American Music Awards: Why Certain Performers Should Not Perform Live

The 2014 American Music Awards were broadcast live on Sunday night.

Some artists won American Music Awards. Many more artists got snubbed.

Some artists performed on stage at the American Music Awards. Many more artists watched performances either from their seats or their homes.

Let’s focus a little more on the artists at the American Music Awards that got a chance to perform live.

There really is no need to name specific artists that performed poorly.

Fans and critics that watched the 2014 American Music Awards should be able to identify which artists belong in that particular category based on their own opinions.

However, there were some performances that served as reminders about why certain performers simply cannot and should not perform live — especially during highly-publicized and televised award ceremonies.

Less Should Be More

One of the biggest mistakes that many performers make (such as at the American Music Awards) is that they try so hard to create a blockbuster stage production for their relatively short on-stage performances that they forget about the actual performance itself. If you have a lot of pyrotechnics, half-naked backup dancers, and strobe lights, that’s fine.

However, if all of that distracts from your actual performance of the song, it defeats the purpose. There have been many award show performances over the years that focused way too much on backdrops, lighting, and the overall concept and not enough on the actual performance itself.

On the other hand, there have been quite a few on-stage performances that are praised highly by critics and fans which seemed stripped down and low-budget in comparison.

Sound Check Please

Sound checks are essential. Any successful performer or even an experienced stage technician knows that — especially when performing at such a popular awards show as the American Music Awards.

Why is it, then, that there are so many performers that still seem to have excessive problems with their sound equipment? Did they not conduct a successful sound check during the rehearsals and overall preparation stage for the show? Yes, it is true that mistakes happen, and last-minute, unexpected technical difficulties will arise.

However, if you are known for having on-stage performances filled with technical glitches, perhaps you need to consider this point a little more carefully.

Singing And Dancing Simultaneously

Dance numbers are amazing — especially if you can dance well. However, if you are not good at performing live, then perhaps you should rethink your on-stage choreography.

Too many artists seem to replicate the choreography performed in their music videos.

The problem is that if you cannot sing and dance at the same time very well, you might not be able to control your breathing to the point where something suffers — your dancing, your singing, or both.

The last thing that fans want to see is their favorite artist breathing hard and panting on stage with unexpected and unplanned pauses in their singing simply because they can’t catch their breath.

What do you think? Did any of the performers at the American Music Awards follow these basic “rules?”