Sabrina Carpenter just launched her Short N’ Sweet Tour in Columbus, Ohio last night (September 23), and a few things stood out. First, the setlist was terrific. Second, Carpenter has a pre-taped and-of-show goodbye video that is gold. Third, something was different about “Nonsense.”
Is Sabrina Carpenter Doing “Nonsense” Outros On The Short N’ Sweet Tour?
Fans know that traditionally, when Carpenter performs her song “Nonsense,” she usually switches up the lyrics of the song’s outro, usually to reflect the location or occasion of the performance. Well, in Columbus, she didn’t do that. Instead, right before the outro started, the video screen behind her (intentionally) glitched out, Carpenter was lowered into the stage as her microphone was muted, and behind her, an on-screen message read, “We apologize for the interruption of our program due to technical difficulties.” There’s a video of that here.
This has been interpreted by some as Carpenter’s way of retiring the “Nonsense” outro from her live shows, which has prompted mixed reactions online.
Some online commenters aren’t sure about the apparent decision, with one user writing, “Cutting the best part of the show? That’s like taking the punchline out of a joke. Fans live for those outros, and now it’s just ‘Nonsense’ without the spice. Let’s hope this isn’t a permanent change, because that’s what makes her shows unforgettable!”
However, many users are understanding of the “Nonsense” tradition potentially coming to an end. One user wrote, “she’s growing as an artist no need for her to cling onto the same trick and she has new songs to perform now,” another added, “that’s so smart to “end” that era like this,” and another chimed in, “i know she was so TIRED.”
(Coincidentally, this is all happening shortly after “Nonsense” eclipsed 1 billion streams on Spotify.)
Important to note is that as of this post, Carpenter hasn’t confirmed the theories, and it remains to be seen if Carpenter will give “Nonsense” the same treatment at upcoming performances.
Update: In an interview shared on October 2, Carpenter confirmed she is currently done performing “Nonsense” outros, saying, “The extreme ‘it’s over forever’ is just not in my repertoire. Maybe I’ll feel random one day and bring it back. [But] that was for that album, for that era. You’ve got to keep a thing good.”
