With glitter and dancing galore, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” tour made for an electrifying pop music concert. As my first concert ever, (unless you count the “Yo Gabba Gabba!” concert I went to when I was 4 years old) I was not disappointed in the slightest by Carpenter’s performance.
I went with a friend to the third night of her Los Angeles segment of the tour, which took place in the Crypto.com Arena. Though it was a sold-out show, meaning about 20,000 fans were also in attendance that night, there were no issues with getting into the concert or finding our seats. The merch lines moved fast and had the perfect items that fit the vintage aesthetic her concert was aiming for. Since I spent all my money on the actual concert, I did not buy anything, but wanted a keychain ($10) of a license plate saying “Sabrina” with the concert’s location and a red heart that was unfortunately sold out.
The concert began with a cartoon video of Carpenter getting ready for “The Short n’ Sweet Show,” with a vintage animation style that was absolutely charming. After Carpenter got stage, she sang one of her most popular songs, “Taste,” an energetic and catchy way to start the show. She along with a handful of male and female dancers had choreography that alternated between simple, flowy movements and complex, technical dances which was satisfying to watch. From their facial expressions and body language alone, especially during the song “Good Graces,” it was obvious they were very passionate about the show while simultaneously having fun performing. The dancing was one of my favorite aspects of the concert because every sequence performed matched the storyline of a song perfectly, it was like a music video for each song coming to life.
The stage of the show depicts a two story house with the audience being able to see the interior of it and all its different rooms. The choreographers did a good job at utilizing every part of the set, from dancers dancing on the stairs to Carpenter singing “opposite” in a prop bathroom wall mirror, with a camera in it showing the audience her face and singing.
After a few of her more upbeat hit songs, Carpenter slowed it down to only her on stage performing “Slim Pickins” alone and “Tornado Warnings” with one other dancer. As a big fan of the latter, it was amazing seeing her sing the song live as her voice seemed to carry so much more depth and emotion in person. Though it was not as elaborate as the other numbers in her concert, this song was definitely one of my favorite parts.
One thing I was disappointed in was that she cut the song “decode” short, including only the chorus of the song. I understand that the song was from “emails i can’t send” and not the album she was actually going on tour for, but it still caught me off guard when I saw it was put on the setlist yet cut short.
Carpenter wore three different outfits for the show, from a bodysuit with a babydoll dress to a jumpsuit to a two-piece. All of her outfits stood out for their glitter and the fact that she could debut in different styles or colors, increased the audiences’ anticipation about what color outfit she was going to wear that day. During the brief intermissions where she was changing outfits, commercials in the same retro aesthetic as her introduction played, which had fun easter eggs and nods to her different songs.
The songs on Carpenter’s setlist ranged from her super popular, upbeat songs like “Juno,” to slower and more emotional tracks like “Don’t Smile,” having a song that could satisfy any pop music fan. As someone who likes a mix of dance music and ballads, this diversity made me a big fan of her setlist decisions. Many of her songs on the setlist required a higher pitch, such as “Manchild,” but she sang a lot of them with a lower key to maintain her voice throughout her tour. However, I had no issue with this decision as her lower tone was still super talented and when she actually used a higher note in songs, including “Nonsense,” she hit the octave perfectly.
For every show, Carpenter plays a game of spin the bottle with numbers one through four, and a surprise song plays based off of the number that it lands on. I really enjoyed this addition to the show as it gives each performance its own originality and creative aspect. The surprise song she performed for the night I went to was “Go Go Juice,” which was actually the song I wanted her to play as it is a super fun and catchy song that fit the vibe of her concert perfectly.
I loved Carpenter’s confidence and professional yet fun stage presence throughout the entire performance. She was very interactive with the audience and spoke to them as if they were her friends. She even did a contest claiming that she sings on the side of the stage that is louder, prompting the audience to cheer and sing more.
The “Short n’ Sweet” concert made for a sensational first concert and set the bar really high for whichever concert I go to next. I would give it a 5/5 stars and am definitely going to try snatching tickets for her “Man’s Best Friend” concert if she decides to perform for that album in 2026.
