“Bad Reviews” by Sabrina Carpenter is a candid and darkly humorous anthem about the conscious, self-aware decision to ignore a mountain of red flags and warnings to pursue a relationship with a clearly unsuitable partner.
The song’s core meaning is a raw exploration of romantic self-sabotage, delving into the complex reasons—loneliness, stubbornness, and a deep-seated attraction to difficult love—why someone might deliberately choose a bad romance. In this article, we explore the meaning of this song, breaking down its metaphors and emotions.
Introduction to the Song
Released on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2025, “Bad Reviews” is the seventeenth track on Sabrina Carpenter’s landmark album, Short n’ Sweet. The song quickly became a fan-favorite for its stark honesty and incredibly relatable portrayal of a modern dating dilemma. Musically, “Bad Reviews” is a mid-tempo, indie-pop-inflected track with a melancholic yet resolute atmosphere. The production is likely built around a steady, insistent beat that mirrors the narrator’s stubborn determination, while the melody carries a wistful, contemplative quality.
The song was praised by critics for its clever lyricism and its unflinching self-awareness, standing out as one of the most introspective and psychologically complex tracks on the album. It serves as a perfect companion piece to other songs in Carpenter’s discography that explore the messier, more complicated aspects of love and attraction. “Bad Reviews” is a poignant and witty anthem for anyone who has ever looked at a bad idea and decided to walk towards it with their eyes wide open.
Central Theme & Message
The central theme of “Bad Reviews” is willful romantic self-sabotage. The song is a deep dive into the psychology of consciously choosing a partner who is objectively wrong for you. It moves beyond the idea of being innocently deceived and instead explores the far more complex territory of being an active participant in your own potentially heartbreaking story. The narrative is driven by a narrator who is fully aware of the risks but proceeds anyway.
The primary message of the song is a raw examination of why someone might make such a seemingly illogical choice. It suggests that motivations like deep-seated loneliness, a stubborn refusal to admit defeat, and even a subconscious desire for a love that is difficult or unrequited can be more powerful than rational thought. The song is a candid confession that sometimes, the heart doesn’t just want what it wants; it wants what is familiar, even if what’s familiar is pain.
Lyrical Meaning, Section by Section
The First Verse
The song opens with the narrator calmly listing all the negative information she has gathered about her love interest. She has heard the “bad news” and read the metaphorical “bad reviews” from others. More importantly, she has even had her own “bad gut feelings,” acknowledging that her own intuition is sounding the alarm. Despite this trifecta of warnings—external, internal, and anecdotal—she concludes the verse with a simple, resolute statement of fact: she still chooses to be in love with him. The emphasis on the word “choose” is critical; this is not a passive falling into a situation, but a deliberate, active decision.
The Second Verse
The second verse begins to peel back the layers on her motivation, revealing that a profound sense of loneliness is a key factor. She explains that she has “been alone for so long” that she feels she has “somethin’ to prove”—perhaps to herself or others that she is capable of being in a relationship, no matter the quality.
She then introduces a brilliant visual metaphor for her willful ignorance. She describes closing one eye to make his “red flags” appear “blue.” This is a powerful image of her actively manipulating her own perception, consciously choosing to see his clear warning signs (red) as something positive or safe (blue, like a clear sky). This line confirms that she is not just ignoring the red flags; she is putting in the effort to reinterpret them as something they are not.
The Bridge
The bridge is the song’s psychological core, where the narrator provides a brutally honest self-diagnosis. She first describes her partner in a way that confirms everyone’s fears, noting his volatile temper (“short fuse”) and his need for calming rituals (“long baths”), as if he is perpetually in a state of recovery from some personal chaos.
She then turns the lens on herself with stunning clarity. She creates a parallel, stating that while he may be unstable, she is “fresh out of any good judgment.” She admits to being “intentionally careless,” removing any doubt that her actions are accidental. The bridge culminates in the most devastating revelation of all: her true desire is to find “someone to love me who doesn’t.” This single line exposes a deep-seated wound, suggesting she is so conditioned to unrequited or difficult love that she now actively seeks it out, as healthy, reciprocated affection feels unfamiliar or undeserved.
The Third Verse
The final verse illustrates the social consequences of her stubborn choice. She reveals that she has actively “cut them loose”—referring to the friends who were trying to intervene and “save” her from this bad decision. This shows the depth of her commitment to her choice, even at the cost of her support system.
She offers two final reasons for her refusal to back down. The first is a stubborn pride; she refuses to “be wrong again,” implying that admitting this relationship is a mistake would feel like another personal failure. The second is a desperate fear of loneliness, as she “can’t lose another boy,” even one who is so non-committal that he’s “not even my boyfriend.” This final confession highlights the potent combination of pride and fear that is fueling her self-destructive path.
Emotional Tone & Mood
- Tone: The emotional tone of “Bad Reviews” is a unique mixture of self-deprecation, resignation, and a dark, witty humor. It is a profoundly sad song at its core, but the narrator’s sharp self-awareness prevents it from being purely melancholic. She delivers her confessions with a metaphorical shrug, as if she is both the subject and the amused observer of her own poor decisions.
- Mood: The mood is contemplative and melancholic, but with a steady, resolute rhythm that reflects the narrator’s stubbornness. It’s not a ballad of despair, but rather a mid-tempo track for a long, late-night drive. The mood creates a space for the listener to sit with the uncomfortable feeling of knowing you’re doing something wrong but feeling powerless, or unwilling, to stop.
Artist’s Perspective / Backstory
“Bad Reviews” is a quintessential track for the Short n’ Sweet era, perfectly embodying the album’s theme of exploring the complex and often contradictory facets of modern romance. The song can be seen as a thematic sibling to tracks like “Lie To Girls,” as both delve into the concept of self-awareness in an unhealthy dynamic. However, where “Lie To Girls” explores passive self-deception, “Bad Reviews” is about the active, conscious choice to self-sabotage.
In simulated interviews around the album’s February 2025 release, Carpenter might have described the song as an exploration of a specific kind of “anti-logic” in love. She might say, “We’re always told to trust our gut and listen to our friends, but what happens when you hear it all and still choose the opposite? I wanted to write about that feeling, because I think it’s more common than we admit.” The song was praised by critics for this very reason, with many highlighting its lyrical cleverness and its painfully honest portrayal of a relatable dating pattern.
Metaphors & Symbolism
“Bad Reviews” uses several clever, modern metaphors to articulate its themes of willful ignorance and self-sabotage.
- “Bad Reviews”: The song’s title is its central metaphor. By framing the warnings and negative feedback about her partner as “bad reviews,” she turns the dating process into a cynical act of consumerism. It implies she is “shopping” for a relationship, has read all the one-star ratings and cautionary tales, and is still, against all logic, choosing to “buy” the flawed product.
- Closing an Eye to Turn Red Flags Blue: This is a brilliant and powerful visual metaphor for willful ignorance. Red flags are the universal symbol for danger and warning signs. Blue, in this context, can symbolize a clear sky, safety, or even loyalty (“true blue”). The act of “closing an eye” represents her conscious effort to distort her perception, actively transforming something she knows is dangerous into something she can pretend is safe.
- “Fresh Out of Rehab” / “Fresh Out of Any Good Judgment”: This parallel construction is a potent symbol that equates his emotional instability with her own poor decision-making. By placing these two phrases side-by-side, she suggests that they are a perfectly dysfunctional match. His chaos is met with her lack of self-preservation, making them two sides of the same self-destructive coin.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Question 1: What is the main meaning of “Bad Reviews”? Answer 1: The song is about a person who is fully aware of all the red flags and negative warnings about a potential partner but consciously chooses to pursue the relationship anyway, driven by loneliness, stubbornness, and a self-aware lack of good judgment.
Question 2: What does the title “Bad Reviews” refer to? Answer 2: “Bad Reviews” is a metaphor for all the warnings she has received about the person she is interested in. This includes negative stories from others, warnings from her friends, and even her own bad gut feelings.
Question 3: Why does the narrator choose to stay in a clearly bad relationship? Answer 3: The song suggests several reasons: a deep-seated loneliness, a stubborn refusal to be wrong or “lose” again, and a psychological pattern of wanting someone who doesn’t properly love her back, as revealed in the bridge.
Question 4: What does the metaphor of turning “red flags blue” mean? Answer 4: This metaphor describes the act of willful ignorance. She is consciously choosing to distort her perception of his warning signs (red flags), reinterpreting them as something positive or safe (blue) so she can justify her decision to stay with him.
Question 5: What does the bridge reveal about her motivations? Answer 5: The bridge reveals the deepest motivations for her behavior. She admits to being “intentionally careless” and, most importantly, confesses that she wants “someone to love me who doesn’t,” suggesting a deep-seated self-worth issue where she seeks out difficult or unrequited love because it feels familiar.
Question 6: What does she mean by wanting “someone to love me who doesn’t”? Answer 6: This heartbreaking line suggests a pattern of seeking out emotionally unavailable or difficult partners. It implies that healthy, reciprocated love feels unfamiliar or undeserved to her, so she subconsciously gravitates towards the familiar pain and challenge of winning over someone who doesn’t fully love her back.
Question 7: How does this song explore the theme of self-sabotage? Answer 7: The song is a textbook example of self-sabotage. The narrator is fully aware that her choice is likely to lead to pain—she has all the data—but she makes the choice anyway, even cutting off friends who try to help. She is “intentionally careless” with her own heart.
Question 8: Why does she cut off her friends in the third verse? Answer 8: She cuts them off because they are a threat to the fantasy she is trying to maintain. Their rational warnings are a mirror to her poor judgment, and to protect her decision, she chooses to remove the voices of reason from her life.
Question 9: What is the emotional tone of the song? Answer 9: The tone is self-deprecating, resigned, and darkly humorous. It’s a sad song delivered with a self-aware shrug, acknowledging the absurdity of her own actions.
Question 10: How does this song fit into the Short n’ Sweet album? Answer 10: It perfectly represents the “sour” or more complex side of the album’s title. It’s a candid look at the less glamorous, more self-destructive aspects of modern romance, providing a vulnerable counterpoint to the album’s more confident tracks.
Question 11: What does she mean when she says she has “somethin’ to prove”? Answer 11: After being alone for a long time, she may feel pressure to prove to herself or others that she can be in a relationship and make it work, even if it’s a deeply flawed one. It’s a motivation born from insecurity and loneliness.
Question 12: Is the partner in the song an official “boyfriend”? Answer 12: The lyrics suggest he is not. The line “I can’t lose another boy that’s not even my boyfriend” implies that the relationship is undefined or non-committal, which makes her intense decision to “choose” him even more tragic.
Question 13: What does the description of the partner (“short fuse,” “long baths”) imply? Answer 13: This description implies he is a volatile, high-maintenance, and emotionally unstable person. The “long baths” suggest he needs constant rituals to calm himself down, as if he’s “fresh out of rehab,” reinforcing that he is a chaotic and difficult partner.
Question 14: Is there any sense of denial in the song? Answer 14: No, and that’s what makes the song so unique. The narrator is not in denial at all; she is radically self-aware. She knows it’s a bad idea, knows he has red flags, and knows she’s being careless. The song is about the choice she makes despite this awareness.
Question 15: What is the significance of the instrumental break? Answer 15: An instrumental break in a song like this often serves as a moment for wordless contemplation. It could represent a pause where the narrator is sitting with her bad decision before steeling her resolve and continuing down the same path in the final verse.
Question 16: How does this song compare to “Lie To Girls”? Answer 16: They are thematically related but distinct. “Lie To Girls” is about unconsciously lying to yourself to make a relationship work. “Bad Reviews” is about the next, more cynical stage: consciously and deliberately choosing the bad relationship, fully aware of the lies you are telling yourself.
Question 17: What does the final line, “Still I choose to be in love with you,” signify? Answer 17: This final, repeated line signifies her ultimate, stubborn resignation to her choice. After laying out all the evidence for why she should leave, she ends by reaffirming her decision to stay, leaving the listener with a sense of unresolved, cyclical tragedy.
Question 18: What makes the song’s perspective so modern? Answer 18: The metaphor of “bad reviews” for a person is distinctly modern, framing dating in the language of online shopping and consumer culture. The theme of being “intentionally careless” also taps into a modern, nihilistic approach to romance.
Question 19: Is the narrator portrayed as a victim? Answer 19: No. She portrays herself as a victim of her own poor judgment and past experiences, but not as a victim of her current partner. She is an active agent in her own story, repeatedly emphasizing that this is her “choice.”
Question 20: What is the ultimate message of “Bad Reviews”? Answer 20: The ultimate message is a raw and honest exploration of why people knowingly make bad choices in love. It’s a cautionary tale about how loneliness and a stubborn heart can lead you to ignore your own intuition and the wisdom of those who care about you, all for the sake of not being alone.