06 July 2025 (gig)
08 July 2025
Sabrina Carpenter offers easy pop charm in front of a full house at London’s Hyde Park.
For most, standing in front of 65,000 paying punters would be an overwhelming, if not impossible, task. Heck, even standing in front of 65 people at Speaker’s Corner would be about all we could manage, and even that’s a stretch.
Not so for Sabrina, though. These Sunday night festivities marked the second time in as many days that the pop star has held centre stage at the BST Festival. Whether it’s belting out hits like ‘Good Graces’ or enthusiastically bounding through the crowd, she is at home in every moment and owns the night.
At just 17 tracks long, the tour lives up to its name. It’s both short and sweet. Then again, a show doesn’t need to be long to leave a lasting impression, as Carpenter will have no problem demonstrating at this latest rendezvous.
From start to finish, the audience is treated to singalong choruses and hits galore, all mixed with the occasional poke at gender roles and the stereotypical expectations placed on women, especially blondes.
Keeping with that spirit, ‘Busy Woman’ and ‘Taste’ open proceedings with immediate punch. While ‘Busy Woman’ is an ’80s-style bop parodying the performance of being hard to get, ‘Taste’ is a gloriously snotty, sarcasm-fuelled warning to the lover of a betraying ex that she was there first.
The 26-year-old cheekily sings:
“I heard you’re back together and if that’s true, you’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you.”
The country-fied ‘Slim Pickins’ soon follows as an ode to not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. That is to say, a frustrated storyteller bemoans the lack of stand-up guys available, but nevertheless still has a certain itch to scratch, so she settles for slim pickings.
The set is very rarely down in the dumps and is packed full of bright pop anthems. Tracks like ‘Manchild’ are openly weary of their dumb lover, quipping at them all the way. ‘Please Please Please’ begs a hot-headed partner to keep it together, as the tired protagonist happily deludes herself that her judgement remains in good standing. And ‘Feather’ glides above it all, confidently striding away from a relationship wreckage.
Short n’ Sweet, which takes its name from the album of the same name, is perfect for those who love a sarcastic rebuttal or cheeky turn of phrase. Carpenter, for her part, is comfortable and confident as the night’s main attraction. She brings out the seductive choreography with ease on the likes of ‘Bed Chem’, while allowing her voice to shine through on songs like ‘Sharpest Tool’ and ‘because i liked a boy’.
On ‘Sharpest Tool’, she sits at the edge of the runway stage to deliver an intimate performance that leaves her soft vocal front and centre. ‘because i liked a boy’ then follows, allowing her to bring out the emotion in her performance. Both songs serve to showcase the musician’s excellent singing prowess.
The concert has plenty of glamour and razzmatazz to be sure, but these moments stand out as an artist showcase, on an evening where her talents could easily be underestimated, buried beneath the party pep.
That’s not to say the production doesn’t have its place. Quite the opposite, in fact. Throughout the set, songs are broken up with lovingly crafted pastiches of old-fashioned adverts and TV shows. These range from send-ups of retro home improvement ads (the kind meant for housewives) to the idyllic safety of old-school American Saturday night TV. These vignettes serve to give the performer time to set up and introduce the next number. More than that, they appear intended to contrast the perceived safety of “simpler times” with the more direct, unapologetic female performer on stage.
With her sparkly purple outfits and blonde hair, Sabrina Carpenter could certainly pass for the ideal fifties or sixties Barbie. But anyone watching this latest tour stop should be in little doubt. Some stereotypes need to die, and Carpenter is doing her best to see them buried.
The prelude to ‘Manchild’ sees a new spray invented, designed to help that messy man straighten up. ‘Bed Chem’, meanwhile, has us shopping for a new bedroom centrepiece as it helpfully reminds us that size isn’t everything.
The videos are fun and knowing, and they never feel like they’re preaching a sermon. They’re just sharing a joke amongst equally knowing friends.
While there are moments of grandeur, including the nonsense singer soaring over the crowd during ‘Don’t Smile’ and fireworks throughout, the budget has clearly been held back on special effects. Instead, it’s left to our host to bring the wow factor. But to be fair to the Grammy-nominated artist, she doesn’t have to work too hard to earn the crowd’s adulation.
At one point during a break between songs, the crowd simply screams their joy and enthusiasm at their idol, as she grins like a Cheshire cat who’s just been given all the cream, the milk, and any other dairy products she can think of. On another occasion, she uses her power to get the audience to howl like wolves, just to see if they’ll do it.
This willing subservience is at least rewarded, as Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran graces the stage to provide a joyous, singalong rendition of ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’. It’s an unexpected bonus on an already excellent showing.
For those who enjoy a sassy wordsmith unafraid to deploy a sharp, if sometimes cheesy, wit, Sabrina Carpenter is for you. Especially if you also appreciate ’80s synth sounds and country chords to go with your sardonic musings.
Although an hour and a half puts things a little short on time for a concert, even the grouchiest audience member could not claim to be underserved. Given the name of the tour, it’s no surprise that the bulk of the setlist is comprised of tracks from her sixth studio album. In truth, ‘Manchild’ could easily have fitted on Short n’ Sweet, with its ’80s vibe and irked protagonist firing off verbal volleys.
Perhaps the only sadness on an otherwise splendid night was that ‘Nonsense’ no longer comes with the tailor-made verse meant for each new city. This sadly got the boot in 2024.
Nevertheless, as Sabrina Carpenter downs her espresso martini, after being egged on by the rowdy crowd, she leaves them with one last musical shot.
It’s clear, as the fireworks pop off one last time, that London has been graced with a hitmaker at the top of her game and in the peak of her pomp. If this night’s efforts are any indication, her career will certainly be sweet, but it definitely won’t be short.
Photo credit: Jordan Hughes and Alfredo Flores
