For her 2024 MTV VMAs performance, Sabrina Carpenter brought her bestselling album Short n’ Sweet into the stratosphere. The pop star performed a medley of her recent hits "Espresso," "Please Please Please," and "Taste" on a space-themed stage, as she incorporated MTV's classic spaceman theme into a sexy performance that also included references to hit music videos.
Wearing a sparkling white romper, Carpenter began her set with "Please Please Please," singing the ballad's chorus while suspended several feet over the audience. It looked like she was sitting among the stars, with her aerial swing almost touching the outstretched hand of a giant astronaut balloon.
Once she descended to the stage, the pop star transitioned into "Taste," staging a three-way dance between herself, a male Moonperson dancer, and a female alien. The trio did a flirtatious dance, before Carpenter flung the spaceman off the stage and made out with the alien, à la her music video for the single, co-starring Jenna Ortega.
The medley ended with "Espresso," as dozens of spacesuit-clad dancers joined Carpenter on stage to act as the male chorus to her Marilyn Monroe. She even concluded the performance with a coquette-ish pose, reclining on all the moon-people as they lifted her.
Tonight marks Carpenter’s first time on the main VMA stage; last year, she performed at the VMAs pre-show, with the tracks “Feather” and “Nonsense” off her 2022 album Emails I Can’t Send.
Carpenter's 2024 MTV VMAs appearance comes at the end of a career-changing summer for the former Disney star, who landed her first No. 1 song with "Please Please Please," and a No. 1 song on the Billboard 200 with Short n’ Sweet.
She was nominated for seven awards this year's ceremony, including Song of the Year for “Espresso,” Song of the Summer for “Please Please Please,” and Artist of the Year.
On the red carpet, the singer also channeled Marilyn Monroe, looking angelic in a shimmering white corset dress and an archival design by Bob Mackie. She played up the Old Hollywood vibe with her beauty look, including a glossy ombré lip and voluminous curly hair.
