Jan. 4, 2026

2026 Grammy Nominee - Sabrina Carpenter - "Manchild"

Show Notes
Transcript

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Today we kick off our four-week Grammy countdown with Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" - the country-tinged confession that debuted at number one while its creator fell into a cactus. We'll trace how a random Tuesday writing session became a chart-topper, why Jack Antonoff physically touched tape machines like instruments, and how Sabrina turned exasperation into a loving eye roll. It's a story about thirty-seven outfit changes, incompetent men, and proving that sometimes the boldest move is releasing a country song after a pop breakthrough.

Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed!

Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories’ with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!

We now have Merch! FREE SHIPPING! Check out all the products like T-shirts, mugs, bags, jackets and more with logos and slogans from your favorite shows! Did we mention there’s free shipping? Get 10% off with code NewMerch10 Go to Caloroga.com

Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:13.759
Callaroga Shark Media. I'm Garrett Fisher, And in early twenty

2
00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:17.079
twenty five, Sabrina Carpenter had a decision to make. She

3
00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:19.879
was twenty six years old and at the absolute peak

4
00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:23.640
of her career. Her sixth album, Short and Sweet, released

5
00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:27.760
in August twenty twenty four, had become a cultural phenomenon.

6
00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:31.760
Espresso was the song of Summer twenty twenty four, an

7
00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:35.399
inescapable earworm that peaked at number three on the Billboard

8
00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:39.920
Hot one hundred. Please Please Please hit number one. The

9
00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.079
album itself topped the Billboard two hundred. Then came February

10
00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:48.679
twenty twenty five, at the sixty seventh Grammy Awards, Carpenter

11
00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:52.320
won her first two Grammys, Best Pop Solo Performance for

12
00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:55.960
Espresso and Best Pop Vocal Album for Short and Sweet.

13
00:00:56.280 --> 00:00:59.200
After years of grinding she'd released her first album back

14
00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:01.600
in two thousand and fifteen, when she was just sixteen,

15
00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:05.920
Sabrina Carpenter was finally getting the recognition she'd earned. She

16
00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:09.560
was on a massive, sold out tour. Radio loved her.

17
00:01:09.879 --> 00:01:14.840
Streaming numbers were astronomical. She'd found a formula that worked.

18
00:01:15.239 --> 00:01:19.159
Clever innuendo leyden pop songs with sixties girl group influences

19
00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:23.120
and modern production courtesy of Jack Antonoff and others. Why

20
00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:27.280
mess with success? And yet, sitting somewhere with a random idea,

21
00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:31.760
Sabrina Carpenter decided to write a country song Let's Back Up.

22
00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:37.040
Because to understand Manchild, the lead single from her seventh album,

23
00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.640
Man's Best Friend, released June fifth, twenty twenty five, you

24
00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:44.480
need to understand who Sabrina Carpenter is and how she

25
00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:48.560
got here. Carpenter was born in nineteen ninety nine in Pennsylvania.

26
00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:51.840
She was a Disney kid starred in Girl Meets World

27
00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:56.120
from twenty fourteen to twenty seventeen. Like a lot of

28
00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:59.079
young actors who also sang, she got a record deal

29
00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:02.599
while still on the show. Her early albums were pleasant

30
00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:05.560
but unremarkable teen pop, the kind of music that gets

31
00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:08.599
released because you're on a Disney show, not because you're

32
00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:13.560
making artistic statements. But Carpenter kept working album after album,

33
00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:17.159
year after year. She wasn't an overnight success. She was

34
00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:21.479
grinding it out, writing, constantly developing her voice, both literally

35
00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:26.240
and artistically. By her fifth album, twenty twenty two's emails

36
00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:29.400
I Can't Send, she'd found something closer to her authentic,

37
00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:34.400
self confessional, witty, a little bit heartbroken, a little bit defiant.

38
00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:39.000
Then came Short and Sweet in twenty twenty four, and

39
00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:44.400
everything clicked. The Dolly parton influence, the cheeky wordplay, their

40
00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:48.360
fusal to take herself too seriously while still being emotionally honest,

41
00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:53.360
songs like Nonsense, where she'd improvise different outros at every

42
00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:57.159
tour stop. The album was only thirty six minutes long,

43
00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:01.719
hence the title, but it was perfectly instructed, no filler,

44
00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:05.560
just hits. By late twenty twenty four, Carpenter had opened

45
00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:09.639
for Taylor Swift on multiple legs of the aristour, experienced

46
00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:13.719
her first massive solo success, and proven she could carry

47
00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:16.840
an album on her own creative vision. She was working

48
00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:20.120
on new material for what would become Man's Best Friend,

49
00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:23.680
her seventh album, and on one random Tuesday, not too

50
00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:27.039
long after finishing Short and Sweet, Carpenter was in the

51
00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:30.680
studio with two of her key collaborators, Amy Allen and

52
00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:34.719
Jack Antonoff. Amy Allen had co written every single track

53
00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:38.439
on Short and Sweet. She understood Carpenter's voice, her humor,

54
00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:43.199
her way of looking at relationships. Jack Antonoff well. By

55
00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:46.560
twenty twenty five, Antonov had become pop music's most in

56
00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:51.800
demand producer. Taylor Swift, Lord, Lna del Rey, the nineteen

57
00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:56.680
seventy five and now Sabrina Carpenter. He'd worked on several

58
00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:01.840
short and sweet tracks, including Please Please Please and Slim Pickens.

59
00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:05.400
On this particular Tuesday, they started working on a song

60
00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:11.120
that would become Manchild. The premise was simple but universally relatable.

61
00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:14.840
Why are we attracted to incompetent men? The guys who

62
00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:19.040
are gorgeous but can't handle basic adult responsibilities, The ones

63
00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:22.720
whose brains seem only half functional, The ones who make

64
00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:26.759
you wonder how they've survived this long on earth. Carpenter

65
00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:30.240
didn't write it about anyone specific. She made that clear later.

66
00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:34.639
She was still dating actor Barry Keegan when she wrote Manchild,

67
00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:37.920
and they wouldn't break up until December twenty twenty five.

68
00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:41.160
This wasn't a disc track aimed at a particular X.

69
00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.959
It was something more interesting, a self aware examination of

70
00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:49.560
her own patterns. The song opens with Carpenter chuckling, then sighing,

71
00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:53.439
Oh boy, right away, you know the tone. This isn't

72
00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:56.120
going to be angry or bitter. This is going to

73
00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:02.160
be exasperated. Amused, knowing a loving eye roll, as Carpenter

74
00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:05.920
would later describe it. The verses lay out the situation

75
00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:10.439
with specific funny details. A guy whose phone was broken,

76
00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:15.319
he just forgot to charge it. His outfit is so ridiculous,

77
00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:18.800
you hope it's ironic, he says, he's finished, But you

78
00:05:18.839 --> 00:05:22.160
didn't even know you'd start it. It's all familiar, and

79
00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:27.160
that's the point. Carpenter is describing experiences that feel achingly

80
00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:32.319
specific but are actually incredibly common. Then comes the pre chorus,

81
00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:38.439
where she cycles through possible descriptions stupid or is it slow?

82
00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:43.160
Maybe it's useless. But there's a cuter word for it,

83
00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:49.240
I know, and that word, of course, is Manchild. Musically,

84
00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:52.959
the song does something clever. It starts with synthpop production,

85
00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.720
very much in the short and sweet Wheelhouse, but then

86
00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:00.120
as it moves into the pre chorus, a banjo appears,

87
00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:04.480
a sitar blends in. Suddenly you're in country pop territory.

88
00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:08.879
The production becomes fuller, more textured, more interesting. This was

89
00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:13.639
Jack Antonov's doing, and his approach to recording Manchild reveals

90
00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:17.480
a lot about why he's become so dominant in pop production.

91
00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:20.920
Antonov has said in interviews that he likes to treat

92
00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:25.959
machines like instruments. For Manchild, he ran old tape echo machines,

93
00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:29.240
not as a plugin or a digital effect, but actual

94
00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:32.600
physical tape machines. And he didn't just set them and

95
00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:36.040
let them run. He physically touched the tape, warped it

96
00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:39.920
by hand, created sounds that could never be exactly replicated.

97
00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:44.720
It's a weird approach for modern pop music. Most producers

98
00:06:44.759 --> 00:06:48.920
are working entirely digitally, stacking tracks in a computer, tweaking

99
00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:54.120
frequencies with plugins. Antonov intentionally uses analog equipment, and he

100
00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:58.040
uses it imperfectly, creating textures that have warmth and character.

101
00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:02.639
For Carpenter's vocals, Antonov made a crucial decision. Keep them

102
00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:07.839
raw and close. Don't stack them, don't double them, don't

103
00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:12.560
smooth them into polished perfection. Let Sabrina's actual voice be

104
00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:17.160
the thing you hear, intimate and present. This matters because

105
00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:20.519
Manchild works as well as it does, partly because it

106
00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:24.279
sounds so conversational. Carpenter's not trying to impress you with

107
00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:28.879
vocal runs or dramatic belting. She's just talking to you,

108
00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:33.160
laughing about the absurdity of her own romantic choices. The

109
00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:37.600
bridge is where the song's real inside appears. Carpenter sings

110
00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:40.720
about liking boys who play hard to get, liking men

111
00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:44.920
who are incompetent, and then the kicker and I swear

112
00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:49.319
they choose me. I'm not choosing them. It's a perfect

113
00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:51.959
moment of self delusion, the kind of thing people tell

114
00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.800
themselves to avoid responsibility for their own patterns, followed by amen,

115
00:07:57.160 --> 00:08:00.879
like she's blessing her own denial. The song debuted at

116
00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:03.319
number one on the Billboard Hot one hundred when it

117
00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:07.519
was released June fifth, twenty twenty five. It was Carpenter's

118
00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:10.720
first single to debut at the top spot, though Please

119
00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:14.680
Please Please had previously climbed to number one. It also

120
00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:17.439
hit number one in the UK and Ireland, becoming her

121
00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:20.759
fourth UK chart topper in a row. But the path

122
00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.120
to release was interesting, and it reveals Carpenter's confidence in

123
00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:28.439
her own artistic instincts. Remember, Short and Sweet was a

124
00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:33.759
pop album, a massively successful pop album. Espresso was synth

125
00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:38.759
pop perfection. Please Please Please was sixties girl group pop

126
00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:42.919
with modern production. That's what people expected from Sabrina Carpenter

127
00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:45.879
in twenty twenty five, and she decided to lead her

128
00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:49.759
new album with a country influence track. When she announced

129
00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:56.120
Manchild on Instagram, her caption was telling this one's about you. Immediately,

130
00:08:56.159 --> 00:09:00.240
fans started speculating was this about Barry Keeogan? Was this

131
00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:04.159
a diss track? The Internet loves drama, loves the idea

132
00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:08.320
of songs as secret messages about real people. Carpenter addressed

133
00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:10.799
this directly a few days later. She wrote that she'd

134
00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:13.840
written the song on a random Tuesday with Amy and Jack,

135
00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:16.840
not too long after finishing Short and Sweet, and it

136
00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:20.120
ended up being the best random Tuesday of my life.

137
00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:23.919
She continued, Not only was it so fun to write,

138
00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:27.440
but this song became to me something I can look

139
00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:30.240
back on that will score the mental montage to the

140
00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.879
very confusing and fun young adult years of life. It

141
00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:37.159
sounds like the song embodiment of a loving eye roll,

142
00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.559
and it feels like a never ending road trip in

143
00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:44.679
the summer. That phrase loving eye roll perfectly captures what

144
00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:51.000
Manchild is. It's not mean, it's not vindictive. It's affectionate exasperation.

145
00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:54.360
It's laughing at yourself for your own choices, while also

146
00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:57.840
acknowledging that, yeah, sometimes men are ridiculous, and it's okay.

147
00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:01.480
To point that out, she ended I writing thank you

148
00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.440
men for testing me with a pig emoji and a

149
00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:09.440
white heart. Even her caption had that playful tone. The

150
00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:12.799
music video, directed by Vanya Hayman and Galmougia, took that

151
00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:17.440
energy and ran with it. The concept Carpenter is hitchhiking

152
00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.679
across the American West, trying to get somewhere, but every

153
00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.159
guy who picks her up is useless. She rides on

154
00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:27.159
the back of a jet ski being driven on a highway.

155
00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:30.799
She's in a shopping cart attached to a motorcycle. She

156
00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:34.320
reclines in a motorized lazy boy chair. None of these

157
00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:38.440
men can actually help her reach her destination. It's a

158
00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:42.200
visual metaphor for the song's content, guys who promised much

159
00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:46.639
but deliver little. The video required thirty seven outfit changes

160
00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:50.879
thirty seven for a three minute song. Carpenter is in

161
00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:54.840
daisy dukes and dresses in various Western inspired looks. The

162
00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:58.480
directors wanted fast paced editing, something that felt like a

163
00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:03.240
movie trailer, keeping the energy high throughout. During the second

164
00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:06.559
day of the shoot, Carpenter fell backwards into a cactus.

165
00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:10.919
She's told this story in interviews with evident delight. They

166
00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:14.720
were filming in the desert, doing increasingly elaborate and dangerous

167
00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:19.320
looking stunts. Carpenter wielded a shotgun, she fell off a

168
00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:24.600
cliff with safety measures. Presumably she encountered an orca somehow,

169
00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:27.399
and at some point during all this chaos, she backed

170
00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:31.159
into a cactus. The entire second day of filming, she

171
00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:34.320
was pulling cactus spines out of her body. But she

172
00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:36.960
came back for a third day because, as she put it,

173
00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:41.720
the original cut wasn't crazy enough. Yet. That commitment to

174
00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:46.559
the bit is very Sabrina Carpenter. She's not precious about

175
00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:50.399
looking perfect or staying safe. She's willing to throw herself

176
00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:53.960
completely into a concept, even if it means literal pain.

177
00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:58.679
The video dropped June sixth, twenty twenty five, and immediately

178
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.200
went viral. The absurdiest humor, the constant costume changes, the

179
00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:09.480
ridiculous modes of transportation, it all reinforced the song's playful tone.

180
00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:13.120
This wasn't a serious commentary on gender dynamics. This was

181
00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:19.639
a fun, slightly unhinged romp through relationship frustration. On October eighteenth,

182
00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:24.519
twenty twenty five, Carpenter performed Manchild, on Saturday Night Live,

183
00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.480
where she pulled double duty, serving as both host and

184
00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:33.600
musical guest. The staging was perfect, a bedroom set, with

185
00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.960
Carpenter dressed in a white T shirt and pink underwear

186
00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:42.879
emblazoned with the SNL logo retro playful, slightly subversive. It

187
00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:45.600
was her second time on SNL as musical guest and

188
00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:48.639
her first time hosting. The fact that she could do

189
00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:54.200
both comedy sketches and musical performances highlighted her range. She'd

190
00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:56.799
come from acting, after all, she knew how to work

191
00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:00.519
a camera, how to commit to a bit. Norman's got

192
00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:04.000
attention not just for the song, but for Carpenter's confidence.

193
00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:06.639
Here was an artist comfortable enough in her own skin

194
00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:09.600
to sing about incompetent men while wearing underwear with a

195
00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:13.919
logo on it. She wasn't trying to be sexy or provocative.

196
00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:18.440
She was just being herself. Funny, self aware, a little

197
00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:23.279
bit chaotic. Here's what makes Manchild work as more than

198
00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:27.720
just a novelty song. Underneath the humor, there's real insight

199
00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:32.360
about patterns in relationships and self awareness. The song doesn't

200
00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:36.480
blame men for being incompetent. It examines Carpenter's own attraction

201
00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:41.639
to incompetence. That's a much more interesting angle. Anyone can

202
00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:46.159
write a song complaining about exes, it takes real honesty

203
00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:49.200
to write a song examining your own role in choosing

204
00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:52.559
those exes. The line and I swear they choose me,

205
00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.759
I'm not choosing them, followed by amen is brilliant because

206
00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:59.480
it's both funny and true to how people actually think.

207
00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:04.639
We tell ourselves stories about our romantic choices. We pretend

208
00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:08.720
we're passive recipients of others attention rather than active participants

209
00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:13.320
making decisions. Carpenter is gently mocking that tendency while also

210
00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:26.320
admitting she does it too. The country influence in the

211
00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:30.440
production is strategic. Country music has a long tradition of

212
00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:34.919
songs about no good men, cheating hearts, and romantic disappointment.

213
00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:39.240
By incorporating banjo and sitar, by giving the song that

214
00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:43.720
country pop flavor, Carpenter is connecting to that lineage while

215
00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:47.720
updating it with modern synthpop production. And the choice to

216
00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:50.679
release this as her first single after Short and Sweet

217
00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:55.120
was genuinely bold. She even acknowledged this in her Instagram

218
00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:58.480
post about the release. It is deaf, a bold and

219
00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:01.559
scary move to release a f full ass country song

220
00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:05.480
after only releasing one song last year and it having

221
00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:09.399
such a success in the pop genre. She continued, like,

222
00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.440
I'm very scared as I type this, Lol, but I

223
00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.320
think that's the entire point of chapelone. Be bold and

224
00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.159
scary and have fun. Be pop star girl, then pop

225
00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:21.080
an edible plus watch YouTube vibes. The whole point of

226
00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:25.759
this is to be silly. That last line is key.

227
00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:30.159
The whole point of this is to be silly. Carpenter

228
00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.759
understands that pop music doesn't have to be serious to

229
00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:37.000
be meaningful. It can be playful, funny, even goofy, and

230
00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:40.639
still connect with people on a real emotional level. The

231
00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:45.240
commercial success of Manchild validated her instincts. Debuting at number

232
00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:48.240
one on the Billboard Hot one hundred meant she'd now

233
00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:52.120
had two number one debuts. Please Please Please climb to one,

234
00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:56.519
but Manchild started there. In the UK, it was her

235
00:15:56.679 --> 00:16:01.840
fourth consecutive chart topper, following Espresso, Oh Please Please Please,

236
00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:06.080
and Taste. The song also became a moment of cultural conversation.

237
00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.720
Articles were written analyzing whether it was actually about Barry

238
00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:14.120
Keyogan TikTok was full of people singing the chorus relating

239
00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:18.919
it to their own experiences. The phrase manchild became shorthand

240
00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:23.879
for a specific type of romantic frustration. On November seventh,

241
00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:27.799
twenty twenty five, Manchild was nominated for a Record of

242
00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:31.279
the Year at the sixty eighth Annual Grammy Awards. It

243
00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:34.200
was one of eight songs nominated in the category, up

244
00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:38.960
against tracks by Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Chapel Roone, Kendrick Lamar,

245
00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:43.240
and others. The nomination was significant because it represented the

246
00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:47.039
Recording Academy recognizing Carpenter not just as a pop star,

247
00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:51.879
but as a serious artist making interesting creative choices. Record

248
00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.759
of the Year isn't just about commercial success. It's about

249
00:16:54.919 --> 00:17:00.279
artistic merit, production quality, overall impact. Jack Antonov's production was

250
00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:04.200
a big part of that nomination. The tape echo machines,

251
00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:07.359
the blending of country and pop, the decision to keep

252
00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:12.240
Carpenter's vocals raw and intimate. All of that elevated Manchild

253
00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:16.559
beyond just another catchy single. Amy Allen's contribution can't be

254
00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:20.119
overstated either. Allan has become one of pop music's most

255
00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:24.000
sought after songwriters. Working with Harry Styles Lizzo and Halsey,

256
00:17:24.200 --> 00:17:27.519
in addition to Carpenter Her ability to help artists find

257
00:17:27.559 --> 00:17:31.720
their authentic voice while still creating commercially viable songs is rare,

258
00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:36.960
but ultimately, Manchild works because of Sabrina Carpenter herself, her

259
00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.039
willingness to examine her own patterns, her refusal to take

260
00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:43.319
herself too seriously, her understanding that you can be funny

261
00:17:43.319 --> 00:17:46.640
and honest at the same time. The song sits in

262
00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:51.119
this perfect space between confession and comedy. It's self deprecating

263
00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:55.160
without being self loathing. It's critical of men's behavior without

264
00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:00.000
being preachy. It's catchy without being shallow, and it represents

265
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.319
as an artist who's figured out how to be commercially

266
00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:07.240
successful while staying true to her own creative vision. Carpenter

267
00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.079
didn't need to release a country influenced song as her

268
00:18:10.119 --> 00:18:13.519
comeback single. She could have done safe pop, something that

269
00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:18.240
sounded like Espresso Part two. Instead, she took a risk

270
00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:23.480
That risk paid off. Manchild debuted at number one. The

271
00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:27.880
album Man's Best Friend, released August twenty ninth, twenty twenty five,

272
00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:31.400
became her second consecutive number one album in the UK.

273
00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:36.119
Critics praised its production, its blend of influences and Carpenter's

274
00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:39.960
growth as a songwriter. Twenty six years old, seven albums

275
00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:43.759
in Sabrina, Carpenter had gone from Disney kid to Grammy

276
00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:47.440
nominated artist with a clear creative identity. The girl who'd

277
00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:50.720
been grinding since she was sixteen had finally figured out

278
00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:53.319
not just how to make hits, but how to make

279
00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:57.880
hits that actually reflected who she was. Manchild is proof

280
00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:00.920
that sometimes the boldest creative choice is to be yourself,

281
00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:04.920
even if yourself is someone who writes loving eye roll

282
00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:08.960
songs about incompetent men while falling into cacti during music

283
00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.960
video shoots. The song ends with Carpenter repeating Amen like

284
00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:18.000
a prayer, blessing the chaos of young adult relationships. It's funny,

285
00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:22.880
it's relatable. It's perfectly crafted pop music that sounds effortless,

286
00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:27.359
even though it required old tape machines, thirty seven outfit changes,

287
00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:30.319
and a random Tuesday that turned into one of the

288
00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:33.880
best writing sessions of Carpenter's life, and on Grammy Night

289
00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:38.359
February first, twenty twenty six, that Sunday could become an

290
00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:44.000
award show winning Sunday either way. Sabrina Carpenter had already won.

291
00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:47.759
She'd made exactly the song she wanted to make, released

292
00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:50.400
it exactly when she wanted to release it, and the

293
00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:55.480
world had responded by making it number one. Not bad

294
00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:58.880
for a loving eye roll about man children. Next week

295
00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:02.559
on Hip Maker Chronicle, we continue our Grammy countdown with

296
00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.839
Lady Gaga's Abracadabra, the spell she cast during a commercial

297
00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.920
break that transported viewers back to the famed Monster era.

298
00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:13.440
How Gaga faced her fear of returning to dark pop,

299
00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:16.319
why the chorus includes Latin words for love and death,

300
00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:20.240
and how a slower scrap song became a dance floor masterpiece.

301
00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:24.359
I'm Garrett Fisher. Choose better, or at least write funny

302
00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:25.079
songs about it.