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FAN STORY: Here’s How Meaningful It Is To Meet Sabrina Carpenter After Letting Her Music Change Your Life
If you have been supporting Sabrina since day 1, Laura’s story is for you.
If you have ever seen Sabrina Carpenter perform live, you know there are almost no words to describe its power. And if you’ve yet to meet her in person, it is such a rewarding experience to follow her career from afar. Either way, Sabrina Carpenter fan Laura knows how it feels. We asked Laura to share her story with us: from first finding the fandom, to supporting her on tour. Along the way, Sabrina’s powerful songs helped her through tough times, and allowed her to connect to so many other devoted fans. In her own words, here’s her story:
I’ve been a fan of Sabrina Carpenter since Girl Meets World was first announced. I grew up watching and loving Boy Meets World with my family and was so excited for Girl Meets World. I remember looking up Sabrina months before the show even aired to learn more about her. I found a livestream video with her and Rowan Blanchard having a sleepover and answering questions. It was so adorable it made me even more excited to see them on the show. Disney Channel started airing the “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying” music video a few months before Girl Meets World first aired, and I was looking at her like “this is the new Shawn character…” Once the show started, I loved it and watched it with my family every week. We would laugh together and discuss the life lessons of every single episode. My mom and I also loved the “Take on the World” theme song as it was such a happy, motivational song (sung by Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter) and a great way to start the show.
I loved Sabrina as Maya. I saw myself in her in many ways, as I was also raised by my incredible single mother. I was also so moved and touched by the way Sabrina portrayed Maya: she was able to show her as vulnerable yet very strong. I wrote a letter to Sabrina at the time, writing, “I imagine you have a hard character to portray, as Maya is so hurt, is delicate but strong and is usually struggling. You portray Maya beautifully and show all of her vulnerabilities, her strength and her hopes.” Sabrina mailed back a signed personalized photo that said “thank you for your amazing letter.” This meant so much to me. I was so happy to receive this personalized photo and that she loved my letter. I still have it framed in my room.
During this time, when Girl Meets World first premiered, I started looking up Sabrina’s music and fell in love with her and her performances. Her EP was yet to be released, but she had these “Disney Playlist Sessions” on YouTube with her sister Sarah and their band. The first song I loved from this live performance session was “The Middle of Starting Over” and I would watch it again and again.
I loved watching Sabrina’s live performances on YouTube. They were incredible already. As the year went on, Sabrina started releasing more YouTube covers and acoustic versions of her songs. I loved whenever she and Sarah sang together, as their harmonies were so beautiful and comforting. My favorites were the Lorde cover “Bravado,” their acoustic version of “Too Young” and their acoustic cover of “Thinking Out Loud.” My mom and I also loved how Sabrina and Sarah would completely change a song and make it their own, like when they completely slowed down Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off.” We would listen to the YouTube videos all the time.
Over the next few months, Sabrina started performing concerts. Unfortunately, they were across the country from me, so my ever seeing her in concert or meeting her was just a dream at the time. I would watch the fan-filmed videos of Sabrina’s concerts over and over and was in awe of the incredible shows she performed. Even through a computer screen, I still felt the magic and the shows touched me deeply. I followed Sabrina’s career from afar, since I was unable to see her in person. My friend was going to the opening of the Christmas show Sabrina was in in LA, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, A Pirates Christmas, and was going to hand deliver a letter to Sabrina for me. In the letter, I wrote how much I loved her music and loved her on Girl Meets World and hoped to see her in concert one day. At the time it was just a dream as all of her shows were nowhere near me.
Sabrina and Sarah’s music brought me a lot of comfort when I was having a very hard time. My mother was very sick, so I would play and sing along to their calming cover of “Bravado” over and over when she was in the hospital and it really helped get me through.
A few months later, my mother passed away. In the hospital, Sabrina’s music brought me comfort as I just kept playing her cover of “Bravado” over and over. It has now been a year and a half since my mother passed away. Sabrina’s music is one of the things that helped me get through. Her music and concerts have been one of the few things that has brought me true happiness while I have been in deep mourning.
A few months after my mother passed, Sabrina announced she would be on Live with Kelly and Michael to debut the song “Smoke and Fire.” I live nearby and tried to get tickets to the show to be in the audience. I tried and tried, but it was sold out. I decided to show up anyway and wait on the standby line. I ended up getting in and got to hear “Smoke and Fire” live. It was only one song, obviously not a full concert. I had really bad seats and could not see Sabrina, but it was still so incredible to hear her live and sing along. I remember singing along and some people behind me were singing too. I was so happy to be there and hear Sabrina live for the first time and see Sarah and the band that I had been watching on YouTube for years.
After the taping, I waited outside with a group of only 10 other people behind a barricade in hopes of meeting Sabrina. We waited for a bit and then her car left the garage. Sabrina had the window rolled down, was filming us on her phone and waving at us and thanking us for coming. Then a few fans yelled “jump out!” and in the middle of crazy NYC traffic, Sabrina and Sarah jumped out of the car and ran to meet us.
Let me repeat that, these two angels stopped NYC traffic to meet their fans and thank them for coming. I don’t know any other celebrity who would do that. It was so incredible and shows how much they love their fans. It was only for a few seconds, but it was amazing. Sabrina and Sarah took a few selfies with people and said, “thank you for coming.” I didn’t get selfies with them as it was so fast, but it was amazing to be standing next to Sabrina and to see how thankful she was for us.
A few months later, Sabrina announced her Evolution album and tour. I grabbed tickets as fast as I could and was so excited for my first real Sabrina concert and meet and greet. I was counting down the days. I first saw her at the Tanger Outlets where she performed an outdoor concert including some very moving Christmas songs. I am always so in awe seeing Sabrina and Sarah and their band perform live, as I have watched them on YouTube for years and they have brought me so much joy. During my meet and greet, I got to tell Sabrina how much she means to me and how much her music has helped me. She is always so humbled and so incredibly kind when you meet her. I also saw her at the Highline Ballroom in NYC, which was incredible. The two shows were very different as one was outdoors with a huge crowd and one was in the ballroom where she would kneel down and sing right to you, so I was very lucky to experience both shows.
Sabrina truly has a way of making every fan feel so special. When you meet her, she is so gracious and so happy you came to see her. When she is on stage, she has a way of connecting with every audience member, by looking right into your eyes and singing a lyric. I love how her shows involve the audience so much, from twiddling your thumbs, to holding up a light for “We’ll Be the Stars,” or screaming “Love” during “All We Have is Love.” Sabrina makes every person part of the show and it is so special. I also love how during every song, Sabrina will yell “Sing it!” as she wants to hear the audience sing with her. I always sing along (I can’t help it) and love that she encourages the audience to sing with her and is so happy to hear our voices.
With every show, I am more in awe of Sabrina’s incredible talent and genuine, kind personality. I noticed, especially with her most recent tour, The Detour, that while singing, Sabrina looks at the audience and emphasizes the words, to make sure they take home her messages. It was so moving to see her emphasize the words in one of my favorite songs, “Shadows.” Sabrina sang, “listen to me, (and moved her head and her eyes to look at audience members and really mean it) it’s ok to be afraid, just walk like you’re never alone…”
During the Detour, Sabrina ended the show with a new, unreleased song, “Alone Together.” It was so beautiful and poetic and is such a moving song. When Sarah joined in to harmonize that song I remember I had to catch my breath for a moment as it was so beautiful. Seeing them in concert means so much to me as I remember myself watching them on YouTube for years and I am so happy to finally see them in person.
Some of the most inspirational songs to me are “Eyes Wide Open,” “We’ll Be the Stars” and “On Purpose.” At concerts, I think of my mom during “We’ll be the Stars” and think of her watching over me. These songs are very inspiring to go after your dreams and believe in yourself. If I’m having a bad day, these songs will instantly lift my spirits. I had a serious health problem last year and the songs “Shadows” and “No Words” also brought me so much comfort and really helped me get through.
Sabrina has such a special place in my heart and is the only artist I would travel to another city to see or who I feel I have to see in concert multiple times. When I am at the concerts, I have the biggest smile on my face and have the happiest feeling that lasts for days after the concert. She makes everyone feel so loved. Sabrina has said many times that she wrote “Shadows” for us, her “family” of fans as we all meet her and tell her our stories. I thought of myself and how I poured my heart out to her about my mom and I thought of the thousands of other fans that have done the same. Sabrina has a true gift with her voice and talent but also has such a big heart that touches everyone. I love that no matter how big she is getting, she is still so kind, down to earth and our loving friend.
I have also been very lucky to meet many friends through the Sabrina and Girl Meets World fan community. I have met many friends online and we have become very close. It is amazing to think that I only met them because of Sabrina and because of Girl Meets World. Sabrina’s fans are so loving and loyal and many share their talents to support Sabrina. One of my friends, Mar, runs the website BMWsequel.com and her website and Facebook page has brought together so many fans into a beautiful community. It is amazing to see all of the fans come together to support Sabrina and how proud we all are to see her living her dream. With each new accomplishment, we are all so proud of her and happy for her.
I have also met great friends at the concerts. I was able to meet up with one friend from online at a concert, which was amazing. I wish I could go to the concerts with more online friends, but we all live so far away. We share our joys and concert reports over the phone or online with each other. I have even met great people standing in line and we are still friends today. At Sabrina’s concerts, most of the fans are so warm and welcoming to each other and it really feels like a room full of love. The NJ Detour especially, had such a warm feeling where we were all together and became close as we helped each other find food, parking and the night ended with thunderstorms, so we were all helping each other find our cars and how to get home. My brother and I ended up helping two young women circle the neighborhood to find their car. It just felt like Sabrina truly created a “family” as she calls it, as everyone was so full of love and kindness after her concert.
One of my favorite Sabrina stories is when my brother met her at the NJ Detour. His phone was out of room when he tried to take the “meet and greet” selfie with her. He even deleted an app and tried again, but still no room. Sabrina was so kind and asked her professional photographer to take extra photos of them and for one of them she said, “hold up your hands as if we’re taking a selfie.”
So now my brother has extra professional pictures and “professional selfies.” The photographer also captured an amazing picture of the two of them laughing about it, which has become my favorite picture.
Sabrina was so kind to do this and this is just one example of how down to earth and accommodating she is to her fans.When you see Sabrina onstage living her dream, you can’t help but be so proud of her and so happy for her. Seeing Sabrina with the biggest smile, doing what she loves is so inspiring to work hard and follow your dreams and pursue what you love. Sabrina never seems to stop or have time off. Seeing her work so hard inspires me to keep going and work just as hard. Knowing Sabrina started as a child making YouTube covers and making silly backyard videos with her sisters (she has adorable dancing and comedy videos from when she was little which I really enjoy watching) makes you feel like she is “the girl next door” and came from such relatable roots and here she is living her dream and so happy.
When you follow her career and follow her online, you see how hard she works and how far she has come. She has been on tour nonstop all year–from her Evolution tour, to her radio tour, to her European tour, to the Detour. I also saw how on the radio tour she traveled to perform at each radio station, showing how she really worked for each radio play and each record sale. She just shines and makes all of her fans so happy. It’s kind of hard to describe how happy she makes me, but she is amazing. Sabrina has such a strong voice onstage, but when you meet her she just listens to you and gives you a hug and makes you feel like everything is okay.
