It's hardly breaking news, people: Sex sells and Sabrina's a savvy vendor
If you need me to fill in the gaps, she's that pint-sized ex-Disney princess producing earworms and pornographically suggestive album covers where she's crouching on all fours in front of a man who's grabbing her hair (and please give me the number of whoever designed the cave you're living in).
In fact, there was so much hoo-ha around the aforementioned album cover, she's released an alternative one 'approved by God': a classy black-and-white Marilyn Monroe-esque pose of Carpenter holding a man's arm.
It's a tale as old as time (or at least the internet): a pop starlet comes crashing into our collective consciousness, producing catchy but non-memorable songs and we scratch our heads, trying to work out what her secret sauce is. We did it to Miley Cyrus (I endured her tongue-twerking 2014 Bangerz tour as a support worker accompanying a fan), Tay Tay and Rihanna. Carpenter is the latest incarnation, and it's no mystery what part of her strategic brand is selling (her first Man's Best Friend album cover might give you a clue). Yet, we discuss ...
Some argue the cover, and by extension, Carpenter's brand identity, is 'secretly satirical'. Others have suggested her secret sauce is 'comedy'.
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Her recently released single Manchild is hanging on the pointy end of the Billboard 100 charts (No. 2 at the time of writing) and, sure, it's catchy. Some lyrics are funny ('Why so sexy if so dumb? And how survive the Earth so long?') But let's not kid ourselves or ignore the Daisy Dukes (very short cut-off jeans) in the Manchild video: sex is still the main brand pillar, and it's getting old.
I just learnt that Carpenter is a Disney graduate, which makes sense; I should have picked it. This is a classic brand evolution playbook: somewhere in Hollywood there's a seedy PR dude ripe for a #metoo exposé after years of ushering Disney princesses out of the castle and into the red-light district.
Love her or hate her, right-wing commentator Candace Owens nailed it when she said of that album cover: 'If she had wanted to be controversial, she'd have kept her clothes on, gotten married and had some kids on the cover of her album, like she just had a nice family shot.'
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