Sabrina Carpenter will release the album Man’s Best Friend on August 29.
The prolific pop star is set to release the follow-up to Short n’ Sweet almost exactly a year later.
Sabrina shocked fans by standing on all fours in front of a man pulling her hair on the racy artwork, with the cover dividing opinion.
However, one fan defending the Espresso hitmaker suggested she was poking fun at the fact people said “she’s for the male gaze”.
They wrote on X: “I’ve already seen enough so i gotta explain this cover cuz apparently y’all are acting dense: „Man’s Best Friend” is a phrase referring to a DOG. Sabrina is obviously portraying it on the cover referring to how all of you said she’s for the “male gaze”. this is how YOU see her. (sic)”
The album will include the lead single, Manchild, which upon its release, Sabrina thanked “men for testing me”.
The 26-year-old singer explained that Manchild – which she co-wrote with Jack Antonoff and Amy Allen – is “the mental montage to the very confusing and fun young adult years of life.”
She penned on Instagram upon the song’s release: “i wrote manchild on a random tuesday with amy and jack not too long after finishing short n’ sweet and it ended up being the best random tuesday of my life
“not only was it so fun to write, but this song became to me something I can look back on that will score the mental montage to the very confusing and fun young adult years of life.
“it sounds like the song embodiment of a loving eye roll and it feels like a never ending road trip in the summer ! hence why i wanted to give it to you now- so you can stick your head out the car window and scream it all summer long!
“thank you always and forever for listening
and thank you men for testing me! (sic)”
There has been much speculation about which of her exes the song is about, with Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan’s name mentioned a lot.
Sabrina’s Grammy-winning Short n’ Sweet album was followed by February’s deluxe edition, which featured a duet of Please Please Please with Dolly Parton and a new song called Busy Woman.