| "Tears" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Sabrina Carpenter | ||||
| from the album Man's Best Friend | ||||
| Released | August 29, 2025 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Sabrina Carpenter singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Tears" on YouTube | ||||
"Tears" is a song by American singer Sabrina Carpenter. It was released on August 29, 2025, through Island Records as the second single from Carpenter's seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend .
Following the release of the lead single "Manchild" on June 5, 2025, Carpenter began revealing song titles from her upcoming seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend , with the help of fans and social media users on July 23. On August 1, she unveiled the title of the album's second track, "Tears". [1] The reveal was accompanied by a photo of Carpenter standing next to a puppy lying on a white chair, with the word "Tears" displayed. [2] A week before the album's release, Carpenter announced that "Tears" would be released as the second single alongside the album on August 29. [3] Before its official release, the song was reported to be a fan favorite at album listening parties. [4]
"Tears" is a pop, [5] disco-pop, [6] disco-R&B, [7] nu-disco, [8] and disco [9] [10] track with influence from Donna Summer and Baccara's "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (1977). [6] [9] [10] Carpenter sings about being unexpectedly turned on by a man's polite behavior, more by his manners than his actual words. In the chorus, she makes it clear that these subtle gestures are enough to bring her to climax. [5]
In the United Kingdom, "Tears" debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart dated September 5, 2025, as the week's highest new entry. With other Man's Best Friend tracks "Manchild" and "My Man on Willpower" occupying positions in the top ten, at numbers four and seven respectively, Carpenter charted three singles in the UK top ten simultaneously for the second time in her career. [11] . The song also debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it Carpenter's fifth top 10 single, as well as debuting in the top 40 of the Billboard Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay charts.
The music video for the song was teased twice; the first, accompanying the song's announcement, promised "straight-up cinema". In it, the imagery suggested country noir—Carpenter wears a cowboy hat in a fog-covered hay field, not far from a crashed, smoldering car, and gazes toward an abandoned house. [12] The screen then cuts to black, displaying the title "Tears" in a blood-red font, with a blood droplet in the 'A'. [13] She captioned that teaser, "Tears video. 8/29... just one more week until Man's Best Friend!" [14] Another teaser, released on August 27, 2025, shows Carpenter walking through a hallway with red walls, as hands with long nails reach out toward her. [15]
The music video was released alongside the song and the album on August 29, 2025. [16] It stars American actor Colman Domingo in drag, [17] and is primarily inspired by the 1970s cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. [18] It was filmed over two days on August 11 and 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California and directed by Bardia Zeinali, who had directed the video for Carpenter's song "Please Please Please" the previous year. [19] The farmhouse exterior scenes were shot on August 12, 2025, at the Golden Oak Ranch. [20] On September 1, 2025, shortly after the release of the video, the original ending was replaced with an alternate ending, teased on YouTube's Instagram story with the caption "New Endings Loading". The following day, on September 2, 2025, a second alternate ending was released. A third alternate ending was later released on September 3, 2025. The original ending was reinstated on September 4, 2025.
The video opens with an eerie nighttime scene. Carpenter, following a car accident with her boyfriend, wakes up dazed in a field. Hearing a creepy laugh from a nearby abandoned farmhouse, she investigates. After hearing the magic word "shikitah", she enters the front parlor and finds herself surrounded by odd artifacts and a player piano. She is enticed by Domingo, who pushes her into the backroom, filled with drag queens. Carpenter is stripped down to her white lingerie by hands coming out of the walls and is handed a "Tears" can bearing an uncanny resemblance to a can of Coke. She performs a pole dance in a cornfield as Domingo voyeurs from afar, has a dance break with Domingo in the back alley of a retro American city street, and joins the drag troupe to perform the burlesque finale.
At the end of the video, Carpenter is tossed out of the house, only to find her boyfriend, who has regained consciousness, coming towards her. After this point, one of four endings plays out. [21]
With a puzzled look, Carpenter tells the boyfriend that she thought he had died in the accident because "someone has to die every video." She then apologizes before hurling one of her heels at him, piercing his chest and killing him. As he crumples to the ground, she gets up to leave, saying matter-of-factly, "You have to give the people what they want."
As the boyfriend is almost struck by a nearby lightning bolt, he jumps, startled. Carpenter then warns him to move over to avoid a falling tree, but he does not hear her as the tree crushes him to death. Carpenter then laments to herself, "I told him to move over," and gets up to leave.
Carpenter and the boyfriend suddenly see a nearby grand piano falling from the sky, but the boyfriend does not have time to run before the piano suddenly crushes him from above as a bewildered Carpenter stares in shock.
In this ending, Carpenter does not see the boyfriend or his car in front of her. Hearing ghostly rustling, she calls out to the empty field, only to find no response. Concluding that the boyfriend has left without waiting for her, a disillusioned Carpenter leaves, badmouthing him as "typical, stupid, useless." Some time later, the boyfriend, wearing red lingerie, opens the door from inside the house and calls out to Carpenter, only to find that she has left. Dejected, he walks back inside and shuts the door.
Carpenter performed "Tears" live for the first time at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. The performance began with Carpenter emerging from a manhole before joining her background dancers, including RuPaul's Drag Race contestants Denali, Laganja Estranja, Lexi Love, Symone and Willam, and ballroom dancer Honey Balenciaga. Some of the dancers carried signs with messages such as "Protect Trans Rights", "Support Drag", and "Love Each Other". The performance ended with Carpenter and her dancers being drenched in fake rain. Critics compared the performance to Britney Spears on her Dream Within a Dream Tour, where she also was drenched in rain during the encore. [22] [23]
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Argentina Airplay (Monitor Latino) [24] | 14 |
| Australia (ARIA) [25] | 3 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [26] | 6 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [27] | 24 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [28] | 48 |
| Bolivia Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [29] | 11 |
| Brazil (Brasil Hot 100) [30] | 28 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [31] | 4 |
| Canada CHR/Top 40 ( Billboard ) [32] | 37 |
| Central America Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [33] | 9 |
| Chile Airplay (Monitor Latino) [34] | 12 |
| CIS Airplay (TopHit) [35] | 45 |
| Colombia Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [36] | 12 |
| Costa Rica Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [37] | 9 |
| Croatia International Airplay (Top lista) [38] | 22 |
| Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) [39] | 41 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten) [40] | 18 |
| Ecuador Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [41] | 5 |
| Estonia Airplay (TopHit) [42] | 13 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [43] | 17 |
| France (SNEP) [44] | 50 |
| Germany (GfK) [45] | 20 |
| Global 200 ( Billboard ) [46] | 2 |
| Greece International (IFPI) [47] | 2 |
| Guatemala Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [48] | 4 |
| Hong Kong ( Billboard ) [49] | 23 |
| Iceland (Tónlistinn) [50] | 7 |
| Ireland (IRMA) [51] | 3 |
| Israel International Airplay (Media Forest) [52] | 1 |
| Italy (FIMI) [53] | 63 |
| Japan (Japan Hot 100) [54] | 77 |
| Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) [55] | 73 |
| Latvia Streaming (LaIPA) [56] | 13 |
| Lithuania (AGATA) [57] | 20 |
| Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) [58] | 7 |
| Luxembourg ( Billboard ) [59] | 10 |
| Mexico Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [60] | 15 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [61] | 29 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) [62] | 13 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [63] | 5 |
| Nigeria (TurnTable Top 100) [64] | 86 |
| Norway (IFPI Norge) [65] | 9 |
| Panama Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [66] | 14 |
| Paraguay Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [67] | 11 |
| Philippines (Philippines Hot 100) [68] | 18 |
| Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) [69] | 29 |
| Portugal (AFP) [70] | 3 |
| Russia Airplay (TopHit) [71] | 62 |
| Singapore (RIAS) [72] | 13 |
| Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100) [73] | 43 |
| South Korea BGM (Circle) [74] | 117 |
| South Korea Download (Circle) [75] | 142 |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) [76] | 35 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [77] | 9 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [78] | 10 |
| United Arab Emirates (IFPI) [79] | 17 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [80] | 3 |
| Uruguay Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [81] | 17 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [82] | 3 |
| US Adult Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [83] | 23 |
| US Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [84] | 14 |
| Venezuela Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [85] | 16 |
| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 2, 2025 | Contemporary hit radio | [86] | |
| Italy | September 11, 2025 | Radio airplay | Island Italy | [87] |
| Various | December 5, 2025 | 7-inch single | Island | [88] |