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The World's ONLY Authentic Carpenters Tribute in Sight & Sound

2023/2024 tour dates & interviews  , the las vegas residency: v theater at planet hollywood resort & casino mondays thru thursdays at 5:00pm. for tickets, click here.

NBC 3/CW MORNING SHOW (KSNV LAS VEGAS) - Tuesday, January 17, 2022 @ 8:45am PST with host Chloe Koast

A RE-CREATION OF THE 1976 LIVE SHOW

Sycuan Casino Resort SOLD OUT

5469 Casino Way, El Cajon, CA 92019

Saturday, February 4, 2023 @ 7:30pm

BOX OFFICE: 619-445-6002 or click here to purchase tickets

Presented by Stargaze Production

Bank of America Performing Arts Center SOLD OUT

2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Saturday, February 11, 2023 @ 3:00pm

BOX OFFICE: 805-449-2787 or click here for tickets

Presented by West Coast Performing Arts Presenters

Saturday, February 11, 2023 @ 7:30pm

FOX 5/THE MORE SHOW (KVVU LAS VEGAS) - Monday, February 20 at 10:00am PST with host Mike Davis

Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre

1010 Ulatis Drive, Vacaville, CA 95687

Friday, February 24, 2023 @ 7:30pm

BOX OFFICE: 707-469-4013 or click here for tickets

Lesher Center for the Arts - Hoffman Theater

1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Saturday, February 25, 2023 @ 8:00pm

BOX OFFICE: 925-943-7469 or click here for tickets

Century Village Theatre

2400 Century Blvd, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 @ 8:00pm

This performance is for Century Village residents only

The Tangiers

500 Dixie Hwy NE Unit 1A, Palm Bay, FL 32905

Thursday, March 16, 2023 @ 8:00pm

BOX OFFICE: 321-327-8759 or click here for tickets

Temecula Theater

42051 Main St, Temecula, CA 92590

Friday, March 31, 2023 @ 7:30pm

BOX OFFICE: 866-653-8696 or click here for tickets

Montgomery Theater

271 S Market St, San Jose, CA 95113

Sunday, April 2, 2023 @ 3:00pm

BOX OFFICE: 408-792-4111 or click here for tickets

CBS 8/LAS VEGAS NOW (KLAS LAS VEGAS) - Tuesday, May 9, 2023 @ 3:00pm PST with host Mercedez Martinez

Agua Caliente Casino - Cascade Lounge

401 E Amad o Rd, Palm Springs, CA 9226 2

Saturday, May 13, 2023 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm (two seatings)

Private event for High Roller Members only

MIDWEST ARTS XPO - Showcase Performance

Hyatt Regency Indianapolis

1 S Capital Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46204

Tuesday, September 19, 2023 @ 10:20pm EST

Presented by AMAZ Entertainment

FOX 5/THE MORE SHOW (KVVU LAS VEGAS) - Thursday, October 19 at 10:00am PST with hosts Jason Feinberg & Alyssa Deitsch

NBC 3/CW MORNING SHOW (KSNV LAS VEGAS) - Thursday, October 26, 2022 @ 8:15am PST

A CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT

Palace Theater

300 S Main St, Grapevine, TX 76051

Friday, November 10, 2023 @ 7:30pm

BOX OFFICE: (817) 410-3100 or click here to purchase tickets

Saturday, November 11, 2023 @ 3:00pm

Saturday, November 11, 2023 @ 7:30pm

ABC 1 3/LAS VEGAS MORNING BLEND (KTNV LAS VEGAS) - Monday, November 20, 2022 @ 9:00am PST with hosts Jessica Rosado & Elliott Bambrough

KTLA 5 MORNING NEWS (LOS ANGELES) - Friday, November 24 at 9:35am PST with host Andy Riesmeyer

A CHRISTMAS PORTRA IT

Downey Theatre SOLD OUT

8435 Firestone Bouleva rd, Downe y, CA 90241

Saturday, November 25, 2023 @ 8:00pm

BOX OFFICE: (562) 861-8211 or click here for tickets

Downey, California is the Home of the Carpenters!

FOX 5/THE MORE SHOW (KVVU LAS VEGAS) - Wednesday, November 29 at 10:00am PST with hosts Jason Feinberg & Alyssa Deitsch

Gulf Theater at the Military Heritage Museum SOLD OUT

900 W. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda, FL 33950

Thursday, December 7, 2023 @ 7:00pm

BOX OFFICE: (941) 205-8545 or click here for tickets

Presented by Maximum Bands

Friday, December 8, 2023 @ 3:00pm

Gulf Theater at the Military Heritage M useum SOLD OUT

Friday, December 8, 2023 @ 7:00 pm

A CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT (with orchestra)

Fox Theatre SOLD OUT

2215 Broadway Street, Redwood City, CA 94063

Sunday, December 10, 2023 @ 8:00pm

BOX OFFICE: (650) 443-7822 or click here for tickets

Presented by Booking House, Inc.

KOOL 102.3 FM - Wednesday, December 13 at 8:30am PST with host Scott Gentry

The Landings Club - Palmetto Clubhouse (to be rescheduled)

1 Cottonwood Lane, Savannah, GA 31411

Saturday, December 16, 2023 @ 6:30pm

Private event - Presented by Maximum Bands

KSHP 1400 AM & 107.1 FM - Friday, December 22 at 4:15pm PST with host Mark Hays

LEGENDS IN CONCERT - with Tributes to the Carpenters, Rod Stewart, Elton John & Lionel Richie

McCallum Theatre

73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260

Thursday, March 7, 2024 @ 7:00pm

BOX OFFICE: (760) 340-2787 or click here for tickets

Presented by Legends In Concert

LEGENDS IN CONCERT - with T ributes to the Carpenters, Rod Stewart, Elton John & Lionel Richie

73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA 922 60

Friday, March 8, 2024 @ 2:00pm

McCallum The atre

73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Dese rt, CA 92260

Friday, March 8, 2024 @ 8:00pm

MY NBC 5 (WPTZ BURLINGTON, VT) - Thursday, March 21 at 4:30pm & 5:30pm EST with host Jack Thurston

The Paramount Theatre

30 Center St., Rutland, VT 05701

Friday, April 5, 2024 @ 7:00pm

BOX OFFICE: (802) 775-0903 or click here for tickets

Rutland, Vermont is Sally's hometown!!

Ocean Casino Resort - Ovation Hall

500 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ 08401

Friday, April 12, 2024 @ 9:00pm

BOX OFFICE: (609) 783-8866 or click here for tickets

Downey Theatre

8435 Firestone Boulevard, Downey, CA 90241

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 @ 8:00pm

Downey, California is the Home of the Carpenters! This special performance of Carpenters Legacy is an official event of the Carpenters 55th Anniversary Celebration .

The Betsie Sanders Theater For The Performing Arts

3780 Kellogg Road, Pahrump, NV 89061

Saturday, May 4, 2024

Picnic and wine tasting, gates open at 6:00pm, show starts at dusk

BOX OFFICE: (775) 727-1776 or click here for tickets

Laguna Woods Performing Arts Center

23822 Avenida Sevilla, Laguna Woods, CA 92637

Saturday, July 27, 2024 @ 7:30pm

Private event for Laguna Woods residents only

Arlington Music Hall

224 N. Center St., Arlington, TX 76011-7535

Friday, September 6, 2024 @ 7:00pm

BOX OFFICE: (817) 226-4400 or click here for tickets

Main Street Crossing

111 W. Main St., Tomball, TX 77375

Sunday, September 8, 2024 @ 4:00pm

BOX OFFICE: ( 281) 290-0431 or click here for tickets

Sunday, September 8, 2024 @ 8:00pm

BOX OFFICE: (281) 290-0431 or click here for tickets

Stephens Performing Arts Center - Idaho State University

1002 Sam Nixon Dr, Pocatello, ID 83209

Saturday, October 5, 2024 @ 7:30pm

BOX OFFICE:  (208) 282-3595

Tickets will be on sale in the near future. Check back soon...

Saturday, November 30, 2024 @ 8:00pm

Friday, December 13, 2024 @ 3:00pm

Friday, December 13, 2024 @ 7:30pm

Island Resort & Casino

W 399 US-2, Harris Michigan 49845

Saturday, December 21, 2024 @ 8:00pm

Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts

2351 Performance Drive Richardson, Texas 75082

Saturday, January 11, 2025 @ TBD

BOX OFFICE: (972) 744-4650

Presented by AVA Productions

Richard Carpenter Still Thinks the Carpenters’ Seventies Hits Are Underrated

By Angie Martoccio

Angie Martoccio

In the summer of 1974, the Carpenters sat down with Rolling Stone writer Tom Nolan at Hollywood’s Au Petit Café for a cover story . Richard and Karen Carpenter , who had spent the past four years scoring massive soft-rock hits like “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Superstar,” and “Top of the World,” took the opportunity to vent to Nolan about the uncool, wholesome image that they felt the press had created for the sibling duo.

“This … thing  they’ve built up, where it’s implicitly understood the Carpenters don’t smoke, the Carpenters don’t drink,” Richard said. “Never would swear. Never would listen to rock music. It’s like we’re Pat Boone, only a little  cleaner. As if all we do all day is drink milk, eat apple pie, and take showers. I don’t even like  milk.”

Richard can only laugh when the quote is read back to him nearly 50 years later. “Well, that’s what were described as,” he says. “It was the way we looked and our audiences looked. The rock critics, they didn’t like our audiences. It made the whole thing seem irrelevant, like we were nothing, and in no time at all, no one would ever remember us.”

The new book Carpenters: The Musical Legacy tries to show how wrong that was. Written by Mike Cidoni Lennox and Chris May, the massive, definitive biography chronicles the duo’s career in elaborate detail, based on more than 100 hours of interviews with Richard and full access to his archive. It aims to correct the legacy of the group, which is often overshadowed by Karen Carpenter’s death from anorexia in 1983.

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“Between the TV movie [1989’s The Karen Carpenter Story ] and a number of unauthorized documentaries and articles, that’s what a lot of the attention is focused on,” Richard says. “Not how successful we were and continue to be, nor Karen’s voice and how timeless it is. It gets pushed to the back. The two of us are underrated, to this day. And we sell a lot every year, all over the world — still.”

The book marks Richard’s second time authorizing a Carpenters biography, after 1994’s The Carpenters: The Untold Story by Ray Coleman. “Karen’s anorexia was much fresher,” says Lennox, “and he delivered what Richard calls ‘the anorexia book.’” Adds May: “He’s been down this road before, and he was very hesitant to do it again. We weren’t sure if we were going to get his blessing.”

That changed when Lennox and May approached Richard to write the introduction to their book. Lennox, a senior entertainment reporter at the Associated Press, and May, a music director and arranger, are both longtime Carpenters experts — they met online on a forum dedicated to the group. “He realized our hearts and background,” May says.

Soon, Richard was overseeing the entire project, and Lennox and May had gained his trust. “This was a book that intentionally didn’t want to dive into their personal demons, and we make that point really clear,” says Lennox. “After reading the first draft, Richard said, ‘You’ve really got to deal with Karen’s anorexia by the time you get to late 1973, and you have to deal with my use of Quaaludes.’ These were things that he knew. The word ‘authorized’ can be a very dirty word, and here we were trying to just focus on the music. He pushed us into things and kept us in the nonfiction section.”

Having full access to the Carpenters’ archives meant Lennox and May were able to provide an extensive history of the group. One chapter includes a Year in the Life, which maps out 364 days the duo spent in 1970 — from the release of their breakout single “(They Long to Be) Close to You” to their self-titled third album. Tour dates, television appearances, chart positions, and other major events are laid out in immense detail. This is somewhat rare, since many groups from that time don’t have detailed records of their tour schedules, let alone the dates of photo shoots.

“We were getting close to deadline,” Lennox recalls, noting they spent four years writing the book. “There was a substantial amount of their gigs [that] could not be found. We finally said, ‘Richard, we need a complete itinerary for the Carpenters.’ He went downstairs, and lo and behold, he brought up Karen’s itinerary, and in they were in [her] handwriting.”

The writers used more than 200 images in the book, some of which showcase Karen’s drumming. “She was a rare bird in that department,” Richard says. “She was way beyond a novelty. There are more women playing the drums now.”

More than anything, Richard says he really misses his sister’s company. “We definitely liked and disliked the same things — a real friend where you could talk about anything you wish and you don’t feel uncomfortable,” he says. It also pains him to think about the records the Carpenters could have gone on to make. “That’s heartbreaking,” he says. “I mean, she was only 32.”

Nearly four decades after Karen’s death, Lennox and May hope the biography will reintroduce the duo to a younger generation and rectify their legacy. “My hope is people will realize that the story of Richard and Karen Carpenter is not the most tragic in pop music — it is one of the most triumphant,” Lennox says. “This gray cloud will no longer loom over this incredible work. I think the last thing in the world that she would have wanted was for her death to define her life.”

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The Carpenters

A sweet memory. Your absolute favorite. An awesome discovery.

We’ve Only Just Begun. Yesterday Once More. Goodbye To Love.

With a trademark sound highlighted by brother Richard’s multi-layered production and sister Karen’s timeless voice, the Carpenters set a new standard for melodic pop.

The public caught on immediately, making the Carpenters the top-selling American artists of the 1970s.

Key critics were there from the start. And, over time, most opinion makers eventually came around. A 2017 Rolling Stone article reflected on Karen and Richard’s work, noting there “has been a gradual reassessment and celebration of Karen’s extraordinary contralto and The Carpenters’ catalog.”

Some 50 years on, the Carpenters remain among the best-selling legacy acts worldwide.

And now there’s the newly produced  Carpenters With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra  (dropping December 7), with fresh orchestrations augmenting the original recordings.

It’s for those who fondly remember, those who have long loved, as well as for those about to be introduced to the music of Richard and Karen Carpenter.

The short-form story of the Carpenters is that Richard and Karen grew up with dad and mom, Harold and Agnes, in New Haven, Connecticut. Dad, who was an avid record collector, hated the frigid New England winters. So, in June of 1963, the family moved to a suburb of L.A., Downey, California. While there, Karen fell for the drums and Richard found Karen’s voice. After glimmers of success in other iterations, by the late ’60s, they became a duo: Carpenters.

After Richard and Karen signed with A&M Records on April 22, 1969, label co-founder Herb Alpert said, “Let’s hope we have some hits.” Seven months later, the duo delivered the first: a daring deconstruction of The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride.” Richard and Karen transformed The Fab Four’s raw, rocking classic into a lushly produced, plaintively sung ballad. Carpenters’ version peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

The first album, Offering (later repackaged and retitled Ticket to Ride), was a collection of re-recordings of songs originally done in busy session bassist Joe Osborn’s garage studio, along with some newly composed tunes and covers. Offering offered a hint of what was coming: masterful production and arrangements, and a voice on the verge of all-time greatness.

After Offering, Karen and Richard were almost immediately back in the studio working on the next record, when Alpert suggested they record a Burt Bacharach-Hal David song that had been tucked away for years: “They Long To Be Close To You.” Neither Carpenter was thrilled with the choice. But Alpert believed that with an arrangement by Richard, Karen’s marvelous alto and the duo’s multi-tracked harmonies, the song could have potential, and he was absolutely right. The record was an overnight smash and on July 25, 1970, the Richard-repunctuated “(They Long To Be) Close to You” marked the first of a four-week run atop the Hot 100, marking the start of an unbroken string of top-20 Hot 100 hits that would continue for an astounding six years, including such classics as “For All We Know,” “Rainy Days And Mondays” and “Superstar.”

The Carpenters won three Grammy Awards, and an American Music Award. They topped the Billboard Top 200 album chart with The Singles: 1969-1973, scored three Hot 100 No. 1s. Globally, they were hugely successful, as well, with 1974 tour stops in Japan getting Beatlemania-like fan receptions.

Richard and Karen Carpenter were, indeed, on top of the world.

However, between 1971-75, they performed more than 800 concerts. That’s a jaw-dropping number of live shows for any act — no less one that was best at delivering meticulously produced, often-dazzling studio recordings.

The touring combined with recording demands took personal tolls, but the hits just kept on coming.

In December 1976, The Carpenters’ Very First TV Special landed at No. 6 in the Nielsen ratings, and led to an ABC contract resulting in four more specials. Back in the recording studio, Carpenters shook things up with the experimental 1977 Passage, which included an epic cover of Klaatu’s otherworldly “Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day),” which became a global chart success. Passage also took Carpenters for its one trip into the US country top 10 single chart, with the Juice Newton co-penned “Sweet, Sweet Smile.”

A year later, Carpenters enjoyed one of its biggest hits. Eight years after producing an instant holiday classic with the single “Merry Christmas, Darling” came the long-awaited Christmas album, Christmas Portrait, which remains a strong seller each holiday season.

With Richard on a much-needed break, Karen went to work in New York with producer Phil Ramone on a solo album. But reception at A&M was tepid, the project shelved and it was back in the studio for Carpenters, which delivered the album Made in America. Released in 1981, it produced the duo’s last Hot 100 top 20 single, and the last of 15 Billboard adult-contemporary chart No. 1s, “Touch Me When We’re Dancing.”

Karen passed from complications of anorexia nervosa February 4, 1983.

Richard forged ahead, producing four more complete collections of Carpenters material never released on albums, overseeing reissues and other Carpenters-related projects, releasing his own two solo albums, overseeing the belated release of Karen’s solo effort, producing albums and tracks for other artists and performing occasional concerts.

For much of 2018, Richard has been working on  Carpenters With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra  (RPO). He composed a huge new overture and between-track interludes, as well as the fresh orchestral arrangements to accompany the original Carpenters recordings. He conducted the RPO sessions at London’s Abbey Road Studios in August. Then it was back to Los Angeles, for more recording and post-production at Capitol Studios in Hollywood.

Richard and wife Mary also keep busy with philanthropic efforts, including the Carpenter Family Foundation, The Carpenter Family Theatre in Westlake Village and Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center at California State University in Long Beach California.

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'A STAR ON EARTH, A STAR IN HEAVEN' KAREN CARPENTER

'STUNNING '

'phenomenal vocals & great musicianship', the  sun, a musical journey through the glittering career of pop's most famous brother & sister duo.

This highly acclaimed production continues to captivate audiences across the UK with its spectacular celebration of the classic songbook that made The Carpenters a legend in the world of popular music, selling over 100 million albums and singles. This brand new show for 2021 once again features the outstanding vocal talents of Claire Furley, with Musical Director Phil Aldridge leading The Carpenters Story band as they re-create Richard Carpenter’s original orchestral arrangements.

Featuring all of the Carpenters hit songs including  Close To You , Top of the World , We’ve Only Just Begun , Rainy Days & Mondays ,  Goodbye to Love  and many more Carpenters classics!

THE CARPENTERS

Voice of the heart.

Find out if THE CARPENTERS - VOICE OF THE HEART is coming to a town near you on our Tour Dates page.

For booking enquiries see contact details below .

The Carpenters - Voice Of The Heart is a stunning two hour show, performing a celebration of music from one of the world’s most popular duos, The Carpenters.

Close To You , Goodbye To Love , Yesterday Once More , Only Yesterday , all the hits that every Carpenters fan adores. Plus great medleys put together from their many album tracks. Songs that link together from The Beatles; Please Mr Postman , Ticket To Ride and Help . A superb Bacharach and David medley featuring renditions of Do You Know The Way To San Jose , Always Something There To Remind Me , to name but two of these legendary hits.

A Carpenters country medley with Top Of The World , Sweet Sweet Smile and  Jambalaya will be in great contrast to the sad and perhaps most popular songs on their last and most poignant album, Voice Of The Heart . Plus many more timeless classics celebrating the voice of Karen Carpenter.

With superb vocals from Carole Gordon and the outstanding talent of the exceptional Blue Jeans Band and singers, this musical evening is guaranteed to lead Carpenters fans everywhere on a magical journey through the duos timeless back catalogue.

Join the FRIENDS IN BLUE JEANS CLUB

Never miss tour updates and backstage gossip!

"CARPENTERS FANS ARE IN FOR A MAGICAL EVENING AS  CAROLE GORDON RECREATES THE VELVET TONES OF KAREN CARPENTER .”  

THE BIRMINGHAM PRESS

“CAROLE GORDON'S VOCALS CAPTURE THE CLARITY OF KARENS' VOICE AND SHE GIVES A FAULTLESS PERFORMANCE. I WAS STRUCK BY HOW THE AUDIENCE WERE COMPLETELY MESMERISED AND WAITED UNTIL THE VERY LAST NOTE WAS PLAYED BEFORE APPLAUDING, SHOWING TOTAL RESPECT TO GORDON."

NORTH WEST END

“CAROLE, THANK YOU FOR SINGING OUR SONGS AND KEEPING THE MUSIC ALIVE.”   

RICHARD CARPENTER

Richard Carpenter

Richard Carpenter and his sister Karen made up the biggest selling group of the '70s - The Carpenters. No fewer than ten of their singles went on to more...

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Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan are pop stars in the making. How opening tour gigs, TikTok and Coachella are keys to their success.

“it’s always exciting to have new stars being born,” billboard's executive director of music told yahoo entertainment..

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As Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift dominate arenas around the world with sold-out concerts, their opening acts are becoming pop stars in their own right. Both Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter 's fame came slowly, then all at once.

Roan and Carpenter are currently in the “middle class” phase of notoriety with devoted fans and recognizable aesthetics, but their star power is building with every move. As concert openers, they have ringing endorsements from two massive stars with powerful fandoms.

Jason Lipshutz, the executive director of music at Billboard, told Yahoo Entertainment that Roan opening for Olivia is the “most successful opening act placement in recent memory.”

“Opening for someone obviously helps with career momentum sometimes, but she seems to have become a star right at this moment,” he said.

Roan, who is 26, released her first EP in 2017. Her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess , wasn’t released until 2023. On the heels of her critical success , she began opening for Rodrigo in February 2024, kickstarting her meteoric rise. Her NPR Tiny Desk Concert in March introduced a wider audience to her unmistakably campy style. According to the music data analysis tool Chartmetric, her Spotify monthly listeners grew more than 500% from February to April.

“What [Roan] has done over the past couple of months is really undeniable,” Lipshutz said. “She’s gonna be a star. The queer community is totally behind her and she has this insane voice that you hear … then start watching clips of her performing the hell out of a song.”

Right up there with Roan is Carpenter, a 24-year-old former Disney Channel star, who released four albums through Disney’s Hollywood Records between 2015 and 2019. She was briefly an internet villain in 2021, when rumors spread that Olivia Rodrigo’s viral hit “Drivers License” was about a love triangle she was involved in. In 2022, she broke free from that narrative with the album Emails I Can’t Send .

Her big break came when she joined Swift on tour in November 2023, charming the crowd with flirty performances and cheeky wordplay, switching up the outro for her song “Nonsense” with topical lines for each city. When criticized for filming her salacious “Feather” music video in a church, she cleverly explained that “Jesus Was a Carpenter.” Chartmetric data shows that Carpenter’s monthly Spotify listeners have grown by 58% to date since her first opening performance in November.

Lipshutz explained that in a way, Roan and Carpenter have opposite backstories — Roan seemingly came out of nowhere, but Carpenter has been grinding away on her Disney label for years waiting for a hit. They just happened to deploy similar playbooks for their breakout moments.

“For [Carpenter], it’s been a slow build of minor singles leading to a critically approved album,” he said “Then she had minor hits leading to opening for [Swift], which then led to an actual hit.”

Carpenter is still more popular than Roan — she has 40.6 million monthly Spotify listeners compared to Roan’s 9.4 million, according to Chartmetric — but they’re both growing every day.

Going viral on TikTok with new singles

Though both Roan and Carpenter are between albums right now, they each released a new single in April — Roan with “Good Luck, Babe!” on April 5, and Carpenter with “Espresso” on April 11.

They’re both signed to Island Records, a division of Universal Music Group. UMG banned the use of its artists’ music on TikTok in February, but creators have found a way around the ban for both Roan and Carpenter. Thousands of videos have been created using sped-up or alternate versions of their songs to avoid the ban and promote listening to it on other platforms — and it’s working.

Both Roan and Carpenter achieved their highest charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 27 , at No. 44 and No. 7 respectively. Critics say the ephemeral nature of using short-form video to promote music prioritizes songs over artists and rarely leads to long-term fame. For these two, it might provide exactly the boost they need to break through the pop star stratosphere.

The coveted Coachella bump

Coachella’s headliners typically receive a streaming boost after they perform, but Roan and Carpenter saw some of the biggest gains while featured earlier in the schedule. According to Billboard , decreased ticket sales for the festival didn’t stop Roan’s streams from increasing 52%, and Carpenter’s streams went up 41%.

Another up-and-coming pop star, Reneé Rapp, received a 33% boost after her viral Coachella performance with Kesha, Billboard reported. The singer, perhaps better known as Regina George in the 2024 film adaptation of the Mean Girls musical, might be the next pop star to ascend.

Rapp, who frequently makes headlines for her outspoken demeanor in interviews, left a steady gig as one of the stars of Max’s Sex Lives of College Girls to focus on her music. Since she announced her departure in July 2023, her Spotify monthly listeners have grown 143%, according to Chartmetric data.

“What’s missing [for Rapp] compared to Roan and Carpenter is she just doesn’t have a hit yet,” Lipshutz said. “I could definitely see it happening for her though.”

Lipshutz explained that it’s been a while since we’ve seen someone new get crowned a pop star. Younger generations are looking for “their own phase” of artists to support from the ground up, helping to boost a growing fan base.

“It’s always exciting to have new stars being born,” he said.

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Sabrina Carpenter

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