Following the Best Pop Vocal Album of 2025, “Short n Sweet,” Sabrina Carpenter released her newest album just over a year later in August 2025 called “Man’s Best Friend.” Both albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, although “Short n Sweet” was evidently more successful, with a grammy and multiple reappearances on the Billboard.
Lyrically, “Short n’ Sweet” has more complexity than “Man’s Best Friend,” mostly due to the more emotion-filled verses and songs with greater depth. “Man’s Best Friend” has more surface level lyrics with less of a poetic feel or real emotional significance. Although the lyrics are quite witty and filled with metaphors, the songs are mainly humorous storytelling rather than deep and heartfelt.
Despite the lyrics being cheeky and relatively surface level, they’re very fitting for the vibe of the album. The songs, overall, are catchy and even feel 80s inspired.
As for the tone of “Man’s Best Friend,” it’s just as playful and provocative as “Short n’ Sweet” but with less of the balance of upbeat and mellow songs. Almost all of the songs feel exciting and danceable, making it seem as if her songs were only formulated to go viral on TikTok. It has become a trend nowadays for artists to create music that is believed to turn mainstream rather than music that’s genuine and relatable.
According to Jon Caramanica from “The New York Times,” the album seems like a rush job, with a repetition of themes within the songs, lousy vocals, and lyrics that aren’t very complex with their meaning; “What felt like hard-earned idiosyncrasy on her last album feels calculatedly careless here,” Caramanica said. It does seem like “Man’s Best Friend” is just a continuation of the popular songs from “Short n’ Sweet.”
According to Junior Avery Siembab, the album was better than any other released this year. “My favorite song is probably ‘House Tour’ because it’s upbeat and energetic.” Siembab preferred the album over “Short n’ Sweet,” as she said it has better vibes and melodies.
As for sales, Carpenter sold 360,000 equivalent album units in the first week of being released. There were 184.11 million streams within the first week as well, becoming the best sales figures of her career.
Overall, “Man’s Best Friend” is an exceptional album with exciting energy and fun lyrics. Carpenter’s music has developed into something completely different than what it started as, and there are possibilities for her album to be in the Grammy’s next year.
