Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan’s duet “A Nonsense Christmas” is a queen of pop moment. Here’s how it all went down.

Sabrina Charpentier‘s holiday special offers a true convergence of new pop queens.

In An Absurd Christmas with Sabrina Carpenternow streaming on Netflix, the “Espresso” singer opened the doors of her fictional vacation home to her bandmate. new guard of pop musicChappell Roan.

Women, who related on their meteoric will become famous in 2024reunited for a real moment in the special as they dueted to George Michael’s “Last Christmas.”

Jason Sherwood, the Emmy-winning production designer for the special, which was filmed over Labor Day weekend in front of a live audience, told Yahoo Entertainment that there was great excitement when Roan was agreed to be invited because “the whole summer… was entirely devoted to them. being the kind of “it girl”.

His job was to create the right setting for them to meet.

“We were like, what’s the moment? Is that them on the grand staircase? Is it this big performative thing? » said Sherwood. “They both came back to the team saying, ‘We want to do something that feels a little more informal (and) more relaxed.’

Sherwood created two main sets for the special: one was a cozy house decorated for the holidays, which he described as “Sabrina’s kind of Christmas house meets Friends together with the small kitchenette. It had a working fireplace and the perfect place for Carpenter to make an “Espresso” martini. The second set was a giant red layer cake stage that spun around during the finale to reveal a 22-foot-tall grand staircase on which Carpenter danced.

The decision was made to bring the two pop powerhouses together in the cozy and intimate living room – only after a big party in the house. There were solo cups, empty liquor bottles and decorations hanging on a string around them as they sang.

“This idea that it was the end of a party took hold,” said Sherwood, who won Emmys for set design for the 2020 Oscars and Rent: Direct. “We took this old TV we have in the living room and played an old 8-bit karaoke video with the lyrics to “Last Christmas.” They stand there holding wired microphones attached to the TV.

As for the salon, which was “immaculate and beautiful” at the top of the exhibit, “we trashed it and they came down the stairs barefoot in evening gowns,” Sherwood said. “It’s part of Euphoriait’s part of an 80s movie – like the end of an 80s ball. Then they sing and play and dance together – and it’s such a lovely moment. It’s probably my favorite moment in the series because it speaks to the essence of what we wanted to do.

Sherwood said the special — which also sees Carpenter duet with Shania Twain and features cameos from Cara Delevingne and Quinta Brunson — was a whirlwind. He was hired in July, an hour after his first interview, and just four and a half weeks later they were shooting, which is “not a lot of time” to bring big sets like these to life.

Carpenter, who produced the special, was “very (hands-on) from the get-go,” Sherwood said.

“Sabrina is very clear – as is her team – about the aesthetic philosophy of her world. It’s really easy to design for an artist like this because you know what you’re dealing with,” explained Sherwood, who has also designed projects and performances for Sam Smith, the Spice Girls, Camila Cabello and Cynthia Erivo. “You know the identity, you know the reference points, you know the tone, you know what the style is going to look like. She has such a vision for herself as an artist and for fans that it’s very easy to say whether or not this seems like the right idea.

Sherwood loved reprising the idea of ​​the classic special – her inspirations include the 1953 Marilyn Monroe film. Gentlemen prefer blondes, 1954s White Christmasthe 1963 Judy Garland Christmas special and the Cher variety shows of the ’70s – and modernizing it, but not too much.

“Sabrina is a young person, a contemporary pop star and a pop icon on the rise and to do a whole show without technology around her – no video screen, no (pyrotechnics) – and for it to really be a throwback pushed through a (modern) Lens was such a fun challenge,” he said “A lot of people don’t ask for that anymore… We’re used to watching pop stars perform in front of 60-inch video screens. feet high.

Absurdity also gave Carpenter – who is known for her playful performances, where she improvises lyrics and gets cheeky – the opportunity to showcase her I don’t know what an appeal that his fans went crazy for.

“She’s both like: perfect hair, beautiful style, so well put together, but also really approachable to her audience,” Sherwood said. “We wanted to capture both – to make the audience look so glamorous on top of a big set, but also wink at the camera and have a cheeky joke.”

The special is loaded with comedy sketches – written by “a team of incredible writers who have all done Saturday evening live and all kinds of awesome stuff,” Sherwood said – which fit Carpenter’s personality perfectly. One understands the newly single star excitedly inviting her new boyfriend to meet his friends. When he shows up, it’s Santa Claus, which Carpenter is unaware of. (Sean Astin plays Santa.)

“It’s Christmas themes taken from his contemporary wife, a sort of vixen… character,” says Sherwood. “It’s Christmas with a wink.”

An Absurd Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter is now streaming on Netflix.