Catch Sabrina Carpenter’s Debut Performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk!

Sabrina Carpenter’s NPR Debut

Sabrina Carpenter made her NPR debut on the Tiny Desk episode yesterday (December 20) – see the recording of the performance below.

Performing From Her Latest Album

While working on the series, which came with a language warning, she played tracks from her latest album, Short 'n Sweet, including the fan favorite “Juno” and a version of “Bad Chem” with new violin arrangements added.

After opening with “Taste,” the Grammy nominee reflected on the start of her career. “When I first started, it was in a room like this,” she told the audience. “The walls are very dry and there’s no reverberation like in a studio with headphones, but there’s something so real about it. It's so special.”

Throughout the performance, Carpenter shared stories about how certain songs came to be, as well as how she became known as a “visibly horny” pop star thanks to her now-retired “Nonsense” outro.

Calling the often insinuated heavy endings a “beautiful, happy accident,” she said they inspired her next record and offered her a “limitless feeling” when she began writing “Short n' Sweet.”

Elsewhere in the talk, she shared the origin story of “Bed Chem,” which developed after sharing a bed with her best friend Paloma. When they fell asleep and inadvertently woke up at the same time, she joked that they had “really good bed chemistry.”

“So I kept it as a title,” she added. “Then I met a guy and we had really good chemistry in bed… She doesn't make any money off of it, so I give her credit.”

Upcoming Tours and Recognition

Bed Chem was recently named one of NME’s 50 best songs of 2024. Rhian Daly wrote: “Sabrina Carpenter has turned mastering her sexuality into an art – to the point where she had to deny being the ‘horniest girl in the world.’

Bed Chem didn't help matters. Full of cheeky lyrics (“Come right on me, I mean camaraderie”) and winking euphemisms, the song was destined to become as ubiquitous as “Espresso.”

Carpenter is set to bring the Short N' Sweet tour to the UK next year, with dates including a huge headline slot at BST Hyde Park next summer. Come here for tickets.

She'll also headline Primavera Sound in 2025 alongside Charli XCX and Chappell Roane, as well as hit the UK and European legs of her tour next year with her ex NME Special guest was cover star Rachel Chinuriri.

These dates kick off at the 3Arena in Dublin on March 3, with further shows taking place in Birmingham, London, and Manchester – see all dates below and get your tickets. Here.