The deafening roar of the audience numbed, the lights darkened, and “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross began to play. Fans in the sold-out Little Caesars Arena shot from their seats and eagerly awaited her arrival, until finally the billboard-like curtains lifted to reveal a penthouse set. Sabrina Carpenter appeared dressed in a towel. Underneath was the first of her sparkly ensembles, this one a short pink bodysuit, as the opening song “Taste” began blasting through the arena. Many of the fans also dressed accordingly, some with outfits previously worn by Carpenter, others wearing similarly styled outfits.
After Carpenter sang “Good Graces,” she gave the audience a short introduction to the tour. “The most important part of this show is you guys,” Carpenter yelled to her audience. During the concert, the background of the penthouse transitioned to fit the songs many times. With “Tornado Warnings,” which contains the iconic lyric “that’s why I’m lying to my therapist,” it was a rainy sunset to fit the vulnerable and sensitive song.
Instead of a rainy sunset, the background for “Lie to Girls” was like looking through a huge bright white window pane with colorful clouds. Carpenter retrieved a white guitar to sing, adding to the monochrome vibe of the setting and the song. Her backup dancers stole the show until Carpenter joined them on the staircase, fueling the song with all of her rage and heartfelt sadness emanating in her tone.
Carpenter initially rose to fame from the Disney show called “Girl Meets World,” which was a reboot from the 1993 Disney show “Boy Meets World.” Carpenter starred as the best friend to the main character and stayed on all three seasons the show ran. In 2016, she acted in another Disney reboot called “Adventures in Babysitting” as one of the main characters alongside another beloved Disney star, Sofia Carson. During this time, she put out a few albums with popular songs that jumped started her singing career. Finally, in 2023 she caught her big break by opening for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.” Her name was out now and began shooting up through the charts, with number one hits “Espresso,” “Nonsense,” “Please Please Please,” and “Feather,” all of which she played in her tour.
When “Bad Chem” blasted, the crowd became ecstatic, screaming their excitement for her iconic “camaraderie” song. Carpenter sang this in a white circular bed with her dancers, at first with closed curtains with a video projecting them onto the side screens mainly just lying down, then they opened and she danced on the bed with her backup dancers.
In the concert, there were many mini ads and short videos sprinkled in styled to look like it was from the 1950s-1990s, like “Sabrina After Dark,” a short video styled after a late night talk show. Sticking to a 1970s- 1990s theme for “Feather,” “Fast Times,” and “Read your Mind,” which are some of her popular songs, Carpenter’s outfit was changed to a black skin-tight outfit with feathers like something Madonna would wear and her backup dancers were dressed for a cocktail party, feather fans and all. She encouraged Detroit to belt out the lyrics with her.
Carpenter had a very interactive penthouse that even had a ‘bathroom’ where she sang “Sharpest Tool” from the toilet and had everyone turning on their flashlights and illuminating the whole arena. There was also a huge white stairway and a fireplace where she sang “Slim Pickins” while lying before the fireplace.
Part of the set was a heart that extended off the stage where she sang the end of “because I liked a boy,” and her irony filled song “Coincidence,” and told everyone to put all their “anger from home” into the “na na na na.” The audience screamed their parts, giving it their all.
While inside the heart, as it had a big built-in couch, she did spin the bottle.
This is another little bit of her show where she spins a bottle and she sings a cover of a song based on where the bottle lands. But instead of choosing the one it landed on, she chose number three’s “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer, which is what she wanted to sing instead, saying it was her “game” so she could make the rules.
One of her hits she sang was “Nonsense,” where Carpenter normally makes up a new outro for each show, but instead as she didn’t do a special ending to the song as she had in the past, disappointing thousands of fans. Carpenter dashed off stage to do an outfit change and a video rolled that explained this let down, saying there were “technical difficulties.” There really weren’t, as it was a skit they do every show, and it’s a mystery as to why she didn’t do a special end. Carpenter came out in her last outfit which was a long baby blue skirt and top with hundreds of sparkles and sang “Dumb & Poetic,” with the ever-changing background looking like diamonds in the sky. Thousands of people put their flashlights on for this one as well.
She also wore this outfit, but took the long skirt off to reveal a matching mini skirt and performed “Juno.” Carpenter does a bit for this one, signaling out men and saying she’s going to marry them. Detroit’s man was named Dakota. She even gave her iconic pink handcuffs to him. She had a lot of choreography for this song, including a scandalous move for a specific part of the song, “have you ever tried this one?” She ended strong with “Please Please Please,” “Don’t Smile,” and, her most famous song, “Espresso.” There was even a credit roll.
With many coordinated dances, all in heels, it was very interactive, almost like watching a movie, as Carpenter included an opening video and end credits. While not super family friendly, it’s a great concert to see with friends for a fun night out.
