On Sunday night Sabrina Carpenter delivered one of the most talked about performances of the evening. Carpenter hit the Grammy stage to perform a medley of “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please” starting her performance by descending down a set of white stairs in a sequin black suit, before quickly changing into a bedazzled powder blue leotard for the theatrical, cabaret-inspired number. Carpenter even tap-danced at one point! If Carpenter’s comical performance looked a bit familiar… it’s because it was an homage of sorts to one of Goldie Hawn’s most iconic performances.
In the 1978 Hawn performed “Nobody Does It Like Me” from the Broadway musical Seesaw to kick off her televised Goldie Hawn Special, and, just like Carpenter, had some trouble getting down those stairs. In Hawn’s original performance she wears a sequin midnight blue gown and slowly makes her way down the staircase before disappearing in the middle thanks to some clever set construction. She pops back into frame and pulls herself up to finish off the number.
The physical comedy and optical illusions of Carpenter’s Grammys performance mirrors Hawn’s almost identically.
Broadcast on March 1, 1978 on CBS, Hawn performed a collection of show tunes and comedy bits alongside comic legend George Burns, teen idol Shaun Cassidy, television star John Ritter and the Harlem Globetrotters. The Goldie Hawn Special was even nominated for an Emmy Award later that year.
Carpenter was nominated for six awards at the 67th annual Grammys, which were held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. She won Best Pop Vocal Album for Short n’ Sweet, her sixth studio album.
“I’m still out of breath from the performance, so I really was not expecting this,” Carpenter said in her acceptance speech.
Want to see what inspired Sabrina Carpenter and her cute Grammys stair gag? You can watch Goldie Hawn perform “Nobody Does It Like Me” from the Broadway musical Seesaw from her 1978 televised Goldie Hawn Special below.
RELATED:
– Sabrina Carpenter Wore Madonna’s Bob Mackie Oscar Gown To The 2024 MTV VMAs