Sabrina Carpenter Wants Fans to Put Their Phones Away
The singer says locking up phones at concerts could create a more meaningful, focused experience—for both fans and performers.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Sabrina Carpenter performs onstage during the 67th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Sabrina Carpenter has a clear message for concertgoers: put the phones away. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the singer said she supports banning phones at her shows—even if it upsets some fans.
“This will honestly piss off my fans, but absolutely,” Carpenter said about locking up phones in pouches for the duration of her concerts.
Her opinion shifted after attending a phone-free Silk Sonic show in Las Vegas.
“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 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 next album Man's Best Friend arrives August 29, admits that seeing phones out during performances feels normal now.
“It unfortunately feels super normal,” she said. “I can’t blame people for wanting to have memories.”
Still, she’s wary of constantly being under a digital microscope.
“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,” she said. “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.”
Carpenter is far from alone in her thinking. A growing number of artists have pushed back against phone use at live shows.
In 2016, Adele addressed a fan mid-show for recording her with a video camera:
“Can you stop filming me with a video camera?” she asked (via CBS). “Because I'm really here in real life, you can enjoy it in real life, rather than through your camera.”
Jack White also went phone-free during his 2018 tour, letting fans know their devices would be locked away for the night (Vice).
More recently, Busta Rhymes voiced frustration with phones during his 2024 Essence Festival performance:
“Ayo f--- them camera phones, too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans,” he told the audience. “Put them weird a-- devices down!”
Even Iron Maiden’s longtime manager Rod Smallwood weighed in, calling out what he described as “selfish” fans for excessive filming.
“It is so much better when they can see you unencumbered and that drives them on without that distraction,” he wrote. “For the selfish few that didn’t and just had to keep videoing... I wish you nothing but a very sore arm!”
As Carpenter prepares to tour behind Man’s Best Friend, she hopes to see more faces—and fewer phone screens—in the crowd.
