Sabrina Carpenter on When She Realized She Reached a New Level of Fame

It's been "fast times" for Sabrina Carpenter.

In a cover story interview with TIME for the TIME100 Next, the "Nonsense" singer, 25, opened up about when she realized she reached a new level of fame.

For Carpenter, that moment came when she was mentioned in a joke by Dan and Eugene Levy during their opening monologue at the 2024 Emmys.

“That was probably the first time I was like, Oh, I'm not even there," she told the publication.

Elsewhere in the conversation, the "Espresso" artist opened up about how at this juncture in her career she feels ready for the fame she's experiencing.

“I grew up watching those performances and being like, I want to do that," Carpenter said of performing at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, which was "another dream realized." "But then it all just seemed so—not even out of reach, just like I had a different plan in my head of when it was all supposed to happen."

After years of grinding in the music industry, she can see her success paying off.

“I feel so prepared for these moments,” said Carpenter. “If I was even 17 or 18, I think I would have been way, way more nervous and intimidated.” 

She also recalled that she "literally threw up" when she found out she was going to be a musical guest on Saturday Night Live — something that would also happen to her if she "could perform at the Grammys."

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Carpenter also reflected on how embracing her sexuality in her work has resulted in some of the criticism that Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera faced over the years.

When asked if she receives the same type of commentary, she said, “No, I definitely get that as well."

Although she believes that pop stars like Spears, Aguilera, Rihanna and Madonna have helped shift the conversation, there are still a few detractors out there.

“But you'll still get the occasional mother that has a strong opinion on how you should be dressing," said Carpenter. "And to that I just say, don't come to the show and that’s OK."

She continued: "It's unfortunate that it's ever been something to criticize, because truthfully, the scariest thing in the world is getting up on a stage in front of that many people and having to perform as if it's nothing. If the one thing that helps you do that is the way you feel comfortable dressing, then that's what you’ve got to do."