00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo and today we're looking at Sabrina Carpenter's most memorable music
00:10performances before live crowds. Number 10. Alien, Jimmy Kimmel Live. Carpenter made her
00:23first appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's late night show in March 2018. It marked the television
00:29debut of the single Alien, which would reach number one on Billboard's Dance Club Songs
00:34Chart. Although DJ Jonas Blue accompanies her, all eyes are on Carpenter. Perhaps we should
00:45say Carpenter's, as a mountain of TV monitors capture her from multiple angles. For all the
00:51Sabrinas on screen, the performance carried a sense of isolation and separation, which
00:56ties into the song's central themes. At the same time, Carpenter owns the stage as if she
01:09were the queen of her own planet. She beams with confidence, yet these feelings of alienation
01:14are so complex that the only way to unpack them is through song.
01:24Number 9. Please, Please, Please. The Tonight Show, starring Jimmy Fallon.
01:30While Carpenter had been in the business for over a decade, 2024 was a major turning point
01:36for her. Please, Please, Please became her first single to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
01:42In addition to topping several other charts,
01:44Please, Please, Please, Please don't throw my mind.
01:50She introduced the song to TV audiences with her performance on The Tonight Show. Recreating
01:56her short and sweet album cover, Carpenter sports a lipstick kiss on her shoulder.
02:01Don't bring me to tears when I just did my makeup so nice.
02:08Although she isn't the only one on stage, the spotlight on Carpenter emphasizes the internal
02:14arguments we often have when dating someone others don't approve of. Carpenter can only
02:19hope this relationship isn't a mistake. Even if it is, she'll rise above it just as she rises
02:25atop that piano.
02:30Number 8. Homeward Bound. Saturday Night Live, 50th Anniversary Special.
02:36Paul Simon was among the first musicians to perform on SNL. Carpenter is one of the more
02:41recent artists who went viral on SNL. On a night that celebrated the past, present and future,
02:47the show's 50th Anniversary Special appropriately commenced with a duet that blended two generations
02:53in harmony. Homeward Bound, which Simon previously performed on SNL with the late George Harrison,
03:07sets the perfect tone for a show many talents have come and gone from over the decades. Whenever
03:12they return though, it feels like home. The same can be said for audiences who've been tuning into SNL
03:18for years. Carpenter wasn't alive when SNL debuted. Neither were her parents.
03:23I sang this song with George Harrison on Saturday Night Live in 1976.
03:32I was not born then, and neither were my parents.
03:36Yet Carpenter has forever carved out a place in the show's storied legacy.
03:40Number 7. Because I Liked a Boy, Samsung's Summer of Galaxy event provided a platform for Carpenter
03:57to promote several songs from her fifth studio album, Emails I Can't Send. The standout performance
04:03was Because I Liked a Boy, one of Carpenter's darkest, yet most hauntingly honest songs.
04:09Tell me who I am, guess I don't have a choice. All because I liked a boy.
04:16The lyrics explore the singer's feelings for a boy and the online hate they ignited. Carpenter
04:22bears her soul, unpacking the vulnerability and heartbreak she has experienced. Through this
04:27performance, Carpenter reclaims her voice, turning it against the haters who shamed and threatened her.
04:33Was only trying to hold you close while your heart's failing.
04:38Carpenter not only empowers herself, but also the audience who join in the ballad. Celebrities
04:44may be the biggest social media targets, yet anyone online can be harassed for something
04:49as simple as liking a boy.
04:51Number 6. Thumbs. Live on the Honda stage at the iHeart Radio Theatre, LA. Carpenter's second studio
05:05album, Evolution, signified her artistic growth as she moved away from teen pop to a more mature sound.
05:11In addition to performing the album's lead single, On Purpose, Carpenter debuted Thumbs
05:21at Los Angeles' iHeart Radio Theatre. You could sense the audience's excitement hearing this song
05:27for the first time, as Carpenter's vocals are backed up with rhythmic finger snaps. If you aren't
05:33snapping along, you'll definitely be twiddling your thumbs and bouncing off the floor.
05:43The performance keeps gaining momentum as the melody crawls its way into your head. The only cure
05:49is to dance it off with your thumbs spinning in the air. We can't think of a higher praise for this
05:55performance, then a big thumbs up.
06:00Number 5. Almost Love. Live from Wango Tango. Singular. Act 1. Carpenter's third studio album
06:07produced the single Almost Love, which topped the dance club song's billboard chart.
06:16The dance floor lit up at Wango Tango, where Carpenter performed the song days ahead of its
06:22official release. Before Carpenter appears on stage, her backup dancers set the mood against an
06:27aesthetic that screams ancient Greece, with a modern twist. Just like the statues in the background,
06:33Carpenter practically turns us to stone with her entrance.
06:41The performance is anything but lifeless, though quickly influencing spectators to dance along.
06:47As the title suggests, the song is about romantic feelings that were never fully realised. Yet,
06:53the love was felt among the crowd as Carpenter unveiled her new single to adoring applause.
07:08Number 4. Espresso. Please, please, please. 67th Annual Grammy Awards. Along with please, please,
07:16please, please. Carpenter defined 2024 with Espresso, another Billboard Hot 100 hit.
07:27Carpenter sang both at the 2025 Grammys, where she won Best Pop Solo Performance for Espresso,
07:34and Best Pop Vocal Album for Short and Sweet. Please, please, please was also nominated for Song of the
07:40Year. Watching her performance, it's clear why these smash hits brought Carpenter so many accolades.
07:46This showstopper commences with a literal showstopper, as things seemingly don't go according to plan.
07:52Mixing classic Hollywood glamour and her signature goofball charm, Carpenter quickly shifts gears with a
07:58costume change. Backup dancers join in as Carpenter puts a refreshing spin on each song. This is reflected
08:09in the performance's brisk blue backdrop, leaving us breathless.
08:18Number 3. Espresso. Saturday Night Live.
08:222024 truly felt like Carpenter's coronation to a new level of fame, her appearance on the season finale of SNL
08:29being a high point.
08:38Although her performances of Feather and Nonsense overflowed with charisma, everyone was talking
08:43about Espresso after this episode aired. If the song had somehow eluded you up to this point,
08:50this was the moment it started living in your head rent-free.
08:58Where most SNL musical acts are fairly straightforward, Carpenter brought a theatricality to this
09:04performance. With a bar backdrop, two backup dancers fight over Carpenter, who practically possesses her own
09:11gravitational pull. While tension between the guys grows heated, Carpenter keeps it breezy. She flirts with
09:17everyone in the room, who are ecstatic just to be in her orbit.
09:28Number 2. Espresso.
09:31Slash. Bedkem. 45th Brit Awards.
09:34Taking home the prize for global success at the 2025 Brit Awards, Carpenter demonstrated why she's
09:40become an international sensation with this performance. It pulls out all the stops, with a
09:45fleet of Kingsguard dancers marching down a stage modelled after the Union flag.
09:51They set the stage for musical royalty as Carpenter appears in a skimpier version of the red uniform.
10:10Transitioning from Espresso to Bedkem, Carpenter rises from a heart-shaped bed in the mood for love.
10:16Although the crowd went wild, some viewers felt Carpenter's performance and outfits were too seductive.
10:26They argued it should have been reserved for watershed time when mature programming airs.
10:31To that, Carpenter replied,
10:33Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
10:43You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
10:47If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
10:53Number 1. Please, please, please.
10:55Slash. Taste. Slash. Espresso.
10:5740th MTV Video Music Awards
11:00Carpenter performed Feather and Nonsense for the VMA's pre-show in 2023.
11:12As stunning as this appearance was, it felt like a dress rehearsal compared to the following year's main show.
11:18Hanging from a diamond-shaped swing with a giant MTV Moon Man in the background, Carpenter makes her landing.
11:24The space setting pays homage to Britney Spears' Oops, I Did It Again, which can be briefly heard as well.
11:38On the lunar surface of the stage, Carpenter finds herself caught in the middle of an astronaut and an alien, giving the latter a taste.
11:46With a chorus of spacemen lining up, Carpenter caps the performance off with espresso,
11:52though, which won the VMA Song of the Year?
11:54It was one giant leap for Carpenter's career.
12:01What's your favorite Sabrina Carpenter song?
12:03Let us know in the comments.
12:08Do you agree with our picks?
12:10Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
12:13And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
12:16Sorry!
12:17Thank you!
12:18Bye!
12:27Bye!
12:28Bye!
12:29Bye!
12:29Bye!
12:29Bye!
12:30Bye!
12:30Bye!
12:31Bye!
12:31Bye!
12:43Bye!
Comments