On September 23rd, Sabrina Carpenter initiated her first-ever arena tour kicking off the performance of her newest album “Short n’ Sweet” in Columbus, Ohio. Creating what many fans online have titled a “sleepover,” Carpenter’s show outline, ranging from niche set designs to amusing audience interactions, perfectly encompasses the essence of her sixth studio album and embraces the newest trend toward a “pop renaissance,” a movement claiming that real pop artists are finally making a comeback. Here is everything you need to know for a “Taste” of the “Short n’ Sweet” extravaganza:
Mise-En-Scene
Carpenter’s stage layout for the current tour has gained plenty of traction, with many fans praising the artist for her uniqueness and creativity. Revealed in many social media posts, including Carpenter’s own, the “Short n’ Sweet” set design consists of a main stage connected to a heart-shaped conversation pit by a small runway, similar to Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour.” Specifically, the area that has gained the most traction is the primary stage, in which a structure mimicking a house (including everything from a bathroom to makeup vanities) is featured.
The tour’s thought-provoking set design is not the only topic of conversation regarding the artist’s overall mise-en-scene, however; Carpenter’s various outfits have also been praised online by both fans and critics. According to Aol, throughout the show’s duration, the performer changes clothes a total of three times, with each look additionally being altered at least once through the addition of jackets and babydoll dresses, for example. The singer’s first outfit is revealed by her opening of a bedazzled towel originally wrapped around her torso, demonstrating a sparkly and colorful bodysuit underneath. As the act progresses, Carpenter is zipped into a lace babydoll dress before changing into a black bodysuit at the start of the hit song “Feather.” After a jacket addition to the second outfit, Carpenter changes one final time into a high-necked top with a long skirt, which later is dropped to reveal a shorter, matching skirt underneath.
Setlist
Although having a total of six albums, Carpenter only included songs from her two most recent in the setlist: “Short n’ Sweet” and “emails I can’t send.” As stated in Elle’s article, considering the tour is entirely dedicated to her newest album, all of “Short n’ Sweet” is included in the setlist. However, off of “emails I can’t send,” Carpenter only sings eight of the album’s total 17 songs, including hits such as “because I liked a boy” and “Nonsense” among the limited selection.
To many fans’ surprise, according to Elle, Carpenter removed her famous “Nonsense” outros from the song’s end, in which the artist used to customize a concluding verse dedicated to the location of her performances. Nevertheless, replacing the “Nonsense” marvel, Carpenter included a section in the show where a game of “spin the bottle” is mimicked in the stage’s conversation pit. Depending on which number the bottle lands on (ranging from 1-4), the singer performs a cover of other artists’ songs. For the opening night in Columbus, Carpenter sang ABBA’s “Mamma Mia,” a worldwide favorite.
Audience Engagement
Sabrina Carpenter’s personality is renowned as witty and sarcastic, so, of course, her shows would be incomplete without included humor. As shown by The Columbus Dispatch, prior to performing the song “Juno,” in which the lyric “want to try out my fuzzy pink handcuffs” is featured, Carpenter shares an interaction with a male fan in the audience, complementing their looks and concluding the conversation by handing them a pair of pink, fuzzy handcuffs.
Lastly, in order to conclude the spectacular “Short n’ Sweet” shows, as described by UPROXX, Sabrina Carpenter pre-recorded various farewell videos to display as fans exit the arena, including humorous comments such as “I love singing” and “Hope you had a great night…Was that sincere?”
It is undeniable that Sabrina Carpenter is marking herself as the world’s next biggest pop-star. The effort and dedication applied in every aspect of her “Short n’ Sweet” show, ranging from mise-en-scene to comedy, will solidify her amongst big name artists such as Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo.