GRAMMY Award winner Sabrina Carpenter put on a polished performance of her signature sugary-pop outfit at her second sold-out show at London’s Hyde Park, offering an evening full of glitz, glamour, and playfully flirtatious moments.
The 26-year-old has solidified her status as a pop powerhouse, breaking through last year with the global hit Espresso, followed by her sixth studio album Short n’ Sweet. As she readies her seventh record, Man’s Best Friend, set for release in August, Carpenter has since continued her winning streak, with the country-influenced Manchild also reaching No. 1. Filling one of London’s most renowned venues for two consecutive nights is no easy task, but it’s a testament to her continued success. Over 65,000 fans, all sporting unique, colourful outfits and merchandise, descended on the capital ahead of another unforgettable day of music on Sunday.
The music kicked off shortly after 3 pm, spread across several stages throughout the arena, each showcasing a strong lineup of emerging talent, including Chloe Qisha and Dellaxoz. Among the early highlights was Tanner Adell, who drew in a solid crowd to the Rainbow Stage before launching into her American country repertoire. Tracks like Back Row and Snakeskin had the audience dancing in no time, echoing the stylistic influence of Beyonce’s latest album. The arena itself was vast, offering a wide variety of bars, food vendors, merch stands, and exclusive benefits for American Express customers. Although it was still early in the day, crowds were already swelling around the Great Oak Stage, the atmosphere charged with anticipation for what promised to be a memorable night.
The Great Oak Stage sprang to life just before 4 pm, as Amber Mark made a vibrant entrance, dancing her way into a high-energy set. Despite ominous storm clouds gathering in the distance, the crowd remained fully engaged with her electro-pop performance, which at times was layered with elements of house music, too. Songs like Money Talks, Mixer and What It Is stood out, prompting sing-alongs and plenty of movement from the audience.
However, the weather soon took a dramatic turn. A sudden, torrential downpour forced Mark to cut her set short, sending fans scrambling for cover beneath anything they could find. The storm left the arena in a surreal state; as the rain passed, concertgoers emerged soaked and stunned, navigating large puddles and patches of mud. The atmosphere briefly shifted to one of weary disbelief, but a burst of sunshine moments later lifted spirits. A collective cheer erupted as crews began resetting the stage, a testament to the resilience and optimism of the British festivalgoer.
While fans continued to dry off and recover from the earlier downpour, soul sensation Olivia Dean stepped out to a triumphant reception. Opening with recent single Nice To Each Other, she wasted no time in lifting the crowd’s spirits. She was performing to one of the largest audiences of her career, yet she delivered a strong, heartfelt set featuring fan favourites like OK Love You Bye, Echo, and It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be. Dean seized the moment to debut a new, unreleased track titled Lady Lady, taken from her upcoming record The Art of Loving, due out in September. The crowd embraced the new song with the warmth typically reserved for her best-known hits, underlining her growing connection with bigger audiences. Her set felt deeply personal, like a warm embrace, underscored by sincere expressions of gratitude and a touching dedication of Carmen to her late granny. She closed with Dive, a “good old-fashioned love song” that brought her performance to a soulful finish. It was a set that confirmed Dean’s upward momentum and hinted at the promise of even greater things to come with her forthcoming release.
Between sets, many concertgoers took the opportunity to grab food and settle back into their spots in anticipation of the evening’s sub-headliner, Clairo. Just before 7 pm, the stage cameras flicked on, capturing Clairo and her band stepping into view, toasting with glasses of wine as an ambient backing piece set the tone. Having previously opened the show on the festival’s first night, Clairo returned with quiet confidence, launching straight into Second Nature. Her stage design, a carryover from her Charm Tour, evoked a warm 1970s aesthetic, complete with a suspended soft spotlight, creating a cosy, living room-like atmosphere that invited comfort and connection. The crowd responded with enthusiastic sing-alongs to favourites such as Juna, Sexy to Someone, and Bags, the latter elevated by a standout saxophone solo. Clairo closed her set with Sofia, leaving the audience brimming with excitement as the stage crew moved swiftly to prepare for the grand arrival of Sabrina Carpenter.
The festival’s mood had reached a fever pitch by 9 pm, and the crowd erupted as she stepped onto the stage in a sparkling white bodysuit. Her entrance, framed by a satirical news-style broadcast, set the tone for an evening rooted in storytelling and playful theatrics. Launching into Busy Woman and Taste, Carpenter wasted no time guiding the audience through her Short n’ Sweet era; the crowd, more than 65,000 strong, echoed every lyric back effortlessly. Fans were treated to deeper cuts like Good Graces and Slim Pickin’s, each met with as much enthusiasm as her chart-topping hits. A cleverly placed retro television commercial served a dual purpose: delivering a burst of adult humour while providing a smooth transition for a costume change. It also served as the perfect lead-in to the highly anticipated Manchild, which she performed with commanding presence, cementing the moment as one of the night’s highlights.
Carpenter made full use of the catwalk, dancing confidently into the crowd’s embrace as she led them in a rousing, competitive chant of “Ooh Nah Nah Nah” to kick off Coincidence. The energy remained electric, but she deftly shifted gears, using the intimacy of the moment to perform a stripped-back, acoustic version of Sharpest Tool. The brief interlude from the pacey pop gave way to an emotional peak with a powerful rendition of because I liked a boy; As her vocals soared, fireworks burst overhead in perfect synchrony, elevating the moment to something truly cinematic. It was a moment that captured Carpenter at her most vulnerable, but undeniably at her finest.
Spontaneity took hold mid-set, as she playfully invited the crowd to howl, just moments before delivering the night’s biggest surprise. To the astonishment of fans, she welcomed music legends Duran Duran to the stage for an enriched duet of Hungry Like the Wolf, a nostalgic anthem that struck a chord with older members of the audience. The unexpected collaboration, marked by strong vocal chemistry, injected fresh energy into an already superb performance. The momentum continued as Carpenter moved seamlessly through crowd-pleasers like Nonsense, Feather, and the emotionally raw Couldn’t Make It Any Harder, all of which were sandwiched by more retro television commercials. One clip staged a humorous “Couples Dance Competition,” while another introduced Bed Chem, a cheeky fan-favourite executed with a provocative edge. Her performance of the track stunned many, not only for its flirtatious vocal delivery, but for the confident, foreplay-inspired choreography, punctuated by a bold dance break to Ginuwine’s Pony, a song known for its suggestive flair. It gave rise to Carpenters’ continued reputation for tackling adult themes with unapologetic honesty and a sense of playful, polished showmanship.
The playfulness was maintained as she moved into Juno, continuing her onstage flirtation with a tongue-in-cheek moment involving pink handcuffs. This time, she jokingly ‘arrested’ Ayo Edebiri and Clairo – an ongoing part of her show that has seen both celebrities and lucky audience members pulled into the fun. The night reached another fan-favourite moment as the crowd eagerly awaited one of the now-iconic Juno positions, to which two T-shirts fired into the crowd from handheld cannons; top marks for creativity this time, I’m sure nobody has “ever tried this one.”
The set began to draw in, as Carpenter delivered an animated edition of the anthemic Please Please Please, followed by a tender performance of Don’t Smile, serenading the audience while suspended above them in a visually striking moment of connection. The final TV segment, an Espresso Martini-inspired commercial, served as the lead-in to what she dubbed “the final chance to dance”: her chart-topping hit Espresso. The number brought the evening to a euphoric close, with fireworks illuminating the Hyde Park sky in a glittering, pop-perfect spectacle. Fans were left in awe, wrapping up a night of theatrical brilliance and undeniable star power from one of pop’s reigning princesses.
With a new record on the horizon and her status as a Hyde Park headliner firmly secured, it’s clear that Sabrina Carpenter is poised to remain a dominant force in pop music for a while. Her meticulously crafted, high-energy production underscored her position as one of the genre’s leading stars, and if her two nights in London were any indication, a full-scale stadium tour may well be the next milestone in her rapidly ascending career.
