The Sabrina Carpenter Revolution
design: Miranda Fournier
How this pop star stole the media’s hearts.
by AVA PETTIGREW ★ JUNE 23, 2024
Growing up on Girl Meets World, Ms. Sabrina Carpenter has always been a familiar face for us. We now follow her journey from a Disney child actress to a big-time celebrity, just as we did with icons like Zendaya, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus. Over the past eight years, Sabrina has released five studio albums, with hits such as “Nonsense,” “Feather,” and the anticipated song of the summer, “Espresso.” Sabrina Carpenter has had an incredible year, thriving on and off the stage. From her performances opening for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour, to her Coachella debut, Sabrina's star power is undeniable. Her name has been buzzing in the media, not just for her musical talent, but also for her high-profile relationship with Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan and other celebrity collaborations. Fans are obsessing over her new single "Please Please Please" released on June 6th and are eager for her upcoming album "Short n’ Sweet" set to drop this August and tour in September.
Want to know more about Sabrina’s success and what is next for this popstar? Read on for an inside look at her exciting journey and what she has planned for the future.
Live TV Performances
To end off 2023, Sabrina performed her hits “Feather” and “Nonsense” at New Year's Rockin’ Eve, the most-watched NYE program averaging 8.3 million viewers. In Time Square, Sabrina was glowing in her bright white corset, GoGo boots, long lace gloves, and a white fur coat while making her entrance. This glamorous, chic white look was serving major winter vibes, I’d even go as far as to say, ice princess. As 2023 progressed, we saw Carpenter thrive in the music industry with a little help from Ms. Taylor Swift. Opening for the one and only Eras Tour skyrocketed coverage of Sabrina’s live performances. On TikTok and Instagram, videos of her live performances on tour showcased her incredible stage presence and vocals. So, when her single “Espresso” was released the same week as Swift’s THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, Swifties along with Sabrina’s fans rushed to stream it. On TikTok, one girl phrased the releases as Espresso and Depresso, she was right. On May 18, Sabrina was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing “Espresso,” “Feather,” and “Nonsense” while also appearing in a Scooby-Doo-themed comedy skit as Daphne. Now, as her new single “Please Please Please” continues to trend upward on the charts, we can expect to see Sabrina’s success grow even more this summer, and maybe even another TV performance soon.
TikTok Phenomenon
Like many others, I started following Sabrina and her music once her “Nonsense” outros popped up on my FYP. If you didn’t know, Sabrina customized clever, sexy outros to her hit song “Nonsense” incorporating the name of the city she was in while touring. Following her world tour, Sabrina continued to grow, receiving coverage of her music while opening for 26 shows of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and performing “White Horse” and “Coney Island” as duet surprise songs. Gaining momentum from the enormous Swifties fan base helped Carpenter broaden her following and opportunities. In May alone, she made her Coachella and Saturday Night Live debut. At Coachella, TikTok was RAVING about how smitten Barry Keoghan was watching his girlfriend perform, especially with her referencing the infamous Saltburn bathtub scene in her “Nonsense” outro. Following her recent SNL performance of Feather, the “I’m on SNL, and you’re not!” trend has taken off on TikTok with over 48,000 posts dissing ex-boyfriends, best friends, you name it. Every time I scroll on TikTok, I see and hear a little bit of Ms. Sabrina Carpenter.
Celebrity Collaborations
There’s no denying that Sabrina Carpenter is on her rise to becoming the It Girl of the pop industry with the help of some major celebrities. This spring, we saw Carpenter in her Skims campaign. If you haven’t seen the feminine, flirty shoot, give it a look, she’s stunning. In her new single “Please Please Please,” Sabrina, the brilliant woman she is, cast Barry as her co-star to highlight the transparency of their relationship. In other words, it was the hottest hard launch of the year. Sabrina made sure we saw Barry in her artistic vision, not as the weird guy in Saltburn doing some off-putting things in bathtubs and graves. After I listened to the song for the first time, I was curious to see who produced it. To my surprise, it is the talented Jack Antonoff who is known for his work with Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Lorde, and recently Kendrick Lamar. Emma Chamberlain also gave us an easter egg to this song back at Coachella. On the Coachella live stream, the camera cuts to Chamberlain holding up a poster saying “Please Please Please play Espresso.” How genius? She knows us so well, because who doesn’t adore Emma? It looks like Sabrina has learned a lot from Swift and her easter eggs, sending Swifties into a craze trying to decipher them. As Sabrina Carpenter continues to grow, I cannot wait to see what other celebs she teams up with to fill my feed.