On August 29, 2025, Sabrina Carpenter released her seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend. Highly anticipated (and highly controversial), the album was met with mixed reactions from fans and critics alike. 

Overall, the album was full of Carpenter’s signature lighthearted wit and humor, but slightly lacking in the fun variety we got from Short n’ Sweet. We give the album as a whole three and a half out of five stars.

Here’s a song-by-song breakdown of our thoughts:

Manchild

Aanya’s ranking: #8

Saumya’s ranking: #1

“I swear they choose me, I’m not choosing them.”

Man’s Best Friend starts off strong with “Manchild.” While we’ve both listened to it far too many times since it was first released more than three months ago, we can still agree that the catchy beat and funny lyrics have not lost their appeal. However, while Saumya clearly loves all parts of the song, it has a few too many country influences for my taste. 

Tears

Saumya’s ranking: #3

Aanya’s ranking: #4

“Dance break.”

On the first listen, “Tears” is an absolute jump scare. We expected it to be a sad, slow song, but were instead surprised by Carpenter’s lyrical expression. While both of us initially didn’t like the song, it started to grow on us after a couple more listens, albeit to varying degrees. I feel like certain lines are a little over the top, but I do like the overall commentary on relationships. While I ranked it a little higher than Aanya did, we can both agree on liking the upbeat style and, of course, the dance break.

My Man on Willpower

Aanya’s ranking: #6

Saumya’s ranking: #6

“Can I return it? Get back the version I like.”

“My Man on Willpower” is one of the more underrated songs on the album. Catchy and (as usual) heavy on the relationship commentary, it’s a cute, funny song with a great chorus… and, according to Saumya, not so great verses. I, however, really enjoyed the musical layout of the song’s verses as well as the catchy chorus.

Sugar Talking

Saumya’s ranking: #2

Aanya’s ranking: #12

“You filled my whole apartment with flowers that die.”

I’m not sure how Aanya and I ended up with such a difference in ratings for this song. “Sugar Talking” was the first song that stood out to me and has become one of my favorites on the album. The way Carpenter’s voice flows through this song is beautiful, and the more I listen to it, the more I like it. But for Aanya, the song faded into obscurity right after she first listened to it—which, as she says, “tells you a lot more about how I feel about it than words ever could.” 

We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night

Aanya’s ranking: #11

Saumya’s ranking: #8

“Big deal, we’ve been here before and we’ll be here tomorrow.”

Carpenter is brutally honest in all of her songs, but especially in “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night,” and our feelings about it are just as straightforward. It’s not a song that either of us are going to listen to on repeat, but Saumya, at least, enjoys listening to it if it starts playing. In my case, it didn’t even make it onto the playlist. 

Nobody’s Son

Saumya’s ranking: #11

Aanya’s ranking: #2

“All my friends in love and I’m the one they call for a third-wheeling.”

Once again, it seems that our ratings either match exactly or are on completely different sides.  We can both agree that there’s something truly hilarious about cat edit Instagram reels of this song, but past that, “Nobody’s Son” isn’t a song I see myself listening to. Aanya, however, loves the song and listens to it often, making sure to tell me just how much she likes it. 

Never Getting Laid

Aanya’s ranking: #10

Saumya’s ranking: #9

“I just hope you get agoraphobia some day.”

“Never Getting Laid” is a great song. It's funny and catchy, gets stuck in both of our heads, and is an amazing breakup song. Comparatively, though, it’s just not as good as a lot of the other songs on Man’s Best Friend. Due to our mutual lack of a poorly-ending romantic relationship, we both have a hard time finding someone to passive-agressively play this song for.   

When Did You Get Hot?

Saumya’s ranking: #7

Aanya’s ranking: #7

“I think I would remember if you had that face.”

“When Did You Get Hot?” is a fun song, and one we would both like to sing along to. However, it's lacking a bit musically. While the chorus does get stuck in our heads, the song doesn’t really stand out for either of us.

Go Go Juice

Aanya’s ranking: #1

Saumya’s ranking: #4

“A girl who knows her liquor is a girl who's been dumped.”

After listening to several songs in a row that start to blend together, “Go Go Juice” is a breath of fresh air, like an iced espresso on a hot day. It’s a hilarious song we both want to dance to (and one that distracts us from our homework). From the minute I first looked at the tracklist for Man’s Best Friend, I knew this song was going to end up being one of my favorites, and the first listen proved that to be true. For Saumya, though, “Go Go Juice” was a bit more of an acquired taste. 

Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry

Saumya’s ranking: #12

Aanya’s ranking: #9

“I’ll leave you feeling like a shell of a man.”

“Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” has a great title, and, according to Aanya, fantastic verses and a terrible chorus. For me, it just wasn’t memorable; it faded into obscurity the same way “Sugar Talking” did for Aanya. While this song is a nice addition to Carpenter’s collection of revenge-coded breakup songs, there isn’t really anything special about it.

House Tour

Aanya’s ranking: #3

Saumya’s ranking: #5

“I promise none of this is a metaphor.”

“House Tour” definitely wins the prize for most hysterical song. While its musicality is okay at best, the lyrics, as Saumya says, are so funny that we can’t not like it. The way Carpenter sings the song makes it seem like she’s almost laughing at herself—and we love it. 

Goodbye

Saumya’s ranking: #10

Aanya’s ranking: #5

“But I’ll say, ‘Arrivederci, au revoir;’ forgive my French, but…”

“Goodbye” is a very fitting last song for Man’s Best Friend, and not just because of its name. The song sums up the album nicely, and it doesn’t hurt that it's heavily influenced by ABBA. For Aanya, this was a nice perk, but for me, it was a bit of an unexpected part of the song. Still, “Goodbye” was fun (and funny), featuring lots of witty jokes, especially in the chorus. 

In review…

Man’s Best Friend wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. However, we enjoyed listening to the album, if only because it included lots of Carpenter’s classic humor and playfulness. While it doesn’t quite live up to the high expectations Saumya had thanks to Short n’ Sweet, or the ones I had from emails i can’t send, Man’s Best Friend left quite an impression. Three and a half stars, to be exact.