After winning the hard-fought battle against Ticketmaster, fans finally made it to the opening night of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short ‘N Sweet Tour. The sold-out arena is overflowing with hysterical fans — also known as “Carpenters,” who are dying to get the first glimpse of the pop princess’s debut. An abundance of glitter, pink, boas, mini-skirts and chunky boots surround you as you search for your seat; no one knows what to expect. As the blonde bombshell took the stage, the night was an anticipated surprise: the visuals, the outfits, the setlist. Fans were even ahead of social media this time.
Carpenter is no stranger to the spotlight. She was a child actress on Disney Channel but has also been releasing pop music for years. Six albums later, along with her two hit singles, “Please Please Please” and “Espresso,” Carpenter finally reached popstar status and announced her first arena tour to her loyal fans — also known as “Carpenters.”
The opening night of the tour was set to be in Columbus, Ohio, which surprised several fans.
“She did mention that some of her family is from Columbus,” Mia Dillon, a sophomore fashion merchandising student, said. “Her dad and her grandparents were there, which I think also might have to do with why she chose Columbus as opening night.”
Usually, fans are bombarded with endless TikToks, Instagram reels and setlist spoilers on social media before they arrive at their show. But opening night provides an especially remarkable, surprising experience for fans who attend—no spoilers revealed
“Since this is her first arena tour, everything was pretty much new,” Bayleigh Zimmer, junior fashion merchandising student, said. “I think it being opening night made it ten times better just because I went in with no expectations.”
Carpenter opened the tour with her hit song “Taste” and proceeded to pull songs from her most recent album, along with her previous album, “Emails I Can’t Send.” Carpenter also included a surprise song segment in her show by playing a fun game of spin the bottle to land on a song she would cover.
Dillon and Zimmer both said that the “Mamma Mia” performance was one of the highlights of the entire concert, but another outstanding moment was when Carpenter performed her song “Juno.”
“I love that she used a bunch of opportunities to interact with people in the crowd,” Dillon said. “She made it feel like one big sleepover. Just very girly.”
According to House Beautiful, Carpenter’s stage décor mimics a Polly Pocket-style dollhouse with features such as a spiral staircase, a heart-shaped toilet, an intimate conversation pit and a bed where she fittingly performs her song, “Bed Chem.”
“Her entire stage looked like a dollhouse,” Zimmer said. “It gave me Barbie vibes.”
Carpenter’s coquette, hyper-feminine stage layout reflects her signature style and wardrobe, as well. Her bold makeup looks, blonde blowout, platform boots, and strapless mini dresses add to her bubbly aesthetic and complete her presence as a rising popstar.
“She’s just naturally a great performer,” Dillon said. “She’s never put on a show like this before.”
Carpenter will continue to tour the U.S. and Canada until late November; in the early spring, she’ll make her way toward Europe.
“She made it feel like she wasn’t just singing to her fans, but she was really connecting with us,” Zimmer said. “If you can go, you should definitely go.”
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