Live performances are good. They enhance the experience of songs for us. You can see the emotions play out on the artist’s face, in their gestures and little dances as they sing. Live performances can cause you to love songs you didn’t even like, make you empathise with the artist, and improve your bond with the artist. If you already love a song, it can make you love it even more.
When we watch live performances, depending on how spectacular or terrible it is, a spectrum of thoughts goes through our minds. We either think, “whoa this is so much better than the studio version,” or “he/she sounds exactly the same,” or “this person really isn’t a performer,” or “yeah, this is bad.”
Here are a few live performances that I have watched an unhealthy amount of times because they either left my mouth ajar or made my heart warm.
Emotions by Mariah Carey
It would be a crime to start this list with anyone other than Mariah. This woman opens her mouth, and magic comes out. After the release of her second album, her critics felt like her voice wasn’t as brilliant live, so this performance was put together to prove them wrong. She delivered those whistle notes so casually that you’d think just anybody can open their mouths and nail whistle notes. Her vocal control and precision are just otherworldly. She’s a legend, and she knows it. I know it too.
Holy Water by Freya Ridings
In this performance, she delivers a stunning rendition of her song, Holy Water. The highlight of this performance is her voice and how she wields it. She sounds almost exactly like the studio version. I like this performance a little better than the studio version. The strings and backup singers add more life to the song turning this into a beautiful experience for anyone watching.
Dem Go Dey Pose by Teni and Johnny Drille
If you have musically inclined people on your WhatsApp CL, there’s no way you wouldn’t have seen clips from this performance. It was such an enjoyable performance. They took an old song and turned it at its very head. They added life and just made our hearts warm with it. I couldn’t stop watching it. I just kept on replaying and replaying it at the expense of my data. The band also understood the assignment and executed it perfectly. It was a job well done.
God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande
Of all her performances of this song, this happens to be my favourite. Ariana Grande has something, and it’s called stage presence. She knows how to carry a song really well. You don’t even need to like the song before you can enjoy the performance. She makes every performance much more enjoyable than her studio versions.
Save Your Tears by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande
No doubt you’ve seen clips of this performance making rounds on WhatsApp and Twitter. This was one of those performances that people enjoyed so much they couldn’t resist talking about it. People were so enamoured by Ariana Grande (as they should be) but gave little attention to Abel. There was this stability in his voice, and just how clear it was made it so pleasant to the ears. Ariana didn’t disappoint as she came in and added her bit of Ariana magic. We need more Ariana Grande and The Weeknd collabs.
Slide Away by Miley Cyrus
I’m not a big Miley Cyrus fan, but something about this performance tugged on my heartstrings. It was just so raw and vulnerable, and I couldn’t resist. Miley has the voice of a rockstar, hoarse and husky, and she used that to accentuate the song’s delivery. Also, her dress and those legs are to die for!
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