Carpenter delivers the surprise of the summer as Duran Duran joins her on stage for an epic throwback
Sabrina Carpenter brought the house down in London’s Hyde Park on Sunday night with a surprise guest appearance that sent shockwaves through the crowd. In the middle of her headlining BST Hyde Park set, the pop powerhouse stunned fans by introducing British music royalty: Duran Duran.
With a cheeky smile and a gleam in her eye, Carpenter teased the crowd: “I also thought it might be fun if I brought out some friends of mine from the UK. I’m going to need you guys to put that howling to good use: everybody please give it up and make so much noise for the legendary Duran Duran!”
Moments later, Simon Le Bon and John Taylor strolled on stage to deafening cheers as the unmistakable synths of their 1982 smash “Hungry Like the Wolf” kicked in. The duet, a collision of generations and genres, felt electric—Carpenter’s pop soprano dancing effortlessly with Le Bon’s rock swagger. Fans old and new sang along in a euphoric blend of nostalgia and pop fervour.
Footage of the performance, now making the rounds online, shows a visibly elated Carpenter exchanging smiles with the Duran Duran icons as the trio tore through the track. It’s a collaboration few could have predicted—and one that instantly became a highlight of the BST summer series.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe impromptu team-up comes at a golden moment in Carpenter’s career. Over the weekend, she headlined not one but two massive shows at BST Hyde Park, following a record-smashing year in the UK. Her sixth studio album, Short n’ Sweet, has made history, becoming the longest-running solo album in the UK Top 5, now charting there for 45 consecutive weeks.
On the singles front, her dominance is equally staggering. In the last year alone, Carpenter became the first artist in 71 years of UK chart history to notch 20 weeks at Number 1 within a calendar year. Her chart-topping hits include Espresso, Please Please Please, Taste, and 2025’s new anthem, Manchild.
Her meteoric rise has earned her comparisons to chart titans like Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa—but with surprises like this Duran Duran duet, it’s clear Sabrina is carving a lane all her own.
The performance also reaffirmed the cross-generational appeal of live music. “Seeing Simon and Sabrina together was surreal,” one fan posted on X (formerly Twitter). “I grew up with Duran Duran and now my daughter listens to Sabrina—it was like watching our worlds collide.”
As the BST Hyde Park lights dimmed, fans were left buzzing about what else Carpenter might have in store for the rest of the year. With tour dates stretching into the autumn and whispers of a deluxe edition of Short n’ Sweet on the horizon, one thing is certain: Sabrina Carpenter is in her imperial phase—and she’s not slowing down.