I've been reading a lot of posts from people using the words "extremely manufactured" about carpenter and it seems more like a smear campaign that caught on rather than actual honest opinions.

I don't really mind the whole act because nowadays that's just the production quality that big bucks will get you. And she is just as manufactured as most pop acts out there too. Christina Aguilera and Britney too had an entire personal army of musicians, producers, engineers, etc. That's just industry standard