Sabrina Carpenter had a premonition during her last Coachella performance in 2024, singing to a buzzing crowd at the time that she would "see you back here when I headline." It was a less distant reality than even she may have anticipated. Almost exactly two years later, Carpenter graced the stage as the Friday night headliner for Coachella 2026, delivering an intricate, vintage Hollywood-style performance complete with cameos from Sam Elliott, Susan Sarandon, and Will Ferrell, further solidifying her status as one of pop's biggest performers.
"If I said that and I didn't headline, it'd be pretty fucking awkward," Carpenter joked at one point during the night, referencing her 2024 prediction.
Starting just past 9 p.m. on Friday night, Carpenter's set opened with a long video intro featuring Elliott playing a menacing cop who pulled her over in a classic film noir scenario. Emerging from her car in real life just off the stage, she took to a catwalk that looked like her very own walk of fame, and kicked off the show with her latest single "House Tour" from Man's Best Friend. From there, she performed "Taste," "Busy Woman," and "Manchild," where she was surrounded by background dancers dressed as poodles and Dalmatians.
In an interview with Marc Jacobs in Perfect magazine published earlier this week, Carpenter had hinted that Coachella would mark "the most ambitious show I've ever done." That was on full display Friday from the production and set design, which had Carpenter performing in front of a makeshift Hollywood Hills, complete with her own "Sabrinawood" sign that emerged as she started "When Did You Get Hot."
"Welcome to Sabrinawood," Carpenter told the crowd early in the night. "I can't believe I'm headlining Coachella. I mean, I can a little bit, but it's nicer to say that, right?"
