December of 2023, Sabrina Carpenter graced her fans with a holiday-themed mini episode, consisting of six songs, called “Fruitcake”. Since then, her popularity has grown and has only expanded the limit of what she has to offer her fans. This year, she has given us a comedic variety TV special that includes different holiday songs, a few duets, and is filled with comedic cameos too, showcasing her talent alongside her unique humor.
The TV special is a fifty minute movie on Netflix with song performances and cameos, all led by Sabrina Carpenter.
The first song she presented, “Buy Me Presents”, is a song released last year by Carpenter. From that first song, the old Hollywood theme came alive, noticeably with her Marilyn Monroe-inspired hot pink dress and the live audience at the front of the stage where she performed.
Then, a humorous and grateful Carpenter welcomes everyone who is watching her holiday special. “You could’ve been anywhere tonight, spending time with family, helping the less fortunate, but instead, you’re here, half watching a big screen while scrolling social media on a smaller screen, and for that, I’m forever grateful,” she said.
Performing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” with a nonsensical twist is what this Christmas should be all about. Keeping alive her lyrics, the set design with background dancers, as she performs, is the most random, yet entertaining part to watch, all fitting with her theme. Carpenter makes notes that it isn’t a completely innocent special, as she plays with the lyrics “You can watch with your aunties/I might mention panties/But don’t fret, it’s TV-14.” Carpenter tops the song off by finally placing a star above the Christmas tree.
The doorbell rings as she makes an espresso martini after singing. Carpenter opens the door to reveal the first guest of the special, Tyla. They both duet on “This Christmas”, their voices together being a satisfying combination of the perfect Christmas song. With the home background behind them, the feeling of “cozy” is expressed towards the audience.
Carpenter travels back to her Christmas episode from the year before as she sings the hit song “Santa Doesn’t Know You Like I Do”. She goes back to the stage background, adding back the old Hollywood vibe as she performs her best Christmas song, in my opinion.
Now it wouldn’t be a Christmas show without Santa. And it wouldn’t be nonsensical if he didn’t randomly start singing Carpenter’s summer hit “Espresso”. Funny story, Sean Austin was Santa for the evening. In the cameo, Austin acted as Carpenter’s boyfriend, to which Carpenter’s friend guessed was Santa.
It was quickly cut short as Owen Thiele started pitching “Nonsense” outros to Sabrina Carpenter, to which she humorously played down and moved on to the next song.
Country-pop legend Shania Twain was one of the most unexpected guests from the show. Her singing “Santa Baby” with Sabrina Carpenter was truly magical as it added more sass to the song. Twain’s voice was truly a necessary embellishment to complete the song.
Soon after, another sketch quickly breaks out as Jillian Bell is introduced as Amy, Sabrina’s pretend sister, and Kyle Mooney as Dave, the husband, and Sabrina begins rapping about being unsure of what to get her brother-in-law.While it was a very short rap, it was very fun and light-hearted as it related to viewer’s when being unsure of what to buy another person. I know I certainly related!
After another “Nonsense” outro being suggested by Kyle Mooney, and getting rejected jokingly, “I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” plays, with her third featuring artist, Kali Uchis. The lyrics remained very suggestive towards the theme, but with the vibe of a warm and cozy living room, it still felt like a great Christmas song. The mesh of both their voices provided a very sweet mixture for fans of both of them to enjoy.
Surprisingly, Nico Hiraga is introduced as this famous Youtuber who constantly ghosts girls for the next cameo, Carpenter being one of them. Carpenter is the spirit of Ghosted past, then Quinta Brunson is the next in line, who is currently getting ghosted, thus, making her the spirit of Ghosted Present. An obvious play of words, something Carpenter is well-known for doing. Cara Delvgine is the next person introduced, as someone who is going to be ghosted in the future, making her the spirit of Ghosted Future. After correcting playboy Scrouge, the character Hiraga plays, and allowing him to learn from his mistakes, a new song starts playing.
Introducing Chappell Roan as the final artist being featured singing was a smart move. “Last Christmas” performed by both of them was not the most well-liked performance. Many people thought their voices didn’t mix well together. I, personally, really enjoyed it, and thought it allowed for a more different sort of sound to be produced.. However, my music taste has always been like that, so it could be because I’m used to it. Whether or not it was good,, it was still enjoyable to watch as they both sang in the Christmas spirit.
A more melancholy tone is added as a black and white filter takes over the screen and “Cindy Lou Who” begins playing. Old Hollywood is quickly re-introduced, as it shows a very dramatic change in mood and tone, displaying Christmas heartbreak at its finest, in a great song.
To finish off with her last song, the colors come back. A quick outfit change to a Santa Claus-inspired bodysuit, and Sabrina Carpenter starts singing the famous “A Nonsense Christmas” with her custom outro. She travels throughout the set to the large stage, where she finishes her song with the outro the fans have waited a long time to see. Carpenter sings, “Well, here we are my special at its ending/ Love you all. And thank you for attending/ I can’t believe I kept it family-‘friendly’.”
Overall, the special definitely tried to give old TV vibes, something the audience heavily enjoyed. The song picks to the jokes, the whole comedy holiday special was something for the laughs. Adding a behind-the-scenes moment after the special ended also helped make it feel more genuine to watch. There were many suggestive jokes throughout the show, but if that’s your humor, you’re in for a holiday laugh if you watch it!