The Beauty of Live Performances

[ANVEEROY 62,141]

Whenever people say that performances don’t matter anymore because they don’t translate into impact, engagement, or social media interactions, I always push back on that idea.

After watching Harlequin Live, I found myself going back to the album, something I hadn’t really done since its release (I only played it a couple of times back then). Now it’s on repeat... and honestly, I have to give flowers where they are due- the live special was absolutely stunning.

Live performances do matter. They deepen and elevate the listening experience in ways nothing else can! 

Edited Friday at 06:36 PM by ANVEEROY

[Bronco 14,850]

I think there's a difference between a fully fleshed out show like Harlequin live and a one off awards show performance tbh. 

One is vastly more emotive and impactful than the other. Especially if you saw the show in person.

[Ladle Ghoulash 31,952]

On 12/26/2025 at 1:48 PM, Bronco said:

I think there's a difference between a fully fleshed out show like Harlequin live and a one off awards show performance tbh. 

One is vastly more emotive and impactful than the other. Especially if you saw the show in person.

This, tbh. I feel like, even if artists don’t do talk show + award show performances as frequently anymore, they should record some type of live special to accompany their records (whether it’s something like Harlequin or like a tour concert film).

Edited Saturday at 08:48 PM by Ladle Ghoulash

[Bronco 14,850]

Just now, Ladle Ghoulash said:

This, tbh. I feel like, even if artists don’t do talk show + award show performances as frequently anymore, they should record some time of live special to accompany their records (whether it’s something like Harlequin or like a tour concert film).

I wish we had more Gaga tour films

And I hope to god that we get a live album release.

Live albums are my favourite way to remember old experiences. I have managed to get a few bootleg recordings of shows for other artists and I love being able to relax with them.

[ANVEEROY 62,141]

13 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

This, tbh. I feel like, even if artists don’t do talk show + award show performances as frequently anymore, they should record some time of live special to accompany their records (whether it’s something like Harlequin or like a tour concert film).

 

11 minutes ago, Bronco said:

I wish we had more Gaga tour films

And I hope to god that we get a live album release.

Live albums are my favourite way to remember old experiences. I have managed to get a few bootleg recordings of shows for other artists and I love being able to relax with them.

Well, I am not gonna argue about the need for live performances (awards, late night), but remember Happy Mistakes of Jimmy one, has created a strong likeness for the HM song (the song is already great, but more impact). 

[Bronco 14,850]

13 minutes ago, ANVEEROY said:

 

Well, I am not gonna argue about the need for live performances (awards, late night), but remember Happy Mistakes of Jimmy one, has created a strong likeness for the HM song (the song is already great, but more impact). 

It definitely helped, but ironically I've still never watched it 😅 haven't watched most one off performances this era except SNL so I am probably an outlier. 

[Lucas 28,492]

Live performances give life to the songs so much imo

[nodandsmile 11,242]

the Mayhem show is a great example for how important performances are

and of course we talk about streaming boosts (damn near her whole discography had their best year ever!) and TikTok engagement because that's the quantifiable stuff but it did a hell of a lot more for her than that... that's some legacy defining sh*t!

[ChromaticaBoy 1,053]

I agree with you, but beyond that, I personally think that live performances have a mission and importance greater than the numbers on streaming platforms. They shows the true skill of the artist and the band, the ability to put on a show—whether it’s a small performance on a TV show or a concert—and it also reflects the artist and producers’ taste in the live mix, which is personally one of the things I admire the most.

[GoldenNovember 676]

Whenever a song is being performed live, it feels to me as if the artist is bringing the music to life. Live instrumentation, live vocals, humans doing audible art on stage... It's a most beautiful thing 

Unfortunately, with the rise of pitch correction being used not only during live performances, but also massively applied to almost every performance on television, the magic is lost. Even when someone of Gagas skill level uses it (we all know she is great and wouldn't need it), it makes the performance feel dishonest to me. What I love about singing is the very imperfections that are nowadays corrected everywhere. It feels like taking the "human factor" out of performances. And I hate that.

[Ziggy 12,404]

18 hours ago, Bronco said:

It definitely helped, but ironically I've still never watched it 😅 haven't watched most one off performances this era except SNL so I am probably an outlier. 

i think you might just be bc between happy mistake and VIY on colbert, she's been giving this era legs via the live performances this year. that said i *do think gaga is a very unique case in that regard as i seldom hear about many other artists today where their talk show performance goes hugely viral and reaches outside a fan base (even snl).

[princedeeblebleble 2,320]

On 12/26/2025 at 7:48 PM, Bronco said:

I think there's a difference between a fully fleshed out show like Harlequin live and a one off awards show performance tbh. 

One is vastly more emotive and impactful than the other. Especially if you saw the show in person.

Idk I think currently theres a big lack of one off performances and I'm so greatful Florence still does them :p I miss when artists would constantly do random performances to bring new life to songs. Like how exciting was when Gaga did SNL or the Youtube thing and random little preformances of Vanish and PC and others. It's a shame they mostly keep live stuff for the tour nowadays.  Like you're a preformer, preforme outside of tours as well ffs 

[Bronco 14,850]

1 hour ago, princedeeblebleble said:

Idk I think currently theres a big lack of one off performances and I'm so greatful Florence still does them :p I miss when artists would constantly do random performances to bring new life to songs. Like how exciting was when Gaga did SNL or the Youtube thing and random little preformances of Vanish and PC and others. It's a shame they mostly keep live stuff for the tour nowadays.  Like you're a preformer, preforme outside of tours as well ffs 

I think part of it is that there's just way less options now. And what is left, pays less because the medium is dying (award shows/chat shows) so as a result for artists like Gaga where a performance is a production 9/10 times its just not financially viable. 

Like in the UK, you basically only have the Graham Norton show & the BBC Radio 1 live lounge. And occasionally the One Show at christmas lol. 
 

[Ladle Ghoulash 31,952]

28 minutes ago, Bronco said:

I think part of it is that there's just way less options now. And what is left, pays less because the medium is dying (award shows/chat shows) so as a result for artists like Gaga where a performance is a production 9/10 times its just not financially viable. 

Like in the UK, you basically only have the Graham Norton show & the BBC Radio 1 live lounge. And occasionally the One Show at christmas lol. 
 

ATP, doing talk show and award show performances only pay off for smaller artists trying to break through, whereas someone like Gaga basically does it for love of the game. Would love to see a revitalization of high quality live productions for the digital era.

[Bronco 14,850]

1 minute ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

ATP, doing talk show and award show performances only pay off for smaller artists trying to break through, whereas someone like Gaga basically does it for love of the game. Would love to see a revitalization of high quality live productions for the digital era.

I think artists need to get better at getting live concert footage out quickly. 

Like on the latest tour, the band Ghost did like show by show vlogs done in the style of an old MTV metal show and it always featured clips of them performing from that show. And within the fanbase, all the clips were going wild on tiktok etc. 

Feel like if Gaga did something like that this era, the Dead Dance meme would have taken off.