NEED TO KNOW
Sabrina Carpenter is considering banning phones during her concerts despite it will likely “piss off” her fans
The singer said that it “unfortunately feels super normal” to her growing up in a time where people have their phones out during shows
Her new album Man’s Best Friend comes out in August
Sabrina Carpenter wants fans to please, please, please put their phones away.
The “Espresso” singer told Rolling Stone about how she feels about people using their phones during concerts. “This will honestly piss off my fans, but absolutely,” Carpenter, 26, said, regarding banning phones during her shows and locking them in a pouch for the show’s duration.
“I went to see Silk Sonic in Vegas, and they locked my phone. I’ve never had a better experience at a concert. I genuinely felt like I was back in the Seventies — wasn’t alive. Genuinely felt like I was there. Everyone’s singing, dancing, looking at each other, and laughing. It really, really just felt so beautiful.”
Carpenter, whose new album Man’s Best Friend comes out in August, said that it “unfortunately feels super normal” to her growing up in a time where people have their phones out during shows. “I can’t blame people for wanting to have memories.”
Jeff Kravitz/Getty
Sabrina Carpenter in 2024
The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!
Carpenter added that she hopes fans aren’t focusing on her face for too long. “But depending on how long I want to be touring, and what age I am, girl, take those phones away. You cannot zoom in on my face.”
“Right now, my skin is soft and supple. It’s fine. Do not zoom in on me when I’m 80 years old up there,” she continued.
The “Taste” singer isn’t the first musician to consider — or even institute — a phone ban at their show. Madonna, Bob Dylan and Adele are among those who forbade cell phones at concerts.
Adele, 37, called out a fan for filming her during a concert in 2016. “I want to tell that lady as well, can you stop filming me with a video camera?” the “Hello” singer said during the show, per CBS. “Because I’m really here in real life, you can enjoy it in real life, rather than through your camera.”
Jack White’s 2018 tour was cell-phone free, letting fans know ahead of time that they would be locked up for the duration of the performance, per Vice.
During the 2024 Essence Festival of Culture, Busta Rhymes became angry with the crowd during his performance when they took their phones out. “Ayo f— them camera phones, too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans,” he said. “Put them weird ass devices down!”
Kevin Winter/Getty
Sabrina Carpenter in 2025
Iron Maiden’s manager also put out a statement about “selfish” fans who attend the heavy metal band’s Run For Your Lives World Tour and break out their phones. Rod Smallwood asked the fans to transport to the 1980s, which is to say, not “excessively film the concerts on their phones or tablets.”
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
“It is so much better when they can see you unencumbered and that drives them on without that distraction,” Smallwood wrote. “For the selfish few that didn’t and just had to keep videoing… I wish you nothing but a very sore arm!”
Man’s Best Friend is out Aug. 29.
Read the original article on People
