Sabrina Carpenter tones down headline show – but she’s still at her best
Sabrina Carpenter brought her signature sugary pop sound to a crowd of 65,000 at London’s BST Festival on Saturday night.
The 26-year-old has built a brand around sexual confidence and racy lyrics, which were noticeably toned down as the US singer embraced a more family friendly show in London’s Hyde Park.
At one point a graphic flashed up on screen advising “parental discretion” as Carpenter launched into album track Bed Chem. She ditched her usual sexually suggestive performance on song Juno and instead used a cannon to fire t-shirts into the crowd.
Despite these changes she was still at her best, storming through a 17-song tracklist that comprised her biggest hits, charming the crowd with her Hollywood smile and incredibly bouncy hair.
Carpenter writes music for women of the dating app generation and her songs are filled with the type of anecdotes you’ve heard over Friday night drinks with the girls – from the anger over not getting closure to the fear of a man embarrassing you when they meet all your friends.
Perhaps that is what makes her so relatable. She’s a talented singer and dancer who shot to fame on the Disney Channel, but she could also so easily be your mate who brings over ice cream when you’re going through a break-up.
Her ability to switch from a sassy upbeat dance number to a vulnerable, acoustic solo performance is also impressive.
She’s an accomplished performer for someone whose breakout hit, Espresso, is little over a year old. But much to the surprise of many, she’s been in this game for a very long time.
The Pennsylvania-born star began posting videos of herself on YouTube at the age of 10 and came third in a competition to find the next Miley Cyrus a year later.
After starring in a few small acting roles, the singer became a bona fide Disney star in 2013 when she was cast in TV series Girl Meets World.
She began releasing music the following year and has released six albums to date, but has only recently received global recognition.
Carpenter became the first female artist to hold both the number one and number two positions on the UK singles chart for three consecutive weeks in 2024 and she also became the first artist in 71 years to spend 20 weeks at the top of the charts with Espresso.
From watching her live, it appears she’s been waiting patiently for this moment for quite some time, to perform on the biggest stages around the world and to thousands of fans – something she references a few times between songs.
She told the crowd she was “so, so grateful” that the audience had chosen to spend their Saturday evening with her, gushing that “London is so fun and there’s so much to do here”.
Much of the cheekiness she has built her brand on was weaved in throughout her performance, including 1950s style infomercials advertising sprays that erase no-good men from your life and mattresses that are perfect for “activities”.
But aside from a racy rendition of Bed Chem and a snippet of Pony by Ginuine (one for the Magic Mike fans) the show was more PG than expected.
Perhaps it was due to the large volume of young children stood in the crowd amongst us Gen Zs and millennials.
Or perhaps the pop princess needs a break from making headlines.
The first was back in March, when her Brit Awards opening performance was criticised for being too racy for pre-watershed television.
Media watchdog Ofcom received more than 800 complaints, with the majority relating to Carpenter’s choreography with dancers dressed in Beefeater outfits.
Then in June this year she was once again under fire for sharing artwork for her new album, Man’s Best Friend, which showed her on her hands and knees in a short dress whilst an anonymous man in a suit grabbed her hair.
Carpenter then revealed alternative artwork she said was “approved by God” and shows her holding the arm of a suited man.
Criticism for the original artwork came from charities including Glasgow Women’s Aid which supports victims of domestic abuse. It said Carpenter’s album cover was “regressive” and “promotes an element of violence and control”.
Heather Binning of Women’s Rights Network, also told the BBC that violence against women should “never be used as satire”.
But what Saturday’s performance showed is that Carpenter is a true professional, someone who can easily adapt both her style and setlist to cater to different audiences.
She ended the show perfectly, taking to a crane that panned across the huge mass of people, thrilling fans and giving them the opportunity for a close-up video to post on their social media.
“Damn nobody showed up,” she joked, adding: “London thank you so much for having us tonight, this has to be one of the biggest shows I’ve played in my entire life.”
She wrapped up with Espresso, marking the end of the show by downing some in martini-form from a crystal glass.
There were a few mutters from the crowd, who perhaps were expecting a special guest or two, but it was clear from the offset that this would be a defining moment in the popstar’s career and one where she only wants the spotlight on her.
