POSITIVE PUBLICITY by Camille Mola

This post is for the theater-lovers, the concert-goers, but most of all, the performers.

What is in a great performance? What exactly is it that brings tears to our eyes and chills down our spine when sitting in an audience, listening to a performer pour their heart into a song? What is it that, as a singer, you walk-off stage knowing you’ve exposed a vulnerable part of yourself by putting everything into your performance?

I’ve seen many amazing performances that have just blown me away, but there’s a special few that are just absolutely unforgettable. I myself have performed in musicals, cabarets and sometimes solo. And every performer can agree upon this: every time you step on that stage, you want to give the best performance possible. You want the audience to feel something, to have a connection with you. To feel your joy, your pain, whatever it is you may be singing about. But what makes a performance so great and so memorable?

I think one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen is Adele’s Someone Like You, which I’ve mentioned here before. You can hear the heartbreak and honesty in her voice and through her body language. At the same time, you can also feel her gratitude for the audience and her fans who propelled her song to new heights. It’s a whirlwind of many emotions, and as a viewer, you are changed by it.

Practice makes perfect, we’ve heard it a million times, and for good reason. But more than often, practice and perfection aren’t the defining factors in a performance.

It can be argued that factors like the song, the venue, even the outfit, can define a great performance. What (I think) it truly comes down to is putting your entire heart and soul into your performance. If there’s no connection with the song your singing, then what’s the point? Whether the song is serious, funny or risque, it’s all about putting your entirety into a song. Athletes leave it all on the field; singers leave it all on the stage.

For you, what makes a performance memorable? What is your favorite performance? Leave a comment below!