Review: Sabrina Carpenter appears to be enjoying her moment in sold-out Minneapolis concert

It started in a bubble bath. That was the first sign of Sabrina Carpenter’s hot-selling Target Center concert being awash in cheeky humor and girly pizzazz — and nowhere near as clean as her Disney TV past might suggest.

One of pop music’s biggest breakout acts of 2024, the unfailingly sparkly “Espresso” singer was shown on video soaking in a tub when an announcer told her it was time to start the show. In the bit, she panicked.

In reality, Carpenter seemed cool as a cucumber aloe facial mask on Monday over the abruptness in which her music career jolted to chart-topping status. Not only was the 25-year-old singer ready for her first arena-headlining outing. She also genuinely seemed thrilled and eager for the Short n’ Sweet Tour, so named in a nod to her album of the same name, and to her 5-foot-0 stature.

While the similarly rocketing Chappell Roan unfortunately seems to be buckling from sudden fame — and both Roan and Charli XCX weren’t willing to come to Minnesota on their 2024 tours — Carpenter came through big time for fans here. Even on a Monday night in what the longtime Los Angeleno probably thought of as flyover country.

The 16,000 or so fans showed up in a big way, too. Mostly girls and young women decked out in sequins, frills and other bejeweled garments, they made the Minneapolis date an instant sellout (tickets were still going for over $250 on resale sites at showtime). They were so eager for it on their end, many showed up early to see little-known opening singer Amaarae, who treated them to a unique blend of modern trap-rap and influences from her family’s native Ghana.

Carpenter treated them to 90 minutes of lightly electronic and gossipy tunes and an elaborate Barbie Dreamhouse-like stage production, which came with a lot of surprises.

The first big surprise: Carpenter emerged from her bath towel already fully decked out in a baby-doll gown with garters. As she launched into the opening song “Taste” — about a love triangle, one that may or may not have also involved Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello — the stage was then also unveiled with a troupe of dancers and the full-scale dream home.

Carpenter worked her way from room to room and song to song. She sang the Kacey Musgraves-flavored “Slim Pickins” while cozying up to a faux living room fireplace. She actually delivered “Opposite” from atop a toilet (way cuter than it sounds).

Best and most clever of all — thanks to some tricks with shadowy lighting and camera work — she delivered “Bed Chem” while rolling around on a round, honeymoon-suite-satiny bed. That one not surprisingly happened to be the sauciest song of the night, too: “Come ride on me / I mean camaraderie,” she sang. And later, “The thermostat’s set at six-nine.” So much for her revisiting her old “Girl Meets World” rated-G TV role.

After “Bed Chem,” the stage turned into an imaginary penthouse-based late-night variety show, “Sarah After Dark.” The set included vintage TV cameras, ‘80s-styled commercials (one for a “Honey Bee” call-in romance line) and an intro theme that allowed for costume changes.

Her band members’ names were rolled into the credits, too, right before they helped her jazz up “Feather.” She then coyly smiled and swayed to their funky take on “Sharpest Tool,” one of the night’s most snarky and fun songs. Sample lyrics: “We were going right, then you took a left / Left me with a lot of shit to second-guess.”

Some of the material from Carpenter’s lukewarmly received albums before “Short n’ Sweet” fell flat, including “Read Your Mind” and “Fast Times” — although seeing her pull off fast dance moves without ripping her ultralight lacy bodysuit in the latter tune was certainly impressive. At times the show also felt a little too staged and, well, showy, like a Disney-brand Broadway musical. Not that any Disney musical would allow the word “horny” to be repeatedly flashed across the screen (as happened Monday during “Juno”).

Things got a lot more interesting in an unchoreographed midconcert montage, when Carpenter came to the end of her heart-shaped thrust stage to play “Spin the Bottle” to choose from a list of potential cover songs. Madonna’s “Material Girl” won out, and she nailed it.

She also used that unplanned segment to get up close to fans, who came prepared with signs. One woman’s sign asked if Carpenter needed a tampon. Another invited her to draw them a new tattoo. She declined the former but agreed to the latter.

“I feel very safe here,” Carpenter said, living up to the “sweet” part of the album/tour name, “like everyone in this room is just my best friend.”

Fans certainly acted like they were getting a bear hug from their bestie toward show’s end, for which she saved the night’s biggest songs. “Please Please Please” came with dazzling choreography out on the runway and a giant audience singalong. The finale, “Espresso,” found Carpenter excitedly dancing under a canopy of confetti and basking in what is clearly her moment. It was sweet of her to share it with us.