On Sept. 23, in Columbus, Ohio, Sabrina Carpenter rose to the stage to begin her 38-stop tour, celebrating her new album, “Short n’ Sweet.”
Carpenter released her album on Aug. 23, following hits such as “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” both of which went #3 and #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. The album received positive reviews from critics and fans. Pitchfork and Teen Vogue rated the album an 8.0 out of 10.
“I love Sabrina Carpenter,” junior Amelie Nasrallah said. “I used to listen to her earlier albums with my sister, and now I think it’s great that she’s gotten so famous.”
Carpenter announced her tour on June 20, featuring opening acts Amaarae, Griff and Declan McKenna in North America and Rachel Chinouriri to join her in Europe.
The setlist included songs from her fifth studio album “Emails I Can’t Send,” such as “Nonsense,” “Feather” and “because i liked a boy,” as well as all 12 tracks from “Short n’ Sweet.”
In addition to Carpenter’s original songs, each show the singer plays a game of “Spin the Bottle” and a surprise cover song is landed on. So far, Carpenter has performed “Mamma Mia” by ABBA, “That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain and “Kiss Me” by Six Pence None the Richer.
Carpenter has been making waves with her fashion style all year, and her tour is no exception. Her outfits have included pastel babydoll dresses, sparkly bodysuits, matching halter tops and mini skirts, a custom Toronto Maple Leafs jersey and more.
“I wish I had tickets, it looks like so much fun,” junior Kylie Croasdale said. “All her outfits were so glittery, and I love all her music, it looks great.”
Over the past year, Carpenter faced backlash following two of her music videos. The singer is known for her suggestive themes and lyrics, and many fans were not pleased with the music video for her single “Feather.” The singer shot the film in a Catholic Church, which sparked outrage among many and led to the demotion of a priest.
Following the release of the music video for the third single of her new album, “Taste,” some fans were upset by a scene featuring Carpenter kissing her female costar Jenna Ortega. The plot centers around Carpenter and Ortega dating the same man. At the end of the music video, Ortega kills him, and the two laugh as they leave his funeral. A parental and viewer advisory warning was placed at the beginning of the video stating “explicit content and graphic violence.”
“I don’t think it was that controversial,” junior Taylor Negrin said. “I think music artists should be able to do what they want with their life. Including having whoever and doing whatever they want in their music videos.”
