Before she became a household name, Sabrina Carpenter was a little girl from Pennsylvania who filmed YouTube videos of herself singing in her childhood home. Now, she’s embarking on the biggest tour of her life with the success of her latest album, Short n’ Sweet. Here’s a breakdown of all the incredible performances and what you should expect when attending!
6 p.m. – Entering the Venue
Fans patiently wait for Carpenter’s tour to start at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The crowd is filled with people wearing pastel colors, miniskirts, babydoll dresses, crop tops, kiss-stained T-shirts, and lots of sequins.
7 p.m. – Amaarae Takes Stage
Amaarae performs a few songs, such as “Angels in Tibet,” “Reckless & Sweet,” and “SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY,” from her albums Fountain Baby and The Angel You Don’t Know. She goes on to cover Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” to close out her hour-long opening act. She’s opening the first 12 dates of Carpenter’s tour, with her next stop being Toronto on Sept. 25.
ACT I
8:25 p.m. – Act I Intro Video Titled “The Short n’ Sweet Show”
Before Carpenter makes her debut, a short video of an expanding heart graphic appears on the massive screens of the stage. After completely covering the surface, it transitions into a cartoony version of Carpenter walking down the street. Her cartoon counterpart steps into an elevator, and the video transitions once more, this time to a recording of the real Sabrina Carpenter in a bathtub. She quickly hops out and starts getting ready for the show, causing the video to end and Carpenter to take the stage.
8:30 p.m. – Sabrina Carpenter Opens Tour with “Taste”
Strutting down center stage in a sparkling bath towel, Carpenter waves to the thousands of fans in attendance at her first show on her Short n’ Sweet Tour. She throws off her towel, revealing a hot pink mini-dress, and sings while her background dancers wheel full-sized mirrors encircling her.
8:36 p.m. – “Good Graces”
Now wearing a light-pink nightgown, Carpenter interacts more with her set design, an all-white interior of a house, and dances with a group of all-women background dancers.
8:40 p.m. – “Slim Pickins”
The entire stage is lit up in red as Carpenter officially welcomes her fans to her first show of the tour. She shouts out Amaarae and thanks fans for being so supportive before wandering and spinning around the set by herself as she sings “Slim Pickins.”
8:43 p.m. – “Tornado Warnings”
The stage turns blue as Carpenter sings most of “Tornado Warnings” while lounging on a couch in her fake home. A man comes to join her midway through the performance. He grabs a chair and sits stoic while she pours her heart out to him for the remainder of the song.
8:47 p.m. – “Lie To Girls”
Carpenter walks up the stairs to the house’s second story as it returns to its original white color. She is given a guitar and strums it while performing “Lie To Girls.” Her background dancers return to the stage and hug each other on the third floor.
8:50 p.m. – “Decode”
Carpenter lets out all her emotions on one of the balconies while singing a shortened version of this melancholy song.
8:52 p.m. – “Bed Chem”
The stage turns dark pink, and Carpenter is seen lying on a bed with some of her dancers. She sings and does a choreographed dance with them before a curtain comes down, signaling the beginning of Act II.
Act II
8:55 p.m. – Act II Intro Video Titled “Sabrina After Dark”
A video plays while Carpenter gets ready for the second section of her tour. It features the names of everyone in her band and all her backup singers.
8:58 p.m. – “Feather”
Carpenter enters to perform her hit “Feather” while donning a bedazzled black jumpsuit with a light blue boa. She carelessly dances and skips around the stage to the upbeat rhythm and words of the song.
9:02 p.m. – “Fast Times”
The stage turns bright orange as she sits at a piano with a man in a tuxedo. He pushes her all around the stage after she decides to climb the piano and lay on its lid. She eventually hops off and joins center stage to dance with the others and runs to a heart-shaped platform to interact with fans.
9:03 p.m. – “Read Your Mind”
Carpenter addresses the audience and says, “Ohio, I want you to grab your friends by the hand, and I want you to dance as much as you can for this next song, okay?” The dancers pull out hand fans and find a partner to dance with as Carpenter walks around the stage.
9:06 p.m. – “Sharpest Tool”
Starting this song in the bathroom of the house, Carpenter sings “Sharpest Tool” as the colors of the house alternate between dark blue and yellow. Thousands of people in the audience turn on the flashlight on their phones and yell the lyrics of the song back to Carpenter.
9:08 p.m. – “opposite”
Looking directly into the camera, face inches away from the lens, Carpenter belts out this next song. She leaves the bathroom and prepares to go straight into the next song.
9:10 p.m. – “because I liked a boy”
The house once again returns to its original color as Sabrina Carpenter sings this classic. Throughout the song, she points her microphone at the audience to get them to sing along with her while she sits on the floor and dramatically whips her hair around.
9:16 p.m. – “Coincidence”
Carpenter sits on the stage and spends the next two minutes talking to some of her fans and telling them a story, perfectly setting up her next song. Her dancers bring out pillows and join her by sitting in a circle on stage. She proceeds to teach the audience a part of “Coincidence” that she wants them to sing back to her.
9:20 p.m. – Cover of “Mamma Mia” by ABBA
While still sitting on their pillows, Carpenter explains she’ll play Spin the Bottle at each show, and whichever song it lands on, she’ll perform a cover of it. Her very first surprise cover song is “Mamma Mia” by ABBA, which she seems to be thrilled about as her dancers hype her up in the background.
9:23 p.m. – “Nonsense”
After spending the majority of the last three songs on the walkway through the crowd or the heart-shaped platform surrounded by audience members, Carpenter makes her way back to the house. At the end of “Nonsense,” a technical error occurs, preventing her from giving one of her iconic and unique outros before being lowered into the floor.
Act III
9:26 p.m. – Act III Recorded Video Titled “Don’t Touch That Dial!”
A vintage commercial and clip from a TV show play as Carpenter prepares for the final act of her tour. It alludes that the next song is “Dumb & Poetic.”
9:28 p.m. – “Dumb & Poetic”
The lights are dimmed, and the entire stage has a sparkling effect as a giant curtain covers the entire house. Carpenter steps out in a long, gray dress and sings the heartbreaking song in the center of the stage as the audience sings along with her.
9:32 p.m. – “Juno”
A quick change happens before Carpenter starts her next song when two of her dancers rip off the bottom portion of her previous outfit, revealing a miniskirt and boots that match her top. Carpenter goes all out during her performance of “Juno” by dancing all around the stage and being lifted high up in the air while standing on an elevating platform.
9:37 p.m. – “Please Please Please”
The house makes a reappearance, and Carpenter struts all around like she owns the place. Toward the end, she gets the audience to finish singing the song with her before going into the final song of the third act.
9:41 p.m. – “Don’t Smile”
While lying on the stage, Carpenter finishes this section strongly while the TV-styled credits roll on the big screen behind her. The stage fades to black as all the lights turn off.
Encore
9:45 p.m. – “Espresso”
Carpenter returns to the stage one final time with a large cup of espresso. She finishes off her tour with a high-energy performance of her biggest hit and thanks her fans once more for supporting her.
From electrifying performances to heartfelt moments, Sabrina Carpenter truly brought her journey to life on stage. Make sure you catch one of her performances before it’s too late. You won’t regret it!
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