is goooooood.' Carpenter also replied to a TikTok user who claimed the artist referenced Lolita, Adrian Lyne's 1997 movie adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's highly criticized novel, in a W Magazine editorial from 2024 — something multiple people online had pointed out after the reveal of the Man's Best Friend cover. 'I've never seen this movie. It's never been on my mood board and never would be,' Carpenter replied in the comment section of the original TikTok. Previously, in her interview with Rolling Stone, the star also opened up about dealing with shaming for past overt innuendos. "It's always so funny to me when people complain," she told the publication. 'They're like, 'All she does is sing about this.' But those are the songs that you've made popular. Clearly you love sex. You're obsessed with it. It's in my show. There's so many more moments than the 'Juno' positions, but those are the ones you post every night and comment on. I can't control that. If you come to the show, you'll [also] hear the ballads, you'll hear the more introspective numbers. I find irony and humor in all of that, because it seems to be a recurring theme. I'm not upset about it, other than I feel mad pressure to be funny sometimes.' Carpenter also opened up about women in entertainment being scrutinized more than ever before: 'I don't want to be pessimistic, but I truly feel like I've never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more, and scrutinized in every capacity. I'm not just talking about me. I'm talking about every female artist that is making art right now.' 'We're in such a weird time where you would think it's girl power, and women supporting women, but in reality, the second you see a picture of someone wearing a dress on a carpet, you have to say everything mean about it in the first 30 seconds that you see it," she added. Editor's Note: This story was originally published on June 13, 2025, and has since been updated. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Want more great Culture stories from Teen Vogue? Check these out: Underneath Chappell Roan's Hannah Montana Wig? A Pop Star for the Ages Is Your New Favorite Song Real or AI? Bridgerton Showrunner Clarifies Benedict's Sexuality & Talks Francesca's Queer Plot Twist The Borders of Country Music Are Finally Crumbling