Sabrina Carpenter Strips Down Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ for BBC Performance
In between sips of that me espresso, pop star Sabrina Carpenter is wishing all of her exes the best with a cover of fellow singer Chappell Roan‘s latest single.
Taking the stage at BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge on Tuesday (June 18), Carpenter performed her own take on Roan’s breakout hit “Good Luck, Babe!” Swapping out the song’s chunky ’80s synths for a piano and acoustic guitar combo, Carpenter started off slow, taking Roan’s octave-jumping chorus down for a more somber take on the track.
But by the time she reached the song’s second chorus, the “Please Please Please” singer ratcheted things up a notch, bringing in a twangy guitar and showing off her impressive falsetto on the song’s final chorus. Watch the full performance above.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Carpenter spoke about her friendship with Island Records labelmate Roan, saying that she had her songs on a “loopty loop” and that the two had formed an off-stage friendship. “I’ve been just as obsessed with her as everyone has,” she said. “It’s so weird when you’re hanging out as two young women as opposed to thinking about when she goes onstage and is that person and when I go on stage.”
Both pop singers have had a fruitful few months. Carpenter earned a pair of chart-toppers on the Billboard Global 200 this week, as “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” hit Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Meanwhile, on the Billboard Hot 100, the two tracks occupy Nos. 2 and 3, with Roan’s “Good Luck Babe” rising to No. 21, followed by “Red Wine Supernova” and “Hot to Go!” at Nos. 67 & 68, respectively. Roan’s debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess also earned its highest-charting week on the Billboard 200, climbing into the chart’s top 10 nine months after its original release.
Stephen Daw
Billboard