Sabrina Carpenter brought music from her latest album, Man’s Best Friend, to Saturday Night Live, pulling double duty as both host and musical guest on Oct. 18.
The 26-year-old pop star delivered two standout performances from her seventh studio album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in September.
For her first performance, Carpenter appeared in a dimly lit bedroom set, wearing nothing but a white T-shirt and pink SNL-branded underwear. She danced around the stage while performing Man’s Best Friend’s lead single “Manchild,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in late June.
Later in the episode, Carpenter returned in a bedazzled white karate gi and black belt for a dojo-themed performance of the reggae-pop track “Nobody’s Son.” During the high-energy number, she dropped two F-bombs live on air while smashing wooden boards and knocking down fellow black belts. The expletives aired uncensored during the NBC live telecast and Peacock’s simulcast but were muted during the West Coast broadcast and in versions later posted online, including on YouTube, according to the New York Post.
While this marked her SNL hosting debut, Carpenter previously served as musical guest in May 2024 and made an appearance during the SNL50 special in February, where she duetted with Paul Simon and co-starred in a “Domingo” sketch alongside Pedro Pascal.
Carpenter is currently back on her Short n’ Sweet Tour — now doubling as promotion for Man’s Best Friend — and is set to return to Los Angeles for six new dates, wrapping on Nov. 23.
Watch Carpenter’s SNL performances below. Find all the ways to watch the full episode here.
