Sabrina Carpenter slayed the MTV Video Music Awards red carpet.
Carpenter, 25, arrived at the UBS Arena in New York City on Wednesday, September 11. The “Espresso” singer stunned in a vintage silver gown by Bob Mackie. She opted for an old Hollywood glamour look that included her signature red lipstick and Velour Lashes.
Pop culture scholars have already determined that Carpenter’s dress was previously worn by Madonna for a 1991 Vanity Fair cover shot by Steven Meisel. The Queen of Pop, 66, liked the dress so much that she wore a custom version for the Oscars that year. (The original dress was a nod to Marilyn Monroe.)
While Carpenter has attended the show in the past, this is her first time as a nominee. She is up for six awards this year including Artist of the Year, Best Pop and Song of the Year and Best Editing for “Espresso.” Her “Please Please Please” music video, meanwhile, is up for Best Direction and Best Art Direction. Both songs are off the singer’s latest album, Short ‘n’ Sweet.
In addition to being up for several moon persons, Carpenter is also performing at the awards show. (Last year, Carpenter sang a mashup of her hit songs “Nonsense” and “Feather” during the VMAs preshow.)
“Sabrina Carpenter is working late, because she’s a #VMAs PERFORMER 💖,” the official VMAs account wrote via Facebook in August announcing her performance. “Please please please watch her take the stage Wednesday, September 11 on MTV!✨.”
Since last year’s award show, Carpenter’s success has skyrocketed. In August 2023, Carpenter was announced as one of the openers for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Mexico, South America, Australia and Asia. Carpenter has been candid about how she admires Swift, 34, and gushed about joining her on tour.
“I’m not gonna say I peed my pants because that sounds really graphic and maybe not sanitary, but I think it really just caught me off guard,” Carpenter told Who What Wear in January of being asked by Swift to join the tour. “It was very much a childhood dream come true. I still probably have not processed it if I’m being completely honest with you.”
Carpenter then went on to drop her hit song “Espresso” which dominated on the charts and was widely decreed “the song of the summer.” She then followed up with another No. 1 hit with “Please Please Please.” Last month she dropped the full-length Short ‘n’ Sweet.
In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Carpenter explained that her latest album’s name wasn’t just a reference to her petite frame.
“I called it Short n’ Sweet for multiple reasons. It was not because I’m vertically challenged,” she explained. “I thought about some of these relationships and how some of them were the shortest I’ve ever had, and they affected me the most.”
Many have theorized that the album referenced Carpenter’s brief romance with Shawn Mendes. After their breakup, Mendes briefly reunited with ex Camila Cabello. Cabello and Mendes are also performing at the VMAs, which raised eyebrows among some fans given the trio’s alleged former love triangle. (Carpenter has since moved on with Barry Keoghan who appeared in her “Please Please Please” music video.)
