Audience Participation at Live Concerts

[Anonymous]

I was at a Lionel Richie concert recently and it seemed like he encouraged the audience to sing along in almost every song (in some of them he even provided the lyrics before singing them). Maybe it’s just me, but when I’m spending a ton of money to see a performer, I want to actually hear the performer sing and not 20,000 audience members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was at a Lionel Richie concert recently and it seemed like he encouraged the audience to sing along in almost every song (in some of them he even provided the lyrics before singing them). Maybe it’s just me, but when I’m spending a ton of money to see a performer, I want to actually hear the performer sing and not 20,000 audience members.

I agree. There was news yesterday about Adele telling security and the audience to stop chastising one guy who stood and sang apparently for the entire duration of one of her shows recently--he seems to have been standing up and singing loudly while the rest of the audience was mostly seated and not singing. (Adele is famed for her great voice; can you blame anyone who wanted to hear that voice and not random guy?) Adele wanted him left alone to do his thing. I get that this is how some people want to interact but like you, if there's an artist whose voice I love and want to absorb and remember, having one guy or the whole audience singing along loudly is not why I'm there.

Unfortunately for you and me, the whole concert experience now seems to be a sing-along experience on every song, all night. I've been to plenty of large rock concerts and smaller venue shows over the years and while people have always stood, danced, sung along, right now it seems to be the entire point of the shows, rather than people just getting up to dance and sing on a few specific, big hit numbers.

[Anonymous]

Ditto.

[Anonymous]

Went to a small venue recently. Audience was able to have some verbal exchanges with the performers, which was nice at first, but then it became a thing that a handful of people kept yelling their thoughts and funny comments and trying to get a conversation going with those on stage. All evening.

It got old pretty quickly. Everyone else was pretty respectful of the show.

[Anonymous]

Part of me thinks the performer is lazy or too tired. Why put out the effort if they don’t have to? Young/ up-and-coming performers would never do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Went to a small venue recently. Audience was able to have some verbal exchanges with the performers, which was nice at first, but then it became a thing that a handful of people kept yelling their thoughts and funny comments and trying to get a conversation going with those on stage. All evening.

It got old pretty quickly. Everyone else was pretty respectful of the show.

UGH. Trying to be the center of attention, certainly trying to get the performer to focus on them. I think a short exchange once would add a lot of fun to show at a small venue (being close up and personal is the point there) but going on all evening? Did anyone try to tell these people to cool it down? Though these days, some people take that as just a reason to increase the behavior.

I'm wagering two things: Alcohol was involved, and/or entitlement.

This sounds like the supposedly more "positive" flip side of the recent spate of people hurling things at performers onstage. There is a growing sense of entitlement, as in, "I paid to be here and I'm entitled to interact with this performer however I want--the rest of the audience, and even the performer, be damned."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Part of me thinks the performer is lazy or too tired. Why put out the effort if they don’t have to? Young/ up-and-coming performers would never do this.

Do what? Are you unaware that this kind of incessant singing along happens at Taylor Swift or whatever as much as it does for a Lionel Richie show?

[Anonymous]

Lionel Ritchie is an older guy now, he probably likes the audience helping so his declining performance is less noticeable. When you're a legend, everyone knows your song lyrics, its a complement. Most concerts today are more interactive, maybe due to SM.

Kpop groups control this by issuing fan participation lyrics/fan chants before tours. Fans are responsible for singing their part in the song and don't usually sing the artist's part.

[Anonymous]

Guess you have never been to a Springsteen concert, OP.

[Anonymous]

Depends entirely on the performer and who’s in the audience. The only artist I’ll consistently spend money to see is Janet. I’ve seen her 7 times. And everybody participates. We’re all up dancing and singing along. If she needs a breather, she turns the mic to the audience. I took DD to a Shinedown show last year. Same thing, minus the dancing. Everyone was standing and singing along. Great experience. It’s part of the fun.

But I full recognize there are other types of shows where that would be unwelcome. You do have to pay attention to the overall vibe of the crowd and what the performer is/isn’t encouraging. But that doesn’t mean I’ll sit down for the one person behind me who wants to sit and be silent during a Janet show. Not happening. In that scenario, they’re the ones not reading the vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of me thinks the performer is lazy or too tired. Why put out the effort if they don’t have to? Young/ up-and-coming performers would never do this.

Do what? Are you unaware that this kind of incessant singing along happens at Taylor Swift or whatever as much as it does for a Lionel Richie show?

As a frequent Swift concertgoer, I had the same reaction. Singing along is part of the experience. I go for the collective effervescence of being part of the crowd as much as anything, but I know other people aren't looking for that (and it really depends on the show).

[Anonymous]

I went to Taylor Swift and I wore earplugs during the entire show. Even with those in and surrounded by thousands of others singing, I could hear Taylor very clearly.

[Anonymous]

Yeah my niece showed me her videos from the Taylor swift concert and I was like- can you even hear her voice? All I hear is teenage girls screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs.

[Anonymous]

This is why I don't ever go to concerts. I don't want to hear a 14 yr old girl scream-singing with her voice cracking who is pitchy. I want to hear the artist, and the artist only. It's why I go to musicals, where everyone knows to be quiet.

That guy at the Adele concert was entitled and wrong. The people behind him were angry he was standing and blocking their view. His response was that they could stand too if they wanted. Well how the hell does he know? I'm not handicapped enough to need handicapped accommodations, but I can't stand for an hour straight either. And should the entire audience behind him have to stand just because he wants to? Adele should have told him to sit down and if he'd do that the security guy would leave him alone. Adele was wrong, and the audience member was wrong.