Sabrina Carpenter Marks New Era with Album Man’s Best Friend and “Tears” Video at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

The pop star celebrated her latest release with a gothic twist — turning a Los Angeles cemetery into the stage for her musical rebirth, blending humor, spectacle, and her signature darkly comic storytelling.

Sabrina Carpenter has never been one to shy away from theatricality, but her latest celebration was something only she could pull off. On Thursday night, the 25-year-old pop sensation marked the release of her new album Man’s Best Friend and the premiere of her disco-infused single “Tears” with a party at Hollywood Forever Cemetery — the final resting place of icons including Judy Garland, Chris Cornell, and Cecil B. DeMille.

“I can’t believe I’m here right now,” Carpenter told fans in videos shared online, calling the venue one of her favorite spots. When asked why she often visits the cemetery, she clarified with a smile: “They show movies here. I used to come and watch films, and I thought this would be a really special place to bring everybody.”

The setting wasn’t just symbolic — it aligned perfectly with the recurring motif in Carpenter’s music: men meeting untimely (and often campy) deaths. “Since I’m always killing men,” she teased on stage, “it’s like a funeral, and it’s also like the birth of a new album.”

A Ghoulish Visual Storytelling Tradition

In the newly released Tears video, Carpenter emerges from a car accident that kills her boyfriend — a continuation of the narrative from her Manchild music video. Seeking refuge in a nearby home, she encounters Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, who, in drag, gives her a sultry makeover and dance break with his fellow queens before sending her back outside.

There, Carpenter discovers her boyfriend has somehow survived the crash. But not for long. “Wait, no, you died earlier I thought,” she quips. When he protests, she shrugs and delivers the punchline: “No, it’s a thing. Someone has to die in every video. I’m sorry!” Moments later, she hurls a stiletto into his chest, finishing him off. “He was a nice one too,” she laments, before moving on with a grin: “You have to give the people what they want!”

This tongue-in-cheek approach has become a Carpenter signature. From suffocating men with ties in elevators (“Feather”) to driving their cars off cliffs (“Manchild”) and orchestrating chainsaw chaos with Jenna Ortega in “Taste,” the singer has leaned into a playful brand of femme-fatale humor. Even her Please Please Please video left fans wondering if ex-boyfriend Barry Keoghan ever escaped alive.

From Short ’n’ Sweet to Man’s Best Friend

Carpenter revealed that she began working on Man’s Best Friend shortly after the release of her 2024 album Short ’n’ Sweet. Writing, she explained, has become an essential part of her daily practice.

“I was like, ‘It would be really bad if I just stopped writing,’” she said. “I think of writing as like a muscle, and it’s sort of like working it out and using it every day. For me, it was important to do that through all the highs and lows I was experiencing.”

The Hollywood Forever celebration was equal parts macabre and jubilant — a fitting reflection of Carpenter’s current artistry. With Man’s Best Friend and “Tears,” she continues to blend pop hooks with irreverent storytelling, reminding fans that in her universe, death, rebirth, and disco can all share the same stage.