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Her first appearance on the Coachella stage was only two years ago – and yet it feels as if Sabrina Carpenter has lived a dozen pop careers since then.
The version of Carpenter, who delivered unique, completely uninhibited viral “nonsense” outros at her shows, seems a far cry from the Grammy-winning global phenomenon she has since become. But her past was always part of her development. “Coachella, I’ll see you back here when I’m headlining,” Carpenter said in the outro of her early-night set in 2024. She kept her word with an electric headlining performance on the Coachella main stage Friday night.
The set was an intense, dramatic homage to Hollywood and California. Carpenter took the stage in a vintage car that was featured in the film noir intro. Will Ferrell, Sam Elliott and Corey Fogelmanis appeared as special guests – and in the middle of “Juno” Samuel L. Jackson’s voice spoke up: “Now Sabrina, finish the motherfucking song.”
Hollywood tribute on the main stage
She packed 20 songs into the show, including the live premieres of “When Did You Get Hot,” “Sugar Talking” and “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” from “Man’s Best Friend,” as well as the limited bonus track “Such a Funny Way.”
The film theme ran consistently throughout the entire performance: in “Feather” – with a burlesque set – there were references to Kool & the Gang’s “Hollywood Swinging” and Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana”. On “Go Go Juice,” she seemed to quote “Cell Block Tango” from “Chicago,” “When Did You Get Hot” borrowed from “Some Like It Hot,” and “Busy Woman” gave a nod toward “The Rocky Horror Show.” Even their catwalk was reminiscent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Midway through the set, Susan Sarandon took the spotlight for an extended monologue, delivered from a car on the festival grounds. With a mix of wistfulness and uncanny intensity, she reflected on youth, courage and ambition – all qualities Carpenter possesses in abundance.
A year on a world tour
Carpenter has been going full throttle since “Espresso”. She toured the world with her “Short n’ Sweet” tour for over a year. The tour – initially designed around the 2024 album “Short n’ Sweet”, then expanded to include the 2025 album “Man’s Best Friend” – included 72 dates. Each show was an elaborate production – a huge house that doubled as a television studio – but above all, their personal playground.
When she returned to the stage for the 2026 Grammy Awards, Carpenter transformed the room into SC Airlines, where hits took off and any luggage that might have spoiled the fun was checked at the gate. At Coachella, she created a wonderland of her own with Sabrinawood. The stage design interwoven elements of Los Angeles with the desert in which her audience stood. This created a mesmerizing grounding effect that captivated the crowd of thousands to their every move – just as a blockbuster performance should.
Seven months of preparation
Ahead of the festival, Carpenter previewed the set in conversation with Marc Jacobs for Perfect. “It’s the most ambitious show I’ve ever done,” she said. “This is probably the first time I’ve really had the time to sit down and talk about a show while I’m still putting it together. Most of the time you’re thrown into physical rehearsals very quickly, but this time we started this process about seven months ago. It’s been a long journey. It’s going to be very special.”
When she released “Espresso” just before her 2024 Coachella performance, Carpenter knew exactly what would captivate everyone about it. “It was really exciting that the song had so much personality from start to finish because those are the songs that are really, really fun live with an audience,” she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe at the time. “These are the songs that people – even if they don’t know my music or me at all – can just listen to and walk away with a much better sense of my humor.”
The crowd that had gathered in their thousands on Friday evening knew every word. Carpenter had Coachella firmly in her grasp for the entire duration of her set. This was exactly what she had wanted from the start. It was just a matter of time. “Two years ago I wanted to release a song before Coachella, and now I think you know the fucking words,” she said before launching into “Espresso.”
Do it as long as you can
“I just do things, get excited about them, and then move on,” Carpenter told Rolling Stone last year. “Not to be dramatic, but what can I do while my legs still cooperate? I’m flexible, so let’s use that. My head is clear, so we write. I’m trying not to get sad about the fact that nothing lasts forever, but honestly, it’s such a wonderful time right now. I want to enjoy it to the fullest and keep creating things as long as I feel that way.”
