Calling all Carpenters! I managed to get a ticket to Sabrina Carpenter’s world tour in London – and I still literally can’t believe it.
We’d be lying to ourselves if we denied the massive eye roll (whether internal or external) we give when people claim to be an original fan of an artist who ends up becoming one of the world’s most famous pop stars of our generation.
However, back in 2023, I missed the opportunity to see Sabrina for £30 at the Hammersmith Apollo because I had a 6 am start and nobody to travel home with.
I was already a huge fan of Sabrina, but I never would have predicted that just two years later, I would once again be left disappointed after failing to get tickets to the London leg of her world tour – even with two presale codes, I will add!
Against the odds, I snagged myself a ticket when Virgin Media sent me an invite for night two of the London shows news that left me collapsed in a heap on the floor by my desk.
Here’s what happened when I managed to claw myself up off the floor and make my way to the glittering lights of London’s O2…
Is it that sweet? I guess so…
Before the show, I was lucky enough to have access to the O2’s Blueroom, where they had a number of fabulous activations, my favourite being the Espresso Bar that served the biggest espresso martinis I’d ever seen.
I played it safe and opted for a standard-flavour espresso martini, although, in hindsight, I should have gone for the delicious-sounding white chocolate flavour, as by my second cocktail, I looked down and realised I had two lovely brown stains on my lemon yellow pinafore dress.
Not letting my new, hopefully not permanent, accessories get me down (I grabbed an ice cube and maniacally ‘scrubbed’ the stains before accepting that it is what it is), I made my way up to the box and tried to remain calm as the clock counted down to 8.30pm.
Colour (de)code
As any loyal Carpenter would be, one thing I was most looking forward to seeing was Sabrina’s colour choices for the evening, as well as how she was going to incorporate her love for the UK in her costumes – who can forget her legendary Beefeater outfit at the BRITs last week?
Well, I couldn’t have been more thrilled when the pint-sized pop princess opened up her bedazzled Union Jack towel to reveal her royal blue corset.
Then, later in the show, Sabrina left us all completely starstruck (like she hadn’t already) when she debuted the most glitteringly fabulous Union Jack boots!
As for her iconic Juno two-piece and floor-length gown for Dumb and Poetic, she opted for a dazzling silver shade. Was I jealous that we didn’t get to see the pink look from the night before? Maybe. So what? Sue Me! See what I did there…
Celebrity arrest
One of the most exciting parts of the evening was finding out which celebrity face would pop up when Sabrina ‘arrested’ someone before singing Juno. Night one in London it was Baby Spice, Emma Bunton whilst Janet Jackson was in the audience. Other famous faces to be met with the wrath of Sabrina’s pink furry handcuffs have previously included Millie Bobby Brown and Margaret Qualley.
© Getty ImagesI was completely shocked (and, of course, delighted) to learn it was none other than A-lister Salma Hayek for night two at the O2, and whilst her moment on the big screen was fleeting, her star power transcended the rows of hundreds of fans, and I was besotted!
Sabrina’s Juno position
Famous for her witty innuendos and hilarious play on words in her lyrics, there’s no doubt a lot of thought goes into how Sabrina can make each show unique to the city she’s playing in – and the same goes for her Juno position.
Having already honoured her adoration for all things British in her outfits, Sabrina decided to go for a position that has the nickname “the London Bridge,” which saw her singing whilst in a gymnastics move known as a “crab,” with her back arching backwards as she asked the audience the highly anticipated question: “Have you ever tried this one?”
Setlist and surprise song
Due to us being graced with the deluxe version of Short n’ Sweet just weeks ago, I thought that we may get even more songs from the album, and to put it bluntly… we did not. However, on top of the hits she did perform from Short n’ Sweet, were a few tracks from Emails I Can’t Send, which included Nonsense, Tornado Warnings, and Because I Liked A Boy, the latter of which Sabrina confessed: “I couldn’t imagine singing this to ten people, let alone 20,000.”
As for the surprise song, I’m not sure how I feel. I mean, it was pretty legendary, as she shocked the crowd with a rendition of Come On Eileen, a British classic. I think we as a country need to adopt her at this point.
That being said, I can’t help but feel I would have loved to hear one of her deluxe tracks, like Bad Reviews or 15 Minutes, especially because during night one, she sang Couldn’t Make It Any Harder as her mystery track.
Please Please Please
Whilst the night was as close to perfect as possible, one thing that threw me – and, after doing some deep diving on social media, threw a lot of Sabrina’s fans in their 20s – was just how young some of the fans were.
It became clear that I didn’t necessarily lose out on tickets to fans who, like me, resonated with the themes and feelings Sabrina has always written about – dating, relationships, and boys being one general collective nightmare when you are navigating your way through early adulthood.
But instead, to young fans who were far too young to understand those feelings, armed with their dedicated mums who thought they were buying tickets to the Eras tour round two.
I can only imagine their faces when she performed Bed Chem – if the Ofcom complaints from the BRITs are anything to go by!
I did, however, have the most phenomenal evening, from putting on my espresso martini earrings to getting my nail tech to draw freehand (!) lips on my nails ready for the night. I will, to quote our favourite pop princess, be crying because it’s over!
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