Sabrina Carpenter is preparing to unleash the “most ambitious show” she’s ever performed at Coachella. In a new interview with Marc Jacobs for Perfect, Carpenter previewed her headlining sets, scheduled for Friday, April 10 and Friday, April 17.
“It’s the most ambitious show I’ve ever done,” Carpenter said. “It’s probably the most time I’ve ever had to actually just sit down and talk about a show as I’m building it. Most of the time, you’re really quickly thrust into physical rehearsals, but this time around we started this process around seven months ago. So it’s been a long journey. It will be very special.”
Carpenter reflected on playing Coachella’s main stage previously in 2024, but said this would on another level.
“I’ve played, but not as a headliner,” she told Jacobs. “I was playing sunset, around 5.30 pm on the main stage two years ago. That was a really special day for me, the day my song ‘Espresso’ came out. I got to play that for the first time at Coachella. And now, two years later, we’re back. And I think that’s what makes this show feel really, really surreal: getting to celebrate all the songs that have come after it, and just how many lives they’ve lived since they’ve come out.”
The singer told Jacobs that she switches into pop star mode when she hits the stage, describing performing like “there’s a button.”
“I started touring when I was 16 years old, and I’ve always felt that there’s a button that turns on when you’re performing,” she explained. “And when you’re singing these songs, whether these songs be your personal stories or songs you wrote about other people, in that moment it really becomes a show. I’ve always been able to differentiate when I get off stage. I am a human being. I’m a 26-year-old girl. I’m hormonal. I’m emotional. I’m dealing with a lot of stuff. For me, it really just has been compartmentalising the moments where I feel like the show must go on and then moments where I can really allow myself to be a little all over the place and allow that to be OK. But the way I see it, I think, versus the way other people see it is different, so I have to remind myself that.”
She added, “Part of me needs to channel a version of myself that maybe doesn’t take it all so seriously. But then when I’m off stage, I’m a little more locked in. I’m more of the businesswoman. … I’m definitely figuring out how to keep those pieces of myself separate so that when they collide, it feels a little bit healthier, if that makes sense.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Carpenter described how her Short ‘n’ Sweet Tour changed her career because it involved an interaction with her fans. She noted that “concerts are still one of the most inspiring things that I get to be a part of in my work.”
“When I’m writing, I’m pretty isolated in the studio,” the singer said. “Even when you’re on the set of something, you’re in a little bit more of an intimate crew of people. Whereas I feel like these shows are just where you can feel so much energy in a crowd, in a sea of that many people. There are so many stories, and there’s so many different kinds of people that it just feels like you’re really living. I’m really excited about those shows coming up and everything to follow.”
Earlier this week, Carpenter dropped a music video for her song “House Tour.” The raucous clip was co-directed by Carpenter and Margaret Qualley, and also co-stars Madelyn Cline. “House Tour” appears on Carpenter’s most recent album, Man’s Best Friend, which was released last August. It’s the third song from the album to receive a proper music video following the visuals for “Tears” and “Manchild.”