WHETHER posing seductively on a heart-shaped bed in lingerie or pulling off X-rated dance moves onstage, Sabrina Carpenter has raised more than a few eyebrows with her risque performances.
While there’s no question the songstress, 25, looked incredible, her raunchy show at the Brit Awards last month, combined with Charlie XCX‘s outfit, attracted nearly 1,000 complaints from disgruntled viewers to Ofcom.
Her raunchy outfit and saucy performance caused shock, with hundreds of complaints over her pre-watershed appearance[/caption]
But the complaints have done nothing to slow the pop princess down[/caption]
Viewers were divided over the performance of her hits Espresso and Bed Chem, with some on social media dubbing it “too risque” for the pre-watershed 8.20pm time slot.
Someone even compared the performance to adult content, commenting on X: “You might as well put porn on prime time Saturday night. What is Sabrina Carpenter doing?”
She also sent pulses racing as she took to the stage in Paris during her Short n’ Sweet Tour, recreating the “Eiffel Tower” sex position with two male dancers.
The singer flashed a cheeky grin during the display as fans cheered the saucy move.
But while it appears Sabrina is courting controversy by walking a fine line between “porn” and pop with her performances, experts say it’s a tried-and-tested method that’s been around for decades.
Despite causing outrage, it seems she knows exactly what she’s doing – and it could well be the key to her phenomenal success, including a double win at the Grammys earlier this year.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Brand and Culture expert Nick Ede says: “She’s courting controversy at the moment with her x-rated performances and saucy lyrics.
“But she’s walking a path that many pop stars have trodden previously – creating a controversial persona whilst always in control of the narrative.
“And female pop stars have always used their sexuality to create headline moments.
“Madonna, Britney, Christina, Grace Jones and even Cher have worn sexy clothing to bring all the attention to them – and if it works then why not?
“Sabrina knows that sex sells – and so does her team.
“She’s broken the mould from being a child star to now owning her sexuality and promoting it positively.
“She may be causing complaints but it’s nothing new and it’s a tried and tested formula that’s been used since pop music began.”
Her Brit Awards performance isn’t the first time Sabrina has raised eyebrows. Here, we take a closer look at how she’s cleverly flaunting her sexuality to unlock her success…
‘Don’t come to my shows’
Despite the outrage, Sabrina has always remained unapologetically true to herself, and it’s this confidence which seems to enable her to pull off her attention-grabbing outfits.
Speaking to The Sun previously, she said: “My message has always been clear — if you can’t handle a girl who is confident in her own sexuality, then don’t come to my shows.
“It’s essentially saying that female performers should not be able to embrace their sexuality in their lyrics, in the way we dress, in the way we perform… it is totally regressive.”
Sabrina knows that she has to stand out from the crowded crowd of pop princesses – and the best way to do this is to create a memorable moment.
Nick Ede
From her skimpy stage outfits to fronting Kim Kardashian‘s Skims spring 2024 lingerie campaign – all eyes have remained firmly on the star.
Nick told The Sun: “Sabrina is in control of her world and that’s very important – she’s wanting to empower her fans.
“She also knows that she has to stand out from the crowded crowd of pop princesses and the best way to do this is to create a memorable moment – remember this is all about ticket sales and streaming.
“She’s appealing to a range of different demographics, and despite enraging parents whose children want to emulate her, she’s also engaging other parents who are loving the shows – just like Madonna did in the 80s and 90s.”
Sabrina Carpenter performs onstage at Madison Square Garden during the Short N’ Sweet Tour[/caption]
Simulating oral sex on stage
Her performances may have been labelled “pornographic” by some, but it certainly hasn’t harmed ticket sales.
The star has attracted heavy criticism for simulating oral sex with a microphone during one performance, sparking comparisons to OnlyFans.
She has also mimicked other sexual moves on stage, from reverse cowgirl to the missionary position and the recent “Eiffel Tower”.
Her lyrics at live shows are equally explicit, with the star singing the ad-libbed line at one San Antonio gig: “I just wanna ride him like a rodeo but first, he gotta grow it like Pinocchio.”
She also upset the Catholic church with her Feathers video routine, which saw her dancing in a super sexy black lace dress and veil on a Brooklyn church’s altar.
Her response? “We got approval in advance,” the singer told Variety, adding: “And Jesus was a carpenter.“
Nick says: “We have all seen this before.
“Remember Geri Halliwell dancing out of a woman’s massive spread legs, or Christina and Britney French kissing Madonna at the MTV Awards?
“There is nothing new here – pop down to your local theatre and you can see similar in a performance of Moulin Rouge.
“It’s entertainment and using sex to create clicks and comments.
“Remember, this is a multi-million-pound brand and so it’s not just Sabrina who signs it off.”
Sabrina caused a stir with her performance in the official video for her single Feather[/caption]
Sabrina previously dated Barry Keoghan but the pair split last year[/caption]
Breaking the mould
With all this in mind, it’s fair to say she’s successfully broken away from her child star Disney background too – something the likes of Britney and Miley Cyrus have done before her.
Speaking previously, she said: “For a long time, I was constantly guided and misguided.
“I’m so grateful for all of those times where I was led astray because now I’m a lot more equipped going into situations where I have to trust my own instincts.”
We have the more PC ‘sanitised sexuality’ already covered by Taylor Swift, so there is a space for the overtly sexualised star and Sabrina fits that space perfectly.
Nick Ede
But with many of her fans being children, has she gone too far?
Nick says: “Sabrina does have a young fan base but they are growing up and they are growing up with her.
“She has broken the mould in the past year to become a mainstream star – many people around the world didn’t know who she was until Espresso came out.
“Like Miley and Britney she had to shift and using sexuality was the best way for her to get noticed.
“We have the more PC ‘sanitised sexuality’ already covered by Taylor Swift, so there is a space for the overtly sexualised star – and Sabrina fits that space perfectly.”
Sabrina Carptenter’s Rise to Fame
SABRINA Carpenter’s first role was as the lead in the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World. Between 2014 and 2017, she appeared in over 70 episodes.
She also signed with the Disney-owned Hollywood Records and released her debut single, Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying, in 2014.
After four albums, she moved to Island Records in 2021.
Her fifth album, Emails I Can’t Send (2022), had her hit singles Nonsense and Feather.
Around that time, Sabrina started to gain notoriety in the UK.
She opened for Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour in 2023 and then achieved wider commercial success with her sixth album Short n’ Sweet, which was released earlier this year.
Number one singles from the album include Espresso and Please Please Please.
Taking a stand
Despite the furore from some outraged camps, Sabrina and her team remain steadfast in their commitment to plough on with the raunchy performances.
Sabrina previously noted: “Female artists have been shamed forever.
“In the Noughties, it was Rihanna, in the Nineties it was Britney Spears, in the Eighties it was Madonna and now it’s me,” she said.
Nick adds: “Sabrina has to stand out from the crowd and using sexuality is the way she can build on her success.
“She’s using sexuality to build a brand that makes money and makes her stand out from the crowd.
“She’s doing the right thing to make the most money she can – if she loves it and her fans love it then why not?”
Sabrina’s raunchy performance has been compared to pop icons Britney and Madonna who kissed on stage at the MTV Awards[/caption]
Like Sabrina, Miley Cyrus also broke away from her child star image to push boundaries on stage[/caption]
