Sabrina Carpenter arrived Thursday at Little Caesars Arena seemingly driven by a mission: to stake a place among the leading, talking-point pop tours of 2024.

In a fun, frothy, vivacious and occasionally risqué show, the 25-year-old managed to make a solid case for it as she played to a sellout crowd in downtown Detroit on the third night of her Short n’ Sweet Tour.

“Please Please Please,” “Taste” and “Espresso” are some of the most delectably catchy tunes to come through the pop pipeline in a while, and they became cornerstones of a Thursday set list that featured all 12 numbers from “Short n’ Sweet,” the chart-topping album that lends the new tour its name. On a crisp night outside LCA that reminded us autumn is officially here, Carpenter served a 1½-hour indoor dose of sunny summertime sounds.

The signature wavy blond hair and fluttery vibrato were accompanied by ample energy from the pint-sized singer-songwriter, a 5-foot-tall star for whom “a little goes a long way,” as one video-screen inscription cheekily put it Thursday night.

She may be the year’s hottest breakout pop star, but Carpenter is no rookie: Having come through the Disney system as a teen actress a decade ago, Carpenter spent four early albums with a music career stalled in second gear.

Then came a new record deal and an A-list batch of collaborators such as Amy Allen and Jack Antonoff — and with the 2022 album “Emails I Can’t Send,” Carpenter was emphatically on to the self-proclaimed “big girl” chapter of her story. With a series of plum opening spots on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, she was primed for another step up, and “Short n’ Sweet” delivered it in a potent way this summer.

Sabrina Carpenter remembers her first concert in Michigan

Sabrina Carpenter, making her Little Caesars Arena debut on Thursday, reflected on a far less flashy visit to metro Detroit in 2016.

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After previous stops at venues such as the Fillmore Detroit and Masonic Temple Theatre — along with Pontiac’s cozy Pike Room in 2016, as she recounted onstage Thursday — Carpenter was going full-scale with this latest Motor City visit.

On a main stage designed as a two-story New York penthouse apartment, Carpenter spent the first stretch of her LCA show in a pink negligée, kicking things off with the lush textures of “Taste” and “Good Graces” while undergirding “Slim Pickins” and “Lie to Girls” with vintage pop chording that revealed the old-school inspirations that fuel her latest work.

The night unfolded as a turn-of-the-’80s TV program, complete with voiceovers, videotaped mock-commercials and a pair of oversized studio cameras onstage to drive home the point. Carpenter would later emerge in a black bodysuit for a cocktail party segment (with a jazzy take on “Feather”) and sparkling gown for an elegant “Dumb & Poetic,” and the live episode would include a roll of closing credits listing tour personnel.

Her lyrics are laced with sexual references — some upfront, some implicit — but Carpenter gives it all a self-aware wink that makes it more camp than coarse. On Thursday, “Bed Chem” had her briefly writhing in a plush bedroom suite, while the exuberant dance-pop of “Juno” came with a quick flash of panties following a round of flirting with a Brighton fan named Dakota down front. She led the mostly teenage, female crowd in a call-and-response spotlighting three words: “camaraderie,” “horny” and “friendship.”

But the Short n’ Sweet show was otherwise a standard pop extravaganza that stayed between the lines, with 11 dancers, a four-piece band, a pair of backing singers and a confetti-blasted finale supplementing the action. (Then again, not every standard pop concert includes a lengthy black-and-white clip from 1966 with Leonard Cohen musing on poetry — as Thursday’s show did — so maybe something a little deeper is afoot here.)

Carpenter is proficient as a live performer and serviceable as a singer, but her real power lies in the craftsmanship of her songs. They’re astutely crafted pop tunes, more sophisticated than they might seem at first listen, nodding to previous golden eras without lapsing into retro laziness.

The menu of preshow music that kept fans occupied before the 9:05 p.m. start helped tell that tale: selections of ’70s disco-pop (ABBA, Andy Gibb), ’80s power pop (the La’s) and ’90s melodic rock (the Cardigans), foreshadowing the blend of influences that would inform Carpenter’s own set.

At one point, gathered with her dance crew on a heart-shaped B-stage, Carpenter played musical spin-the-bottle — a game to determine one cover-song performance for the evening. Having tackled ABBA in Columbus and Shania Twain in Toronto, she gave Detroit a rendition of “Kiss Me,” the 1999 alt-rock-pop hit by Sixpence None the Richer.

A soft-lit “Don’t Smile” closed the regular set before Carpenter returned, a Detroit-branded coffee mug in hand, to kick into the inevitable encore of “Espresso,” the career-defining hit with the instantly memorable hooks.

In a pop era that includes the likes of Charlie XCX, Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo, Carpenter may not be the most cutting-edge figure rocking the mainstream right now. But she’s clearly carving out a distinctive creative lane of her own — and we’ll see if Short n’ Sweet can grow into something long and lasting.

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.

MILWAUKEE — It’s been nearly ten months, and there is still no clear timeline on school resource officers (SROs) in Milwaukee Public Schools.

The topic of SROs was on Thursday night’s MPS board agenda. However, it was discussed behind closed doors.

TMJ4’s Megan Lee asked President Marva Herndon to provide an update on the SRO plan before the board went into a closed session.

“We’re going into a meeting now, and we have an extensive agenda. We aren’t prepared to do that at the present time,” Herndon said.

State law mandates that Milwaukee Public Schools have 25 school resource officers in place by Jan. 1, 2024.

The City of Milwaukee recently started adding more pressure for officers to return to schools, and the state continues to urge the school district to comply.

“I have been very clear with Milwaukee Public Schools that they need to implement the SRO law—I mean, it’s law. They have been told they need to do it,” State Superintendent Jill Underly said.

Watch: ‘We’re waiting’: TMJ4 presses MPS Board President for update on SRO plan

‘We’re waiting’: TMJ4 presses MPS Board President for update on SRO plan

Underly told TMJ4 she has tried to be understanding because of the recent crisis at MPS.

“I have been patient, you know, giving them some grace. They have had new leadership, and it was something—in all fairness—that the previous leadership and administration should have done,” Underly said.

The district released a statement nearly two weeks ago saying it had reached an agreement with the Milwaukee Police Department. However, the Milwaukee City Attorney refuted that claim.

Here is the full transcription between Lee and MPS Board President Marva Herndon:

Megan Lee: We’re just looking for an update from you guys because its been 10 months.
Marva: Not at this present time.
Megan Lee: When can we expect an update on SROs considering it is state law that you guys have SROs. Marva: We’re going into a meeting now and we have an extensive agenda. And we aren’t prepared to do that at the present time.
Megan Lee: Could you do it after? Can you do it tomorrow?
Marva: We’re waiting to get the appropriate information.
Megan Lee: Ok.
Marva: That’s the best I have.
Megan Lee: Are you happy with the status of your SRO plan or program?
Marva: No comment

Late Thursday night, a spokesperson with MPS sent this statement:

“MPS remains ready to implement an SRO program as soon as officers are available. Discussions are underway to advance the final implementation of the program. MPS is committed to reaching a consensus that will support the successful implementation of Act 12 in a manner that is sustainable and mutually beneficial. The timeframe to have the program in place is dependent on when fully trained officers will be available to the district. The board may go into closed session to discuss crime prevention and detention strategies and negotiation strategies.”

Previous Coverage: MPS still working on plan for school resource officers 9 months after state deadline

Previous Coverage: MPS School Board Meeting attendees react to update on School Resource Officers

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City leaders say the years-long effort to rebuild the Minneapolis Police Department, while not over, is starting to be seen and felt—nearly two dozen more officers, including new firsts, are on the force following a graduation ceremony. 

“Just as they’re about to take their oaths today, before all of you and before God, I know that I have a sacred obligation to do that all I can for them,” MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said at the ceremony. “I pledge to you tonight that I will do everything within my power to take care of them.”

Now part of the rank-and-file are 11 recruits and 12 lateral officers who are joining from other agencies, some with more than a decade of experience. Of the recruits is the first-ever Somali woman, Ikran Mohamed, and permanent resident, Lesly Vera, for the department. 

A permanent resident who is a non-citizen can be part of the department now due to a recent law change, Chief O’Hara said. Officer Vera said she moved to Minneapolis from Mexico when she was 4 and has called it home since. 

“I didn’t see anybody that really looked like me, Latina,” Vera said about her drive to become a police officer. “I want to have that face for my people.”

The chief is standing firm behind his new officer. 

“There may be people who question it, but that’s completely ridiculous. There’s, like I mentioned, there is a history in this country of people immediately on arrival to the country, enlisting in the military and serving,” O’Hara said, adding, “Somebody like [Officer Vera], who has been here essentially her entire life, absolutely is entitled to protect her community in the same way that anyone else here has, and we’re honored to have her.”

Her colleague, Officer Mohamed, with a similar message about her next big chapter in life. 

“This is what I wanted to do, and it was very challenging. That’s why I’m here. And I want to be that somebody, [to] be a role model for girls who look like me. So they can say, I can do it too,” Mohamed said. 

Mayor Jacob Frey feels the work they’ve been putting in to build up the department – not just in numbers, but culture – is starting to be seen and felt. 

“It’s moving. It’s emotional. I mean, I talked about the hope in the room, from a personal standpoint as mayor of the city, it gives me a lot of hope. Our police department is looking more and more like the communities that we are charged with protecting and serving,” Frey said. 

Also part of the graduation was four new Minneapolis Park Police Officers.