Framed by a huge heart-shaped mirror, as if she’s one of Greta Gerwig’s Barbies, Sabrina Carpenter steps into the spotlight. “Back then I didn’t know who I was, not even in the slightest,” she sighs dramatically. The American singer is reminiscing about her previous UK tour, and setting the scene for Sabrina 2.0, a pop star reborn.
Last year’s Emails I Can’t Send is her fifth album, but you wouldn’t know it from the setlist. After being cast in a Disney Channel series in 2013, Carpenter released four albums in five years. Tonight the 24-year-old plays 16 songs from Emails – her post-Disney debut – and scarcely touches her earlier material. Her new songs aren’t a wild departure in style – Carpenter’s pop remains an easy blend of R&B, acoustic and country – but you get the sense that she feels far greater ownership over them.
