Have you ever tried … this one?
Most fans found the singers raunchy roulette amusing.
But the bit sent some attendees and even more online spectators into a moralistic meltdown.
Sabrina Carpenter performs on stage during the Short N' Sweet Tour held at Madison Square Garden on September 29, 2024 in New York City.Christopher Polk/Rolling Stone
You have to know how to read to understand what shes saying, Badie tellsRolling Stoneover Zoom.
You have to know what innuendos are.
You have to know what synonyms are.
You have to know what symbolism is.
For instance, like Marvin Gaye.
He would sing about making love to someone and having sex, but he wasnt saying it.
Shes singing the same kinds of things.
Like, I might let you make me Juno.
Shes not saying, Im gonna let you shoot the club up.
Shes not saying, you’re free to come in me all you want.
Shes saying it in a classy way …
It takes a smart person to be able to do that.
Badie began working with Carpenter during the 2022Emails I Cant Sendtour.
Those shows were smaller and the stakes were lower.
Carpenter would take the stage accompanied only by her band.
There were no dancers.
It was on her to command that space and send the audience home with an understanding of her artistry.
My focus was, Who are you?
Who are you trying to be?
Who do you want to be?
What does that look like to you?
She had a band and that was it.
She worked it and that grew into something else.
From then until now, I think shes seeing exactly what shes always been.
The smash single Espresso excels in its slick use of sarcasm and comedic edge.
This middle ground between comical and sexual, Badie says, is where she and Carpenter connected.
It just takes knowing that person, she explains.
I wouldnt say something completely left-field that she wouldnt be for.
Carpenters live performance of Bed Chem unravels on a frilly circle-shaped bed in the far corner of the stage.
It has to end with a bang.
It doesnt have to be a sexual thing.
We could play patty cake behind this thing.
In Charlottesville, Carpenter did.
For her Halloween show in Dallas, she sliced into him with a chainsaw.
When she told her about it, Badie recalls, she cracked up.
For that final show in Los Angeles, Badie wanted Carpenter to push the envelope.
Theres a lighthearted nature to theShort n Sweetshow.
Whatever she decides to do is on her, Badie explains, particularly referencing the Juno segment.
Well talk about it at first, and then she might change her mind mid-show.
No two shows were the same.
These elements all created a unique experience for the audience, but also put Carpenter at ease.
Youll still get the occasional mother that has a strong opinion on how you should be dressing.
Policing female autonomy is as prevalent in pop music history as breakup records.
But, she says, it cant be the driving or deciding factor.
Its another outlet, that projection, she says.
No one deserves your trauma.
No one deserves your bad day.
No one deserves what you cant do …
Yes, youre allowed to feel how you feel.
But I dont deserve your reaction to that.
My goal was to show the art of sisterhood, Badie says.
Going through pain and still being able to have one another.
In the setting of this show, intimacy doesnt mean being provocative.
Thats 18 nights of switching positions and curtain-covered love affairs.
