Sabrina Carpenter has contemplated implementing a phone ban at her shows, even though it will “honestly piss off” her fans.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Carpenter said she came round to the idea after going to a Silk Sonic concert where phones were banned, which she believed improved the experience.
“I went to see Silk Sonic in Vegas, and they locked my phone. I’ve never had a better experience at a concert,” she said. “I genuinely felt like I was back in the ’70s — 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.”
She continued: “I’ve grown up in the age of people having iPhones at shows. It unfortunately feels super normal to me. I can’t blame people for wanting to have memories. 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.”
Phone bans at gigs are becoming increasingly common, often using pouches that gig goers keep on their person which usually cannot be unlocked until the end of the show. Jack White has been one notable supporter of phone bans as far back as 2018, claiming it allows for a “100% human experience“.
More recently, Ghost enforced a “phone-free” rule for their world tour this year, saying it’s “so hard to get people to engage”.
In an interview with Loudwire Nights, frontman Tobias Forge opened up about the policy, saying “we want [fans] to be there in the moment”.
“The face value of not seeing phones was literally like time travel,” he said of the first time they tried the policy at a show in Los Angeles. “I’m not talking about like back to the ’80s, I’m talking about maybe 10 years back in time when people were generally not filming as much, whereas now in modern times it’s just ridiculous. If you’re playing in front of 10,000 people, 8,000 people are holding a phone. I wish it was like this all the time.”
In addition, Bob Dylan announced a very similar scheme for his UK tour last year.
Last week, Carpenter announced her new album ‘Man’s Best Friend’, which will be released on August 29. It will include the lead single ‘Manchild’, the video for which sees her casting aside the inept men in her life as she hitchhikes across the US.
The ‘Man’s Best Friend’ artwork, which sees her kneeling on the floor as an unidentified person stands beside her and pulls on her hair, has drawn criticism from a women’s charity, who described it as “a throwback to tired tropes that reduce women to pets, props and possessions and promote an element of violence and control”.
Carpenter has responded to the critique, saying: “I’m living in the glory of no one hearing it or knowing about it, and so I can not care. I can not give a fuck about it, because I’m just so excited.”
In other news, Miley Cyrus recently voiced her concern for Carpenter’s wellbeing due to her hectic touring schedule.
English (US) · 