By now, Sabrina Carpenter fans will be counting down the weeks until August 29, which is the date the pop star's seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend, is scheduled for release.
As Carpenter's Instagram followers will be well versed, the announcement was made during an Instagram Live session last Wednesday, with Carpenter making the announcement as she flipped through vinyl records by artists such as Donna Summer, ABBA, and Dolly Parton.
A sizzling cover
Even more than news of the album reveal itself, however, has been the cover art photograph of the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, with the singer's provocative pose (in which she appears to be dressed in nothing but a pair of stockings), having set tongues wagging.
Carpenter is no stranger to online criticism, having already been subject to backlash for her songs with sexually explicit themes and bold stage performances. Now, in an interview with the publication, the star has addressed the criticism head on. She is unable to see any basis for any complaints about modesty (or lack thereof) on her part – certainly not given how in-demand her tracks are across streaming platforms.
"It's always so funny to me when people complain," mused Carpenter. "They're like, 'All she does is sing about this.' But those are the songs that you've made popular. Clearly, you love sex."
Carpenter reminded fans of own range, pointing to her shows that include not just playful tracks, but also introspective ballads. Since it is her more provocative moments that attract attention, the singer highlighted the irony of critics obsessed with the sexual nature of her performances despite driving up her sales figures regardless. Citing her hit track, Juno, as an example, the pop superstar remarked, "There's so many more moments than the Juno positions, but those are the ones you post every night and comment on," she remarked in the interview. " I can't control that."
Difficult time for women
As someone whose personal life and career is splashed across the public eye, Carpenter did not miss a beat when speculating over the difficulties faced by women living under the harsh glare of the spotlight.
"I truly feel like I've never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more, and scrutinised in every capacity," she lamented.
Pointing out the paradox of so-called 'girl power' juxtaposed with the constant judgement women must endure over their appearances and actions, the Disney-child-turned-pop-star stressed the importance of growing a thick skin to survive such brutal attention to detail.
"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 noted. "It's something that keeps coming back. We just have to grow thicker skin, but they don't have to learn how to shut their mouths."
In Carpenter's view, it is impossible to survive under such unremitting attention without that armour of thick skin.
"What people probably don't realise is the more eyes you have on you, the harder it is to love what you're doing, and you have to keep fighting to still love making things and to still love performing," she explained. "Because the critical sides start to taint it, and they start to make things less fun. They start to make friendships and relationships less fun and enjoyable. [But] there's still so much light and goodness in this, if you're doing it for the reason of 'you love it and can't live without it'."
Carpenter's busy diary
Being on the verge of releasing her seventh studio album, it is clear that Carpenter, at least, does love what she is doing, regardless of censure from critics about her mode of expression.
News of Carpenter's upcoming album comes on the heels of her latest single, Manchild, released on June 5, which rocketed to the top of the Spotify US chart, having accumulated nearly 2 million streams. No stranger to churning out records in quick succession, Carpenter's latest offering follows on from last year's wildly successful album Short n' Sweet, of which the deluxe edition was released in February this year. Man's Best Friend is poised to be a major milestone in her career, following the success of Short n' Sweet, which sold over 10 million copies globally and earned her six Grammy nominations.
After performing at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Carpenter will continue her summer festival circuit, with notable performances in London, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits. Later this year, she will embark on a North American tour, performing in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles, with multiple nights scheduled at Madison Square Garden and Crypto.com Arena.
Man's Best Friend is now available for pre-order, with a special picture disc featuring artwork by Jacob Rochester, depicting Carpenter alongside a man. Carpenter herself, clad in a black dress, is kneeling on the ground, with an off-centre man holding onto a lock of her hair as he would the leash of a dog. In conclusion: for any wallflowers wanting to know how to do anything with a bang, look no further than Carpenter.
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