Is 'Manchild' Sabrina Carpenter’s most personal single yet? Here’s what fans think

Sabrina Carpenter might have just saved our summer with a teaser for her new single, 'Manchild', and we couldn’t be more excited.

We’ve all been holding out for that one perfect song of the summer, and while the season might be coming to a close, Carpenter has turned the heat all the way up. After last year's bangers like 'Espresso' and 'Please, Please, Please', we already know 'Manchild' is going to live rent-free in our heads (and playlists) for the foreseeable future.

The singer dropped a flirty little teaser from the upcoming music video, featuring her looking like a literal daydream in micro jean shorts, a tied-up white shirt, and her signature sky-high heels. In the clip, she’s seen cheekily trying to hitch a ride, giving us all the retro rom-com energy we never knew we needed.

The title alone was enough to send the internet into a spiral. Manchild isn’t exactly a new term—it’s been part of the girl-group vocabulary for years. You know the type: emotionally unavailable, allergic to accountability, and forever convinced that “it was just a joke” is a valid excuse for bad behaviour. If that’s the kind of energy Carpenter’s tapping into, consider us all ears.

Naturally, fans wasted no time drawing connections to her most recent ex, actor Barry Keoghan. The two were reportedly together from late 2023 until the end of 2024, before calling it quits due to long-distance schedules. And when Carpenter dropped the teaser with the caption “this one’s about you!!”, the fan theories practically wrote themselves.

But there’s more: the B-side of the single is hilariously titled “Inside of your head when you’ve just won an argument with a man”. We don’t know if it’s a spoken word piece, an interlude, or just an eternal mood—but either way, we’re sold.

So, who’s it really about? Maybe Barry Keoghan; maybe all the emotionally unavailable men haunting our group chats. Either way, Carpenter's not naming names—and we love a woman who lets the lyrics do the talking.

Lead image: Getty Images 

Also read: 'Mine', at last—Taylor Swift officially owns her first six albums

Also read: “I was really focused on emitting pure love,” Indian-American singer Raveena on her latest album