Sabrina Carpenter Mistakes a Fan’s Cultural Chant for a “Yodel,” Says “I Don’t Like It” in Viral Coachella Moment
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The singer later issued an apology, explaining that her response came from confusion and sarcasm, and that she did not mean any harm.
Sabrina Carpenter recently went viral after mistakenly identifying a fan’s cultural cheer as yodeling during her headlining performance at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
The moment occurred on Friday, April 10, during the 2026 event in Indio, when a fan made a loud celebratory sound while Carpenter was onstage. Sitting at the piano and about to introduce her song “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night,” she paused to react.
“I think I heard someone yodeling—is that what that was?” she asked, later adding that she didn’t like the sound.
When the fan responded that the call was part of their culture, Carpenter questioned it, asking if yodeling was what they meant. The audience member clarified that it was a celebratory call, prompting Carpenter to jokingly compare the moment to another festival and remark that the situation felt unusual.
Clips of the exchange quickly spread online, gaining millions of views on X. Many users pointed out that the sound was actually “zaghrouta,” a traditional Arabic vocal expression used to celebrate joyful occasions.
Zaghrouta is a high-pitched, trilling sound often performed by women across the Middle East and North Africa during weddings, parties, and other meaningful events, and can even be used in more solemn settings to express strong emotion. The vocal tradition has also gained wider recognition in pop culture, including when Shakira incorporated it into her 2020 Super Bowl performance.
Some social media users criticized Carpenter’s reaction, calling her description of the sound as “weird” disrespectful. Others, however, suggested she may not have fully heard or understood the fan in the moment.
Carpenter later addressed the incident in an April 11 post on X, apologizing and explaining that she hadn’t clearly seen or heard the fan. She said her reaction came from confusion and sarcasm, not bad intent, and acknowledged she could have handled the situation better. She also noted that she has since learned about zaghrouta and welcomed all kinds of celebratory sounds at her shows moving forward.
The performance marked Carpenter’s first time headlining Coachella, two years after her debut at the festival in 2024. Her set included songs from her recent albums and featured appearances from celebrities like Sam Elliott, Will Ferrell, and Samuel L. Jackson, who contributed to various parts of the show.