The 7 best moments from Sabrina Carpenter’s return to L.A.

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Sabrina Carpenter concluded the U.S. leg of her world tour Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. She’ll perform six sold-out shows there through November 23rd, finishing a year of touring in support of her 2024 album, ‘Short n’ Sweet’.

I saw Carpenter perform at Crypto Arena last November, shortly after her album “Short n’ Sweet” received six Grammy nominations—and ultimately won for pop vocal album and pop solo performance. She quickly followed that success with a new album, “Man’s Best Friend,” which just earned six more Grammy nominations, including bids for album, record, and song of the year.

I’ve been following Carpenter’s tour, and it’s been amazing to see her grow as a performer. It felt like a good time to check in, especially as she’s nearing the end of this leg. Though, don’t worry, she’ll be back in a big way – she’s headlining Coachella in April alongside Karol G and Justin Bieber! Here are what I thought were the seven best moments from Sunday’s show.

Looking back on a previous performance at the Lakers’ arena, Carpenter revealed things weren’t as positive as they appeared. He told the audience that a year ago, when he played the same show, he was struggling emotionally. Thankfully, he explained, that difficult time allowed him to write an entire new album that he was excited to share with them.

The song “Man’s Best Friend” was inspired by Carpenter’s split from actor Barry Keoghan, who she hints at in her song “Go Go Juice” with a reference to potentially calling an ex named Larry while intoxicated. She also shared, “Thanks for the crypto last year, it really sparked the idea for ‘Man’s Best Friend’ and everything that followed.”

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I’m really loving the new album from this pop superstar! It feels like a natural progression from their incredible success last year with ‘Short n’ Sweet,’ building on that same energy and vibe. It’s everything I hoped for and more!

Although Carpenter didn’t perform “Go Go Juice” during her Sunday set, she did play some songs from “Man’s Best Friend.” However, most of the songs she chose were from her album “Short n’ Sweet,” which is generally considered her stronger work, so fans were happy with the selection.

During the performance of “Manchild,” Carpenter and her dancers did a charming, simple line dance. The band brought a lively, funky energy to “Tears.” The highlight of the night was a surprise song, chosen randomly, called “Nobody’s Son.” It’s a new track that strongly echoes the sound of Ace of Base’s reggae-influenced music, more accurately than any other artist has in decades.

Okay, so another thing that happened during the show was hilarious and a little wild. Carpenter playfully ‘arrested’ Amber Mark, one of the opening acts, with these bright pink, fluffy handcuffs! Then, she launched into ‘Juno,’ which is already a pretty suggestive song. Apparently, she does something different during that song every night to hint at… well, let’s just say a different position, and people are posting clips of it all over TikTok. You can check it out if you’re curious!

A special mention goes to Caleb Nelson, Carpenter’s guitarist, whose incredible solo in “Juno” strongly resembled the theme song from “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

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After five years in Los Angeles, the pop-punk artist has released a fantastic new EP and is scheduled to perform at the Camp Flog Gnaw festival.

About halfway through the show, Carpenter playfully announced she was about to share some backstory nobody asked for! It turned out to be a really fun trip down memory lane, detailing all the gigs she’d done around L.A. since her Disney Channel days. It was cool seeing how far she’s come, honestly.

She started playing venues like the Roxy when she was sixteen, and eventually worked her way up to bigger places like the Wiltern and the Fonda. She even played the Greek Theatre, which she remembers as the highlight of her career.

This highlights Carpenter’s dedication to the theme of her show, set in a bachelorette pad from the late 1960s/early 1970s. Even after performing many shows, she continues to deliver her most emotionally powerful song, “Sharpest Tool,” while seated on a toilet – a striking and memorable detail.

Carpenter ended her performance with the song “Espresso,” and it still felt incredibly energetic. Despite performing it repeatedly, the song didn’t lose its impact. She sang the line, “I’m working late ’cause I’m a singer,” while confidently walking down a runway that extended into the audience. And she continues to deliver a strong performance with it.

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2025-11-17 23:33