Whether you believe Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us or Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso is the song of the summer is certainly up for debate, but it’s clear that the latter knows how to play to a Toronto crowd.
Carpenter is on her ‘Short n’Sweet Tour’ this summer and performed at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday evening, where she eventually rocked a Maple Leafs jersey while performing Espresso, an infectious hit that has played virtually everywhere this year. The pop star rocked a custom ‘Carpenter’ No. 24 Maple Leafs jersey, ad-libbing a few jokes about espresso and the audience needing to wake up, before performing the song with the crowd singing along in unison.
It’s a clever move, especially when this summer’s pop culture milieu has often been dictated by vicious dunks on a Toronto-area rapper, who will go unnamed for the purposes of this blog.
We’re not entirely sure if Carpenter has been watching the Maple Leafs over the past few seasons, but she’s certainly welcome among the sprawling fan base. Carpenter has previously made appearances at Kansas City Chiefs games and has thrown out the first pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays home game as well.
🚨| Sabrina Carpenter stuns in “Toronto Maple Leafs” jersey performing “Espresso” at tonight’s show! #TorontoShortnSweet pic.twitter.com/zeGNjOvWV6
— Short n’ Sweet Tour (@ShortnSweetTour) September 26, 2024
It would probably be a sweet idea if the Maple Leafs welcomed to her a game this season, capitalizing on the success of her breakout album, Short n’Sweet, which has been fixture on the Billboard 200 chart since its release. Please, please, please, we need to see this happen!
Sabrina has the passion pic.twitter.com/y8ghOsSrJj
— Mel (@swedechildomine) September 26, 2024
Carpenter isn’t the first major North American artist to rock Maple Leafs colours this year, as 50 Cent was seen wearing a Maple Leafs hat during his Boston concert in July — although it may not have had the same effect as Carpenter’s homage, given that the Bruins eliminated the Leafs in seven games. In any event, Carpenter will certainly be welcomed back to Toronto with open arms on her next tour date.
To quote Carpenter: Is it that sweet? I guess so!
