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\n\tHer first time stepping on the Coachella<\/a> stage was only two years ago, but it feels like Sabrina Carpenter<\/a> has lived a million pop lives since. <\/p>\n \n\tThe version of Carpenter who whipped up unique and unhinged viral \u201cNonsense\u201d outros during her shows feels far away from the Grammy Award-winning global phenomenon she\u2019s become in the time since. But her past has always been part of her evolution. \u201cCoachella, see you back here when I headline,\u201d Carpenter said in the outro during her early evening set in 2024. She made good on her word with an electric headlining performance on the Coachella main stage on Friday night. <\/p>\n \n\tThe set was an intense, dramatic ode to Hollywood and California. Carpenter arrived to the stage in a vintage vehicle that appeared in her opening film noir nod. She featured special guests Will Ferrell, Sam Elliott, Corey Fogelmanis, and the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, which appeared mid-\u201cJuno\u201d and told her, \u201cNow Sabrina, finish the motherfucking song.\u201d <\/p>\n She packed 20 songs into the performance including the live debuts of \u201cWhen Did You Get Hot,\u201d \u201cSugar Talking,\u201d and \u201cWe Almost Broke Up Again Last Night\u201d from\u00a0Man\u2019s Best Friend<\/em>, plus the limited edition bonus track \u201cSuch a Funny Way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tCarpenter kept the film theme going with nods to Kool & the Gang\u2019s \u201cHollywood Swinging\u201d and Barry Manilow\u2019s \u201cCopacabana\u201d during a thrilling performance of \u201cFeather\u201d complete with a burlesque-themed set.\u00a0During \u201cGo Go Juice,\u201d she seemed to reference \u201cCell Block Tango\u201d from Chicago, <\/em>while \u201cWhen Did You Get Hot\u201d pulled from Some Like It Hot<\/em> and \u201cBusy Woman\u201d nodded to The Rocky Horror Show.<\/em> Her catwalk even resembled the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n \n\tMidway through the set, Susan Sarandon took over the spotlight for an extensive monologue delivered from a car on the festival grounds. She spoke in both a wistful and haunted manner as she reflected on the idea of youth, courage, and ambition \u2014 all of which Carpenter has plenty of.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tCarpenter has been running full steam ahead since \u201cEspresso\u201d launched her into the pop stratosphere. She spent over a year taking her Short n\u2019 Sweet <\/em>tour around the world. The run \u2014 first set around 2024\u2019s Short n\u2019 Sweet<\/em> then expanded to include 2025\u2019s Man\u2019s Best Friend<\/em> \u2014 stretched across 72 dates. Each night was a major production \u2014 a massive house that doubled as a television studio \u2014 but more than anything it was her playground.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen she returned to the stage for the 2026 Grammy Awards, Carpenter transformed the space into SC Airlines, where hits took off and any baggage that might\u2019ve hindered the amount of fun she was having was checked at the gate.\u00a0At Coachella, Carpenter created something of a wonderland with Sabrinawood. The set design blended in elements of Los Angeles and the desert her audience stood in. It created an intriguing grounding effect that kept the thousands-deep crowd hanging onto her every move, just the way a blockbuster performance should.\u00a0<\/p>\n