Sabrina Carpenter at BST Hyde Park: No Bad Reviews

I headed to the BST festival at Hyde Park on Sunday night to watch the reigning queen of pop music, Sabrina Carpenter.

As a die-hard fan of this 5-foot blonde bombshell, I was more than ready for the day ahead.

We arrived at the park around 3.30pm, and while the vibes were high, the heavens had other plans.

A pre-show selfie (Image: Poppy Huggett)

A torrential downpour hit us out of nowhere and left my friend and I drenched from head to toe.

We immediately regretted not dressing for the wonderfully unreliable British summer.

But there was a surprise saviour from the storm – just near the ticket collection area, there was free salsa dancing under the bandstand.

I even picked up a few moves – it was a slightly bizarre yet surprisingly fun way to dry off from the rain.

Once our boots were filled with puddles and our spirits were slightly dampened, the blue skies returned.

I was surrounded by my besties and fellow Sabrina lovers (Image: Poppy Huggett)

We made our way to the entrance and breezed through security with no hassle at all.

First stop was the toilets to attempt a repair job on the smudged mascara and frizzy hair.

Safe to say the two hours I spent getting ready were a complete waste of time.

Drinks in hand from one of Hyde Park’s many bars, we headed over to the Golden Circle to catch Olivia Dean.

A rising star who radiated joy, kindness and serious vocal talent.

Olivia Dean came on at 5.05pm (Image: Poppy Huggett)

Olivia is someone I’ve been listening to a lot recently.

Her music is freeing and feel-good and watching her dance around the stage with her brass band was such a highlight.

Especially when she performed her opening track Nice to Each Other, followed by Dive and her dreamy Bridget Jones soundtrack song It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be.

We sang and danced along to Olivia’s super fun set (Image: Poppy Huggett)

After Olivia’s set, we had a wander around the festival in search of food.

We ended up with a portion of loaded fries with a twist – pink sauce.

The ‘pink’ loaded fries (Image: Poppy Huggett)

Very on brand for Sabrina, whose staple colour is pink through and through.

Before we knew it, it was 8.30pm and almost time for the main event.

We were standing in the platinum area, so luckily, we were pretty close to the stage.

Martin was the star of the show prior to Sabrina’s arrival (Image: Poppy Huggett)

With 65,000 fans packed into Hyde Park, the atmosphere was wild.

The crowd was a sea of everything from teenage girls in pink bows and lace Sabrina-coded tops to middle-aged men with glitter across their faces keeping up with the times.

The lovely mum-and-daughter duo we watched the show with made the night even sweeter (Image: Poppy Huggett)

Just before 9pm, the stage lit up, the dancers came out and Sabrina Carpenter arrived.

She wore what looked like a pink and white Elton John-inspired bedazzled playsuit and opened with Busy Woman – one of her newest tracks from the album Short n’ Sweet.

Sabrina’s opening song was the pop hit Busy Woman (Image: Poppy Huggett)

The whole set was girly, glamorous and gripping.

The video screens were styled like retro 1950s TV broadcasts with vintage-inspired filters and camp visuals.

What I love about Sabrina is how she plays into the stereotype while simultaneously flipping it on its head.

Sabrina dazzled the audience from start to finish (Image: Poppy Huggett)

To someone unfamiliar, she might seem like your standard blonde pop princess doing the most to please the male gaze.

But once you listen to her lyrics, it’s the total opposite.

Yes, she is conventionally beautiful, but her songs are packed with sharp humour and unapologetic attitude.

Sabrina’s vocals were unsurprisingly incredible (Image: Poppy Huggett)

Her new tracks Manchild and Please Please Please are the perfect examples – cheeky, cutting and completely in control.

Throughout the set she chatted to the crowd, often removing her earpiece to take in the screams.

She worked every angle of the stage, making sure fans on all sides got a moment with her.

She performed so many of my favourite songs – Taste, Bed Chem and Feather – and you better believe I sang every single word.

The superstars’ ‘Bed Chem’ performance was hot and raunchy (Image: Poppy Huggett)

Then came the most unexpected moment of the night – she brought out none other than Duran Duran.

Now, I’m sure anyone born before 1980 was absolutely buzzing.

But I gave Hungry Like the Wolf a go too, and honestly, it was a fun surprise.

We sang and danced the whole night long (Image: Poppy Huggett)

Not who I expected to join a Gen Z pop star, but once again, Sabrina keeps us guessing.

She powered through the rest of her set with full energy.

The lights were blinding; the visuals were dazzling and the vibe never dipped.

As the 1950s-style credits rolled on the video walls, she performed Don’t Cry and closed with the track we were all waiting for – Espresso.

Sabrina ended her set with Espresso (Image: Poppy Huggett)

The fireworks exploded into the sky, and I’m sure you could hear the crowd from the Tower of London.

A completely deserved reaction to a pop star who’s not just rising but already soaring.

We left the park around 10.30pm and hobbled our way to Green Park.

My voice was gone, my feet were ruined, and my makeup had given up hours ago.

But it was worth every second for Sabrina Carpenter.

And I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.