sabrina carpenter is a genius

Never has the concept of Pavlov's Dog been deployed so literally

The key to success in the modern pop landscape is controversy. Whether Chappell Roan understands it or not, her sometimes justified public outbursts garner comments that are a mix between “this girl is annoying” and “I understand why she acts like this”. Taylor Swift dating Matty Healy in the midst the Ice Spice-Adam Friedland Show drama led to her winning a Grammy and having tons of viral moments with Ms. Spice herself. Charli xcx’s “kamala IS brat” moment was clowned by many publications, but that moment helped her sell out her arena tour and made her a household name. The news cycle moves on quickly, but the impact of toeing the edge safely is often invaluable.

Sabrina Carpenter is perhaps the most famous modern female pop musician that is consistently able to create viral moments for herself, often employing performative sexuality. I mean that literally — her entire schtick is lyrical innuendo and miming sex positions at her shows. Couple this with a young, impressionable fanbase, and the New York Post articles write themselves. The ecosystem is beneficial for everyone involved — the label, the artist, the press and especially the fans who think they’re participating in a moment. Her game is a Pavlovian reward system on a loop — she’ll post something mildly provocative, fans repost it, the “news” picks it up, and the cycle benefits all parties mutually. Everyone is both the dog and the treat giver, conditioning each other to repeat the cycle with the ring of a bell. In this instance, it’s literally dog themed, like she’s winking at us, because she is.

The music media and horny Twitter wasn’t even finished talking about this…

And then just a short while later, we get the cover and title of her newest album out in July of this year, entitled Man’s Best Friend. The cover(s) as you can see, depict Sabrina Carpenter as a servile, subhuman object who’s at the level of a businessman’s crotch. On it’s face, it seems like she’s completely abandoned her former misandrist ways; she’s no longer slaying men with Jenna Ortega or getting her now-ex boyfriend killed in an armed robbery. No, now she’s hitchhiking on the side of a road, at the whim of whatever man eyes her as he drives by.

People on Twitter seemed to have the wrong idea about this, as they tend to do. It’s the most reactionary responses, posted within the hour of announcements, that are so valuable to her. She’s already pissed off the conservatives with her sexual behavior in front of young fans on stage, now it’s time to take the react-libs for a spin. However, even if this appears to be too much of a risk, the precedent has been set for this type of misogyny as controversial art. Lana Del Rey has been objectifying herself at the behest of toxic men for years. The Strokes got heat in the ‘00s for their original Is This It? cover, which was basically a parody of a parody.

In Sabrina’s case, her strong fanbase just wants to hear fun music, her “statement” is really apolitical, and those in the know understand that she’s going to put a twist on it that’ll justify it. She had a music video were men were portrayed as pigs just last year, it’s pretty obvious where her head is at. she’s simply adjusting to the zeitgeist of Trump’s America without any of the baggage that comes with the political side of that.

The key to all of this is in the video and lyrics for her excellent new single, “Manchild”, which 99% of the people who would complain about this haven’t listened to or examined at all. The music video, like the album cover, is completely absurd. She’s doing things like playing billiards with shotguns and roller skating while hitching onto a garbage truck — all while in these positions and outfits that cater to the male gaze.

The lyrics “Fuck my life, won't you let an innocent woman be?” and “I like all my men incompetent”. She purposely uses the image of her hitchhiking in low-cut jean shorts to ilict the “awoogghhas” from men and fake feminist allegations from women. Then she mocks the absurdity of the discourse she creates with the music video while clarifying her actual point of view in the lyrics. Like Katt Williams said many times over, he and other artists that are successful have one continuous conversation with their audience from the moment they arrive. Sabrina’s centers around these core tenants: women rule and are sexy, men are dumb but I like to have sex with them, give me attention. Plain and simple, short ‘n’ sweet.

She is able to give us the false perception that she is reinventing herself and changing her mind, but nothing is really changing at the end of the day. It’s still ‘80s synth pop, even if there’s a bit of country added. Chappell Roan, who I mentioned earlier, just did the same move with her single “The Giver”, which is equally satirical and gender war stoking. These girls will never not be famous if they can continue to put out good music while outraging people, it’s genius.