Songfacts®:

• Sabrina Carpenter has built a career on songs that cleverly eviscerate unworthy boyfriends (think "Sharpest Tool," "Dumb & Poetic" and "Manchild"). But what happens when she finally encounters a decent guy, someone who says and does the right things and shows her respect? "Tears" provides the answer, and it does so without mincing words.
• In "Tears," Carpenter elevates simple, everyday gestures - doing the dishes, assembling IKEA furniture - to the level of high art. So impressive is his display of modern civility that it brings her to tears, though not in a sad, sentimental way.
  
  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
  
  In case the metaphorical subtlety eludes anyone, Carpenter is making it abundantly clear: good manners are her ultimate sexual arousal.
• Co-written with longtime collaborators John Ryan and Amy Allen, the song is a sardonic, disco-tinged tribute to contemporary chivalry, though Carpenter hasn't yet publicly unpacked the personal meaning behind it. Still, it fits neatly into the frequent use of sexual innuendo in her songwriting and performance style. From playful innuendos in tracks like "Espresso" and "Juno" to the viral, racy ad-libs during the Emails I Can't Send tour, she has always found inventive ways to blend humor and desire. On "Tears," however, the wink-and-nudge gives way to direct lines about what actually makes her heart (and other things) race.
• In the accompanying music video, Carpenter's boyfriend meets a grisly fate, flipping the song's romantic premise on its head. The video fully embraces the glorious, glittery camp of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with actor Colman Domingo in full drag. Carpenter said Domingo, who starred in the movies Rustin and Sing Sing, was her first and only choice for the role. According to Carpenter, he "was all in, came to play, and absolutely knocked it out of the park."
  
  The clip was directed by Bardia Zeinali, who shot the video for "Please Please Please" the previous year.
• Carpenter sang "Tears" at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2025, where she won for Best Pop Artist and Best Album (Short n' Sweet). For the performance, she emerged from a manhole cover and was joined by a bevy of popular drag queens on a set that evoked New York City in the '80s.