Entertainment
Sabrina Carpenter gives insight into her new music and viral debate over album cover
Sabrina Carpenter dropped her seventh album, “Man’s Best Friend,” on Friday – approximately one year after her Grammy Award winning album “Short n’ Sweet.”
“I was just going through a lot and I was like, ‘well, I could either, you know, sit and sulk about it, or I could write about it,’ and it doesn’t mean I have to put any of this out,” Carpenter told “CBS Mornings” about creating the album.
In an exclusive interview, the superstar spoke about her new music, songwriting process and the viral debate around her original album cover.
For “Man’s Best Friend,” Carpenter worked with familiar collaborators, including Jack Antonoff, John Ryan and Amy Allen.
“It felt like a band in a lot of ways. Like, someone’s on the drums, and someone’s over here playing the synth and then we’re on the tambourine. … Then I’m cutting vocals. We’re all doing gang vocals together,” she said regarding the album.
Carpenter described having “many different processes” while writing her songs – but highlighted lyrics and concepts come first.
“When I started, you know, becoming more sexual as a person, I think it’s just something that’s a part of life. You want to write about it,” she said. “I didn’t realize it was as taboo of a topic until I started writing about it more freely.”
The Grammy Award winner gave insight into a few of the songs on the new album.
For “Never Getting Laid,” she revealed, “that one was a bit of a turning point for me because I’m so used to writing bitter songs and this one felt like being bitter but with a lot of sweetness.”
She said “Don’t Worry, I’ll Make You Worry” “sounds like a threat, but it’s, like, it’s all just said with a wink. It’s said with, like, a pat on the back. I think that is the way that I communicate.”
While fans speculate who her music is about, Carpenter maintained she wouldn’t say.
“It’s more fun for people to picture in their head than the person I picture in my head, I think,” Carpenter said.
“I feel pretty transparent going into any of my relationships, that I write songs and I think they’re just as down for it. I think it’s also, most of the time, they’ve been pretty flattered when I … when they get a song written about them, good or bad.”
Carpenter admits that her music may not be for everyone, saying, “you don’t have to like what I do. I think there’s this weird misconception that every artist has to check every box for everyone to like everything about them.”
She just hopes her fans she’s speaking to through her music feel the connection and can relate.
“Then I’m happy,” she said.
The pop star has previously said she thinks of her life and music like a movie, saying “there’s like a lot of suspenseful music. There’s some cliff hangers sometimes. It’s truly an up-and-down.”
While describing her own life as versatile, she said she’s currently, “in a lovely place.”
Album cover debate
Prior to the release of her new music, a debate ensued over Carpenter’s original album cover for “Man’s Best Friend,” shocking the singer.
“I think between me and my friends and my family and the people that I always share my music and my art with first, it was … it just wasn’t even a conversation. It was just, like, it’s perfect. For what the album is, it’s perfect for, you know, kind of what it represents.”
The cover depicted Carpenter kneeling on the ground. An individual is standing next to her with Carpenter’s hand on the person’s thigh as they’re pulling her hair.
She said her intention was to keep the cover open to interpretation.
“My interpretation is being in on the control. Being in on your lack of control and when you want to be in control,” Carpenter said. “I think as a young woman, you’re just as aware of when you’re in control as when you’re not.”
She explained the album for her was about “the humanity of allowing yourself to make those mistakes.”
Carpenter said she tries to take the critical comments lightly.
“My fans that know me and know the person behind the music will look at that photo and they know exactly what it is. People that have no idea who I am absolutely look at that photo and go, like, ‘where are her parents?'”
“My parents actually saw the photo and they loved it,” she said.
Friendship with Taylor Swift
Carpenter opened for Taylor Swift on the Eras tour.
She’s also featured on a song in Swift’s upcoming album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which will be released Oct. 3.
While Carpenter wouldn’t reveal anything about the song, she spoke about the opportunity, saying, “I’ve been looking up to her (Swift) since I was, … I remember the first time I heard a song by her. I was 8 years old on the school bus, and I was … just like my life was changed.”
She also expressed her excitement for Swift following the announcement of her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, saying she wasn’t surprised at how big the reaction was from fans.
“I’m just happy for them,” Carpenter said.
Jelly Roll is opening up about the moment he realised he needed to change his life, and why his 200-pound weight loss journey became a fight for survival.
The 41-year-old singer shared the emotional turning point during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, recalling how close he felt to losing everything.
“I could feel myself dying,” he admitted, describing the fear that hit him as he approached his 39th birthday.
He said he took a hard look at his health and the number on the scale, adding, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a 500-pound 40-year-old.”
That thought alone sparked a level of urgency he could no longer ignore.
Jelly Roll explained that he felt he had “already cheated the game” after surviving “multiple heart issues,” and knew he wasn’t going to get many more chances.
“I was like, man, I should really start trying to figure this out,” he said.
What followed was a two-year transformation fueled by determination, vulnerability and the desire to help others going through similar struggles.
He said he never expected to lose the weight but hoped that talking about his experience could encourage people who feel stuck in their own battles with obesity.
He remembered the first day he committed to walking 10,000 steps, a moment he described as life-changing.
His wife Bunnie XO and daughter tried to talk him out of going because it was pouring rain, but he refused. “In my mind, I was like, ‘No. I’m going outside. I’m done lying to y’all and I’m done lying to me.’”
When he got home, soaked from the weather, he broke down seeing his family cheering for him.
“They had every reason not to go out there and cheer me on,” he said, explaining how years of broken promises about his weight had worn them down.
But that moment made him realize just how deeply his food addiction had impacted not just his health, but his relationships.
Jelly Roll said the journey forced him to confront painful truths, including how being severely overweight had affected his marriage and intimacy.
Therapy helped him uncover the emotional roots of his eating habits, and over time, he built a healthier relationship with food.
“Now I’m just feeding myself for what I need,” he said.
Today, he feels “really, really good,” having dropped clothing sizes and even changing his Oura ring size five times.
Fans have noticed his slimmer face and energised presence in recent months, visible signs of a transformation that started with fear but grew into hope.
And for Jelly Roll, the message is simple: if he could do it, anyone can.
Meghan Markle is encouraging her fans to be “thoughtful” during this time of the year as King Charles prepares to address his cancer journey to the world.
Hours before His Majesty’s historic TV appearance on Friday, December 10, the Duchess of Sussex took to her As Ever Instagram page to promote her brand’s Holiday Collection, which was released in October. In a video titled “Thoughtful gifting with As Ever,” the 44-year-old actress is seen lighting candles, packing gifts, and putting them under the Christmas tree or stuffing them in stockings.
“Gifts so good, Santa might keep them for himself,” she captioned the promotional video. “Shop the Holiday Collection today to stuff your stocking in time for Christmas,” she further urged her followers.
Meghan’s message came just three hours before the 77-year-old monarch is set to share a personal message about his cancer journey. Recorded in November at Clarence House, the King’s address is part of Stand Up To Cancer 2025, a joint campaign between Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about early cancer detection and raise money to help cancer patients and fund cancer research.
The King’s address will air at 8 pm.
Royal family has seemingly avoided reunion with Andrew and Sarah Ferguson at Princess Beatrice’s daughter Athena’s Christening.
The Princess of York reportedly invited members of the royal family to celebrate the tradition.
However, the royals appeared less excited to meet Andrew and Fergie, who broke the cover and attended the event to give their blessings to their granddaughter.
The royals’ reception towards Andrew and Fergie was noticeably muted as no senior royals were seen joining them amid media scrutiny.
Undoubtedly, the event – which is Andrew’s first royal family event since his princely title was stripped – maked emotional breakthrough for Andrew and Fergie.
It ended their isolation and set the stage for more joyful family moments ahead, just in time for a festive Christmas reunion with King Charles and the royals.
Along with their parents, Beatrice invited some of her royal friends at the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace on Friday, Decemeber 12.
Princess Nina of Greece and Denmark and Beatrice’s friend, celebrity nutritionist Gabriela Peacock, were also sent the invitation to join Beatrice and her family.
Beatrice and Eugenie’s parents, who were allowed to attend the Duchess of Kent’s Requiem Mass service in September, were not invited to Princess Kate’s last week’s “Together at Christmas” Carol Service.
The royal sister were also missed the event, but released a statement to support the future queen and her event.
Friday’s outing is Andrew and Fergie’s first event with members of the royal family since the King stripped his younger brother of his princely title and honours amid renewed scrutiny around the extent of the former couple’s links to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
Athena, 10 months, is Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi’s second child together. The baby was born prematurely in January.
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