The Met Gala has seen its fair share of major stars pair up for the evening’s big performance, from Stevie Wonder and Usher in 2025 to Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in 2024 and Kacey Musgraves and Lenny Kravitz in 2021. But at Monday’s “Costume Art” gala, the star power was very nearly too much to handle.
After dinner was served in the Temple of Dendur, Met attendees got a short-and-sweet treat: a set from Sabrina Carpenter. The star, fresh from headlining Coachella, delighted the room with renditions of “House Tour” from her 2025 album Man’s Best Friend and her hits “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please” from 2024’s Short n’ Sweet. She was backed by a five-piece orchestra, a four-person band, and four dancers, performing choreography by Jasmine “JB” Badie.
Carpenter wore two looks: first a Versace Tribute dress from spring 2018, iterating Andy Warhol’s silkscreen prints of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean (which first appeared in Versace’s 1991 Pop Art collection, designed by Gianni Versace), then a fringed golden dress by Bob Mackie.
Next came a brief transition, during which Joshua Henry—who currently stars in Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of Ragtime—read an excerpt from “I Sing the Body Electric” by Walt Whitman, before the closing act: a performance by Stevie Nicks.
After walking the carpet in custom John Galliano for Zara and Tiffany & Co. jewelry, Nicks closed out the night with four songs, accompanied by an eight-person band. Wearing a vintage Morgane Le Fay dress and Margi Kent jacket, she duetted with Carpenter on Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 hit “Landslide” before taking “Gypsy” and “Edge of Seventeen” solo, and then singing “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” with an assist from Carpenter—and a 12-person choir. (Nicks’s styling was by Max Ortega, Justin Levine served as the music consultant, and Prodject was the entertainment and program producer.) Be still, our wild hearts!
But those weren’t Monday’s only entertainments: At the beginning of the night, Henry opened the red carpet in high-octane style. Dressed in a scarlet Bode suit, he serenaded the earliest attendees to the 2026 Met Gala (and the press pit) with a live cover of “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” backed by a 12-person choir, eight dancers, and a four-piece band, all in tailoring by Zara.
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He began the song in the Greek and Roman sculpture galleries before making his way into the lunar paradise that is presently the Met Gala’s Great Hall—and then onto the carpet, framed by great curtains of colorful wisteria.
With choreography by Ellenore Scott, who also served as an overall creative consultant for the performance, and music production by Joseph Abate, the moment set a high watermark for the thrilling evening to come.
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