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Sabrina Carpenter dropped her seventh album, "Man's Best Friend," on Friday – approximately one year after her Grammy Award winning album
"I was just going through a lot and I was like, 'well, I could either, you know, sit and sulk about it, or I could write about it,' and it doesn't mean I have to put any of this out," Carpenter told "CBS Mornings" about creating the album.
In an exclusive interview, the superstar spoke about her new music, songwriting process and the viral debate around her original album cover.
For "Man's Best Friend," Carpenter worked with familiar collaborators, including Jack Antonoff, John Ryan and Amy Allen.
"It felt like a band in a lot of ways. Like, someone's on the drums, and someone's over here playing the synth and then we're on the tambourine. … Then I'm cutting vocals. We're all doing gang vocals together," she said regarding the album.
Carpenter described having "many different processes" while writing her songs – but highlighted lyrics and concepts come first.
"When I started, you know, becoming more sexual as a person, I think it's just something that's a part of life. You want to write about it," she said. "I didn't realize it was as taboo of a topic until I started writing about it more freely."
The Grammy Award winner gave insight into a few of the songs on the new album.
For "Never Getting Laid," she revealed, "that one was a bit of a turning point for me because I'm so used to writing bitter songs and this one felt like being bitter but with a lot of sweetness."
She said "Don't Worry, I'll Make You Worry" "sounds like a threat, but it's, like, it's all just said with a wink. It's said with, like, a pat on the back. I think that is the way that I communicate."
While fans speculate who her music is about, Carpenter maintained she wouldn't say.
"It's more fun for people to picture in their head than the person I picture in my head, I think," Carpenter said.
"I feel pretty transparent going into any of my relationships, that I write songs and I think they're just as down for it. I think it's also, most of the time, they've been pretty flattered when I … when they get a song written about them, good or bad."
Carpenter admits that her music may not be for everyone, saying, "you don't have to like what I do. I think there's this weird misconception that every artist has to check every box for everyone to like everything about them."
She just hopes her fans she's speaking to through her music feel the connection and can relate.
"Then I'm happy," she said.
The pop star has previously said she thinks of her life and music like a movie, saying "there's like a lot of suspenseful music. There's some cliff hangers sometimes. It's truly an up-and-down."
While describing her own life as versatile, she said she's currently, "in a lovely place."
Prior to the release of her new music, a debate ensued over Carpenter's original album cover for "Man's Best Friend," shocking the singer.
"I think between me and my friends and my family and the people that I always share my music and my art with first, it was … it just wasn't even a conversation. It was just, like, it's perfect. For what the album is, it's perfect for, you know, kind of what it represents."
The cover depicted Carpenter kneeling on the ground. An individual is standing next to her with Carpenter's hand on the person's thigh as they're pulling her hair.
She said her intention was to keep the cover open to interpretation.
"My interpretation is being in on the control. Being in on your lack of control and when you want to be in control," Carpenter said. "I think as a young woman, you're just as aware of when you're in control as when you're not."
She explained the album for her was about "the humanity of allowing yourself to make those mistakes."
Carpenter said she tries to take the critical comments lightly.
"My fans that know me and know the person behind the music will look at that photo and they know exactly what it is. People that have no idea who I am absolutely look at that photo and go, like, 'where are her parents?'"
"My parents actually saw the photo and they loved it," she said.
Carpenter opened for on the Eras tour.
She's also featured on a song in , "The Life of a Showgirl," which will be released Oct. 3.
While Carpenter wouldn't reveal anything about the song, she spoke about the opportunity, saying, "I've been looking up to her (Swift) since I was, … I remember the first time I heard a song by her. I was 8 years old on the school bus, and I was … just like my life was changed."
She also expressed her excitement for Swift following the announcement of her to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, saying she wasn't surprised at how big the reaction was from fans.
"I'm just happy for them," Carpenter said.
