Sabrina Carpenter performed to a full house at the New Frontier Theater for the Emails I Can’t Send Tour stop in Manila.

It was a rainy Tuesday night, but the area surrounding the venue was filled with young people dressed to party into the weekend. Corset tops, platform boots, and mini skirts were some of the outfits elegantly thrown into the mix. They were all poised to strut, to party, and to sing with the main attraction of the evening. Presented by Live Nation Philippines, the sold-out show, which lasted for an hour and a half, was a striking success, so much so that even Sabrina Carpenter called Manila her favorite city.

Sabrina Carpenter made her entrance by playing “Emails I Can’t Send” on the grand piano. Instantly, the audience was on their feet, singing out loud, feeling every word.

“My only rule is that you guys have to be as loud as humanly possible. Cry if you need to cry, laugh if you need to laugh,” Sabrina told the crowd. That was indeed the vibe for the entire concert. From the front to the last row, fans were living in the moment. They were there to have the best time with their idol and they owned it.

Sabrina Carpenter was a captivating performer onstage – a mix of a phenomenal pop star and a songwriter extraordinaire. She could groove sensuously to her disco-pop-inspired tracks like “Read Your Mind” and “Feather” and she would have the entire room dancing with her. She could easily sing the airiest ballads about yearning for someone, and it would be mixed with references about forks (“how many things”) or contact lenses (“opposite”). Even so, her quips stick like glue. Her lyrics could also feel like simple conversational thought bubbles that steadily unfold into full-blown stories like “skinny dipping” and “Tornado Warnings”, and it would leave the audience wanting to hear and sing more.

Beyond a stellar live performance, Sabrina repeatedly expressed her gratitude to her fans for their support. “I feel so lucky to be able to play in a place so far away from home and I still feel like I’m singing in my backyard.” She also complimented her fans’ effort in glamming up to fit her album, her music, and her world.

During the encore, Sabrina Carpenter made her Filipino fans (whom she fondly called “sluts”) very happy when she changed the outro of her viral hit “Nonsense”:

“His ex is a motel, I’m a villa / He said I taste better than vanilla / What’s your favorite city, mine’s Manila”. She said the song started to get popular when Filipino fans turned it into a TikTok trend. Thanks to that, Manila became her favorite city. Sabrina promised to come back, saying the next time she comes here, “there will be new music, a new chapter”.

By Sandra Mae Laureano

---

SETLIST
emails i can’t send
Read Your Mind
Feather
Vicious
Already Over
Bad for Business
skinny dipping
things i wish you said
Tornado Warnings
opposite
bet u wanna
unsubscribe
Baby One More Time (Britney Spears cover)
how many things
Fast Times
Paris
Honeymoon Fades
Sue Me
decode
Nonsense
because i liked a boy

---

The Emails I Can’t Send Tour in Manila was presented by Live Nation Philippines. Special thanks to Live Nation Philippines.