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

Those were “fast times” for Sabrina Carpenter.

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

For Carpenter, that moment came when Dan and Eugene Levy jokingly mentioned her during their opening monologue at the 2024 Emmys.

“That was probably the first time I said, Oh, I’m not even there“, she told the publication.

Sabrina Carpenter for ‘TIME’.

Photo by Charlotte Rutherford for TIME

Sabrina Carpenter Makes Time100’s Next List and Receives a Sweet Message from Christina Aguilera (Exclusive)

Elsewhere in the conversation, the “Espressa” artist opened up about how she feels ready for the fame she’s experiencing at this point in her career.

“I grew up watching those shows and I was like, ‘I want to do this,'” Carpenter said of performing at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, which was “another dream come true.” “But then it all just seemed that way – not even out of reach, just like I had a different plan in my head when it was all about to happen.”

After years of working in the music industry, she sees that her success has paid off.

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

She also recalled that she “literally threw up” when she found out that she would be the musical guest at Saturday night live — something that would have also happened to her if she “could have performed at the Grammys.”

Never miss a story — subscribe to PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Sabrina Carpenter for ‘TIME’.

Photo by Charlotte Rutherford for TIME

Sabrina Carpenter Makes Time100’s Next List and Receives a Sweet Message from Christina Aguilera (Exclusive)

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

When asked if she gets the same kind of comments, she said, “No, I definitely do.”

While he believes pop stars like Spears, Aguilera, Rihanna and Madonna have helped change the conversation, there are still a few detractors.

“But you’ll still occasionally get a mother who has a strong opinion about how you should dress,” Carpenter said. “To that I just say, don’t come to the show and that’s fine.”

She continued: “It’s unfortunate that it was ever something to criticize, because honestly, the scariest thing in the world is to get up on stage in front of so many people and have to act like it’s nothing. If the only thing that helps is the way you you feel comfortable dressing, then that’s what you have to do.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education