Sabrina Carpenter stopped by The Late Show to promote her new holiday special, A Nonsense Christmas, and to discuss her six Grammy nominations. During the conversation with host Stephen Colbert, the pop singer recalled hearing the Beatles‘ “Rocky Raccoon” for the first time as a child and immediately falling head over heels for Paul McCartney.
After downing an espresso martini, Carpenter told Colbert that she has always wanted to be a singer and that writing a song is her favorite thing to do. “Is it true the Beatles inspired you to start writing your own music?” Colbert asked.
“When I was very, very young my dad played me ‘Rocky Raccoon’ for the first time and i was so mesmerized by that song and the songwriting of it that I fell in love with Paul McCartney,” she replied. “I was convinced that was my husband, my future husband. But he was quite old. And I was so young I didn’t understand that he was much older than me… So when I grew up I just fell in love with his songwriting.”
Carpenter has since met McCartney, as Colbert displayed with a photo of the two of them together. The host asked what they talked about and Carpenter recalled tearing up immediately. “He was just so normal and casual and was so charming it just felt like I was entering an alternate universe,” she said. “Like the Upside Down vibes. Like Stranger Things, but a lot happier than Stranger Things.”
She added, “The one thing I say about him, every room that he enters he makes everyone feel seen and heard and it was such a beautiful experience for me to see that from someone that I admired so much. He’s great. I’m obsessed with him.”
Carpenter released A Nonsense Christmas, a Netflix special, earlier this month. It features duets with Chappell Roan, Tyla, Shania Twain, and Kali Uchis, and appearances by Quinta Brunson, Cara Delevingne, Nico Hiraga, Kyle Mooney, Megan Stalter, Sean Astin, Owen Thiele, and Jillian Bell.
The singer wrapped the United States leg of her Short n’ Sweet tour run last month. She’ll head to Europe in March, with performances scheduled in London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Milan.