# Tears (Sabrina Carpenter song)
"Tears" is a song recorded by American singer [Sabrina Carpenter](https://www.edgepedia.org/sabrina-carpenter), released on August 29, 2025 through [Island Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/island-records) as the second single from her seventh studio album, *Man's Best Friend*[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/) • [2](https://elgatonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Final-September-Issue-2025.pdf). It is a disco-inflected comedy song in which the narrator is aroused by a man's basic competence: assembling an IKEA chair, doing the dishes, and communicating[3](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/15/mans-best-friend-review-sabrina-carpenter). Released alongside the album, it debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, Carpenter's fifth top-10 single on that chart, and peaked at number three on the UK Official Singles Chart[4](https://lyricsweb.com/song/sabrina-carpenter/sabrina-carpenter-tears) • [5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/sabrina-carpenter-tears/). Its music video, a homage to *The Rocky Horror Picture Show* starring [Colman Domingo](https://www.edgepedia.org/colman-domingo), was directed by Bardia Zeinali[6](https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/sabrina-carpenter-colman-domingo-tears-mans-best-friend-rocky-horror-20250902.html) • [7](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a65934282/sabrina-carpenter-tears-lyrics-meaning-explained/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Sabrina Carpenter, *Man's Best Friend*, her seventh studio album[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/) • [2](https://elgatonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Final-September-Issue-2025.pdf) |
| Release | August 29, 2025, Island Records; catalog number USUV72503402[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/) • [5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/sabrina-carpenter-tears/) |
| Writers / producers | Written by Carpenter, Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff, and John Ryan; co-produced by Carpenter, Antonoff, and Ryan[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/) |
| US chart peak | Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, Carpenter's fifth top-10 single[4](https://lyricsweb.com/song/sabrina-carpenter/sabrina-carpenter-tears) |
| UK chart peaks | Number 3 on the Official Singles Chart, number 2 on the Official Streaming Chart and the Official Singles Chart Update, number 1 on the Official Video Streaming Chart[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/sabrina-carpenter-tears/) |
| Music video | Directed by Bardia Zeinali, starring Colman Domingo, released August 29, 2025[6](https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/sabrina-carpenter-colman-domingo-tears-mans-best-friend-rocky-horror-20250902.html) |
| Recognition | "Manchild", not "Tears", received the Song of the Year nomination at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards[8](https://live.grammy.com/awards/68th-annual-grammy-awards-2025/) • [24](https://www.grammy.com/news/2026-grammys-nominations-revealed/) |
## Release and production
"Tears" arrived with *Man's Best Friend* on August 29, 2025, following the June lead single "Manchild"[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/) • [9](https://apnews.com/article/1f3bd6c87b64bc3329e7e7c94f034083). Carpenter wrote the song with her frequent collaborators Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff, and John Ryan, and co-produced it with Antonoff and Ryan[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/). The official audio upload credits Serban Ghenea with mixing, Nathan Dantzler with mastering, and Jeff Gunnell among the recording engineers[10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjOhnPD_RXo).
Allen, who co-wrote every track on Carpenter's two recent albums *Short n' Sweet* and *Man's Best Friend*, won the [Songwriter](https://www.edgepedia.org/songwriter) of the Year Grammy in 2025[11](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/in-the-studio-ive-had-a-few-moments-where-men-seem-to-be-shocked-if-i-know-how-to-do-a-certain-thing-like-comping-my-own-vocal-yes-i-can-do-that-sabrina-carpenter-songwriter-amy-allen-on-the-challenges-faced-by-women-in-the-music-industry).
## Lyrics and sound
The chorus carries the song's central joke: "I get wet at the thought of you / Being a responsible guy / Treating me like you're supposed to do / Tears run down my thighs"[12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9vuCByb6js). The verses escalate the gag by treating mundane domestic competence as foreplay, with lines such as "Baby just do the dishes / I'll give you what you want," "A little communication yes that's my ideal foreplay," and "Assemble a chair from IKEA / I'm like (uhhh)"[12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9vuCByb6js). [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker) described the single as raunchy and disco-inflected, noting that [Carpenter](https://www.edgepedia.org/carpenter) sings about getting unbearably turned on when her man capably assembles an IKEA chair[3](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/15/mans-best-friend-review-sabrina-carpenter). [The Philadelphia Inquirer](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-philadelphia-inquirer) characterized it as a Donna Summer homage in which only a practical and polite man can bring the narrator ultimate sexual satisfaction[6](https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/sabrina-carpenter-colman-domingo-tears-mans-best-friend-rocky-horror-20250902.html).
The production leans on retro disco. Pitchfork's review placed the track's "fidgety strain of nu-disco" in the two-year window between [Diana Ross](https://www.edgepedia.org/diana-ross)'s *Diana* and Evelyn "Champagne" King's *Get Loose*[13](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sabrina-carpenter-mans-best-friend/). The Daily Bruin called it the most upbeat number on the album, anchored in a glossy disco soundscape with verses reminiscent of [Elvis Presley](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-presley)'s "A Little Less Conversation"[14](https://dailybruin.com/2025/08/29/album-review-sabrina-carpenters-mans-best-friend-lacks-deft-lyricism-fresh-perspectives), and [The Irish Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-irish-times) described it as a "retro disco workout"[15](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2025/09/03/sabrina-carpenter-mans-best-friend-review-after-espresso-this-decaf-album-desperately-lacks-buzz/).
## Music video
The official video was released on August 29, 2025 in tandem with the album, directed by Bardia Zeinali and co-starring Colman Domingo, the Oscar-nominated actor and [West Philadelphia](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-philadelphia) native[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/) • [6](https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/sabrina-carpenter-colman-domingo-tears-mans-best-friend-rocky-horror-20250902.html). It pays homage to the 1974 cult classic *The Rocky Horror Picture Show*: Carpenter's character wakes up dazed in a field after a car crash, approaches a spooky house, and finds Domingo in drag as a character inspired by [Tim Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-curry)'s Frank-N-Furter, with drag queens and disembodied hands appearing throughout[6](https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/sabrina-carpenter-colman-domingo-tears-mans-best-friend-rocky-horror-20250902.html) • [7](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a65934282/sabrina-carpenter-tears-lyrics-meaning-explained/). The Inquirer noted that the video's story has little connection to the song's lyrics[6](https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/sabrina-carpenter-colman-domingo-tears-mans-best-friend-rocky-horror-20250902.html).
On September 1, 2025, shortly after release, the original ending was replaced with an alternate ending, teased on YouTube's Instagram story with the caption "New Endings Loading". Universal Music Canada reported that the video had amassed nearly 60 million views, and the official YouTube upload had drawn more than 86 million views by the following year[16](https://los40.com/2025/09/02/sabrina-carpenter-y-el-final-alternativo-del-videoclip-de-tears-fanservice-a-la-altura-de-las-mejores-peliculas-de-terror/) • [1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/) • [12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9vuCByb6js).
## Chart performance
The song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, Carpenter's fifth top-10 single on that chart, entering the chart on September 13, 2025 and spending 20 weeks there through January 24, 2026[4](https://lyricsweb.com/song/sabrina-carpenter/sabrina-carpenter-tears) • [17](https://www.chartreign.com/song/90035?chart=billboard-hot-100). On Spotify it debuted at number one on the global chart with over 9 million streams[18](https://www.bccsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/04-Gerber-vs-Jacaranda-FM-Adjudication.pdf).
In the United Kingdom the song first charted on the Official Singles Chart on September 11, 2025, peaked at number 3, and spent 16 weeks on that chart; it reached number 2 on both the Official Streaming Chart and the Official Singles Chart Update, number 3 on the Official Singles Sales Chart, and number 2 on the Official Vinyl Singles Chart[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/sabrina-carpenter-tears/). The video charted first among the song's components, peaking at number 1 on the Official Video Streaming Chart during a four-week run[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/sabrina-carpenter-tears/). In South Africa the song reached number 11 on radio airplay charts in November 2025 and number 4 on the 5FM [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40)[18](https://www.bccsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/04-Gerber-vs-Jacaranda-FM-Adjudication.pdf).
## Live performances and reception
Carpenter performed "Tears" live for the first time at the 2025 [MTV Video Music Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/mtv-video-music-awards) at [UBS Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/ubs-arena) on Long Island on September 7, 2025[19](https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-sabrina-carpenter-perform-tears-at-2025-mtv-vmas/). That night she won the awards for Best Pop Artist and Best Album[20](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/mtv-vmas-2025-doja-cat-goes-back-to-the-80s-with-a-keytar-and-kenny-g-as-yungblud-steven-tyler-joe-perry-and-nuno-bettencourt-perform-a-tribute-to-ozzy-osbourne). Her staging, entered through a sewer and backed by trans dancers and drag queens, carried a pro-LGBTQ+ message with banners reading "Love each other" and "Protect the dolls"[21](https://www.huffingtonpost.es/life/cultura/el-guino-britney-spears-sabrina-carpenter-mtv-vma-con-chapuzon-incluido.html).
Critical responses to the single varied. Adam White of The Independent counted "Manchild" and "Tears" among the album's more rote singles, a little too imitative of *Short n' Sweet*, but judged both rescued by their videos, describing the "Tears" clip as "a Rocky Horror spoof filled with evil drag queens, cornfield stripper poles, and Colman Domingo in fishnets"[22](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/sabrina-carpenter-review-mans-best-friend-b2816415.html). Reviewers on the aggregator Chorus.Reviews ranked it among the album's best songs, praising its disco hook and double entendres[23](https://chorus.reviews/albums/sabrina-carpenter-mans-best-friend). The song received a nomination for Song of the Year at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards[8](https://live.grammy.com/awards/68th-annual-grammy-awards-2025/).
## References
1. [Two-Time Grammy Award-Winning Global Superstar Sabrina Carpenter Releases New Album Man's Best Friend, Universal Music Canada (August 29, 2025)](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/08/29/two-time-grammy-award-winning-global-superstar-sabrina-carpenter-releases-new-album-mans-best-friend/)
2. [Carpenter releases new album Man's Best Friend, El Gato News (September 26, 2025)](https://elgatonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Final-September-Issue-2025.pdf)
3. [Sabrina Carpenter's "Man's Best Friend," Reviewed, The New Yorker (September 15, 2025)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/15/mans-best-friend-review-sabrina-carpenter)
4. [Tears by Sabrina Carpenter Lyrics, Meaning & Story, LyricsWeb](https://lyricsweb.com/song/sabrina-carpenter/sabrina-carpenter-tears)
5. [TEARS – Sabrina Carpenter, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/sabrina-carpenter-tears/)
6. [Colman Domingo and Sabrina Carpenter meet in a 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'-inspired video for 'Tears', The Philadelphia Inquirer (September 2, 2025)](https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/sabrina-carpenter-colman-domingo-tears-mans-best-friend-rocky-horror-20250902.html)
7. [The Meaning of Sabrina Carpenter's 'Tears' Lyrics, Explained, Elle](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a65934282/sabrina-carpenter-tears-lyrics-meaning-explained/)
8. [68th Annual Grammy Awards, Recording Academy](https://live.grammy.com/awards/68th-annual-grammy-awards-2025/)
9. [Music Review: Sabrina Carpenter's 'Man's Best Friend' is a sincere but still sexy breakup album, AP News (August 29, 2025)](https://apnews.com/article/1f3bd6c87b64bc3329e7e7c94f034083)
10. [Tears (audio) credits, official YouTube channel of Sabrina Carpenter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjOhnPD_RXo)
11. [Sabrina Carpenter songwriter Amy Allen on the challenges faced by women in the music industry, MusicRadar (October 14, 2025)](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/in-the-studio-ive-had-a-few-moments-where-men-seem-to-be-shocked-if-i-know-how-to-do-a-certain-thing-like-comping-my-own-vocal-yes-i-can-do-that-sabrina-carpenter-songwriter-amy-allen-on-the-challenges-faced-by-women-in-the-music-industry)
12. [Sabrina Carpenter – Tears (Official Video), official YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9vuCByb6js)
13. [Sabrina Carpenter: Man's Best Friend Album Review, Pitchfork (September 3, 2025)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sabrina-carpenter-mans-best-friend/)
14. [Album review: Sabrina Carpenter's "Man's Best Friend" lacks deft lyricism, fresh perspectives, Daily Bruin (August 29, 2025)](https://dailybruin.com/2025/08/29/album-review-sabrina-carpenters-mans-best-friend-lacks-deft-lyricism-fresh-perspectives)
15. [Sabrina Carpenter: Man's Best Friend review, The Irish Times (September 3, 2025)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2025/09/03/sabrina-carpenter-mans-best-friend-review-after-espresso-this-decaf-album-desperately-lacks-buzz/)
16. [Sabrina Carpenter y el final alternativo del videoclip de 'Tears', LOS40 (September 2, 2025)](https://los40.com/2025/09/02/sabrina-carpenter-y-el-final-alternativo-del-videoclip-de-tears-fanservice-a-la-altura-de-las-mejores-peliculas-de-terror/)
17. [Tears – Sabrina Carpenter, Billboard Hot 100 history, ChartReign](https://www.chartreign.com/song/90035?chart=billboard-hot-100)
18. [Gerber vs Jacaranda FM adjudication, BCCSA (2026)](https://www.bccsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/04-Gerber-vs-Jacaranda-FM-Adjudication.pdf)
19. [Watch Sabrina Carpenter Perform "Tears" at 2025 MTV VMAs, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-sabrina-carpenter-perform-tears-at-2025-mtv-vmas/)
20. [MTV VMAs 2025 coverage, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/mtv-vmas-2025-doja-cat-goes-back-to-the-80s-with-a-keytar-and-kenny-g-as-yungblud-steven-tyler-joe-perry-and-nuno-bettencourt-perform-a-tribute-to-ozzy-osbourne)
21. [El guiño a Britney Spears de Sabrina Carpenter en los MTV VMA, HuffPost España](https://www.huffingtonpost.es/life/cultura/el-guino-britney-spears-sabrina-carpenter-mtv-vma-con-chapuzon-incluido.html)
22. [Sabrina Carpenter: Man's Best Friend review, The Independent (August 29, 2025)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/sabrina-carpenter-review-mans-best-friend-b2816415.html)
23. [Man's Best Friend review scores, Chorus.Reviews](https://chorus.reviews/albums/sabrina-carpenter-mans-best-friend)
24. [2026 GRAMMY AWARDS® NOMINATIONS REVEALED: A CELEBRATION OF A LANDMARK YEAR IN MUSIC, Grammy](https://www.grammy.com/news/2026-grammys-nominations-revealed/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Pop songs › Pop songs of the 2020s › 2024 and 2025 songs › 2025 pop songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license