Major pop stars have been releasing new albums all throughout the summer, making popular hits. Artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Conan Gray, and sombr released their music on all streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
Sabrina Carpenter had one of the biggest album releases of the summer on August 29, getting 64.4 million listens and becoming the #1 album globally on the first day for her album Man’s Best Friend.
When she revealed her album cover on June 11, many thought it was very controversial and seemed misogynistic. Bellasera Potter, a listener of Carpenter, said, “I think everyone’s a little dramatic, just a little bit, because I don’t feel like it’s […] a direct attack on women. […] Also, considering what the album is about, it’s not that deep.”
Man’s Best Friend includes witty tracks about her love life and the unavailable men she always seems to fall in love with. One of these tracks is “My Man on Willpower,” which is Potter’s favorite on the album. Another one of Carpenter’s most popular songs on the album was her hit single “Manchild,” which got 8.05 million listens on the first day. Sarah Lantz, another pop music fan, said, “‘Manchild’ has been one of my top songs.”
Many other hit singles, for instance Gray’s “This Song” and sombr’s “undressed,” dominated TikTok and its users’ For You Pages (FYPs). Sombr became widely known earlier this year when his song “back to friends” became one of the top songs on TikTok.
Lantz said, “I think it’s also cool to see sombr, coming up and starting really big at the start of his career, and how that will affect him in the future.” As opposed to the instant fame sombr got on social media, many other artists like Gray have built their fame over many years.
Gray had his biggest album release yet with his album Wishbone, which got 8.4 million listens in the first day. Even though Gray has written songs about breakups and heartbreak, in an interview with GQ in 2022, he stated that he had never been in a relationship. However, recently in a TikTok, Gray stated that, after his album Superache came out, he has since been in a relationship. Porter Miller, a fan of Gray, said that that experience lets the joy and pain from it go into the album.
“I think it’s a growth of all the stages they’ve been through in their life and the experiences they’ve had, where they’ve been able to grow,” said Miller.
Many of these artists have been making music for a long time. Taylor Swift started when she was 14, Carpenter when she was 12 with Disney, and Gray when he was 15. These albums that they have released recently have shown the skills they’ve learned throughout their years.
“It’s just cool to see everyone; how they change and how they, if they sound good or if they don’t sound good,” says Lantz. Artists like Carpenter have changed their style of music greatly. She started her career with Disney, starring in shows such as Girl Meets World. Carpenter now rarely acts and is more focused on her music career.
In recent years through her music, she has tried to show the media that she’s not the same person that she was on Disney. When she released her album emails I can’t send in 2022, it marked a change in her music and the way that she presented herself. Instead of appearing youthful and sweet, she changed to writing witty songs about her love life.
Potter said, “Sabrina Carpenter has gotten into a comfortable way of showing that she’s not that person anymore.”
