What an exciting weekend of events in the UK.
Oasis reformed for their first gig in 16 years at Cardiff. Ozzy Osbourne bid farewell with Black Sabbath and a star-studded programme of metal in Birmingham. But Summer Festival Guide chose to spend the weekend at the beautiful Oak Stage in Hyde Park to watch the one of the most exciting talents in the world today – princess of pop – Sabrina Carpenter.
Having previously supported South Korean girl group BlackPink at BST Hyde Park, Sabrina has truly earned her place to headline two epic nights at London’s ultimate outdoor venue. She sold out two nights to her loving 65,000 fans, many adorned with her trademark ‘kiss’ lipstick.
Sabrina showed her love of her support artists during her set, including one of her dearest friends, Amber Mark. It’s always encouraging to see such a strong line-up of female artists and both days over the weekend did not disappoint.
Following Amber Mark on the impressive Oak Stage was Beebadoobee. Dressed in an over-fitted pink sweater with SEX emblazoned on the front, the young lady demonstrated why she’s supported the likes of Taylor Swift and The 1975 on their impressive shows. Mixing songs from her first three albums, including her number one album ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’, she certainly wasn’t starstruck and deserved her place at the prestigious event.
Elsewhere, Summer Festival Guide’s favourites The Cuban Brothers delighted fans in-between sets over at the garage, with fans of all ages singing ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ – with singer Miguelito toning down his language slightly due to the younger fans in the audience.
Clairo followed, for her debut Hyde Park performance, and we’re sure this isn’t the last we see of her. Wearing her trademark pair of headphones throughout her terrific performance and enjoying a large glass of wine in between songs, Clairo delighted fans with her songs including Glasses, Softly and Flaming Hot. It’s no wonder she was nominated for a prestigious grammy award with such impressive style.
Onto the main event everyone had travelled far-and-wide to see. Sabrina Carpenter.
Mimicking a 50s news broadcast in the style of Wanda-Vision (Sabrina-Vision if you like), the Hollywood Disney pop princess emerged onstage behind a brilliant white ‘SC’.
She was at her cheeky best during the greatest hit setlist, wearing a glittering red leotard and mixing winks with her impressive 12-strong dance posse. Some of the songs were a little risky, but that’s what her fans have come to see and love.
Prior to launching into her new song ‘Bed Chem‘ where she romped with two of her dancers, a prominent ‘Parental Discretion‘ was displayed, but many of her fans have probably seen worse on display than here. At the end, her two male dancers embraced in a kiss with themselves rather than our star, much to cheers from the crowd.
Hey, it was Pride day in London after all and we are now mid-way through the 2020s!
Although there were no special guests, as have adorned the other star-studded line up at Hyde Park this year, Sabrina was the star of the show and the crowd couldn’t have wanted more.
Taking to a cherry-picker crane for her penultimate song ‘Don’t Smile’, she looked visibly moved by the huge crowd who had filled central London to see her. “Damn nobody showed up,” she exclaimed with visible tears of joy in her eyes, while blowing kisses to her adoring fans.
There was only one song she could finish with.
With over one billion (yes not a typo, one billion) streams on YouTube, she finished with her delectable mega-hit ‘Espresso.’ She proclaimed ‘the louder you scream, the more I drink’ – its improbable she could have drunk enough to keep up with all the delighted screams coming her way.
As if we didn’t know, she finished proclaimed ‘My name’s Sabrina. Thanks for coming.’
If anyone in the crowd didn’t know her name at the start, they certainly did by the end of her incredible show. Please, Please, Please, can you come back one day.
Words: Graham Tarrant and Samantha Middleton
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