A live lounge performance consists of a band/ artist performing an original or cover in a recording studio, whilst being filmed.

Examples:

Top Of The Pops (1964-present)

Here is an example of one of the earliest live lounge performances recorded that I could find. As we can tell both the video and the sound quality aren’t great, due to there not being equipment -which was later developed in the 00’s- that can make the performance sound “richer”. However the artists do still have the pressure of only being able to get a near perfect performance on their first take. The people controlling the cameras are also only using simple camera angles such as medium shots and close up shots.

Above is a more up-to-date live lounge performance from Top Of The Pops. Ignoring the fact that it is a different style of song, we can immediately hear that the production is different. Unlike in the 60’s, the artist hires session musicians to play along in the live lounge area and also uses back up singers – as a pose to using a backing track of the song or even mimicking the lyrics over the original song. The idea is that the live lounge sounds more authentic and gives people listening on a radio more of a “real-life” experience.

Later with Jools Holland (1992-present)

In the Jools Holland shows, artists are recorded live and are being filmed alongside for the whole performance using a range of camera shots such as extreme close ups, establishing shots and also panning. There is instantly more pressure to get the material  sounding at a good quality and to also look good/like a professional whilst doing it.The producers of this show dealt with poor sound quality by having a huge advantage- being in an era of advanced technology- but by also spacing the performers carefully, ensuring that there is no possible way to get feedback from the amps and mics and so that each individual sound can be heard from all across the room. It is also clear that the producers have thought about lighting and colour schemes. This is not something that is used across all of the acts though, it is all dependant on the emotion of the song and if it is what the artist wants during their live lounge performance.

 

BBC Radio 1 live lounge (2006-present)

The BBC have made their live lounge performances very similar to the “Later… with Jools Holland” show. However the artist can choose whether they want to do it on a stage or in a live lounge room with headphones and stools. Artists who go on the BBC live lounge tend to choose the option of using the live lounge room without a stage and also with headphones on with the sheet music on a stand in front of them. In a way this makes the performance look less professional but gives it more of an acoustic vibe.

Summery:

From the research I have done, I have found a few key rules in which we should probably follow in order to get the “perfect” live lounge performance:

• Making any kind of mistake could cost us- we only get two takes to do this so every mistake made could be crucial.
• We should use an image/ style that relates to our music.
• Body language is key- who wants to watch a live performance when the artists are as stiff as cardboard?
• Keep a close eye out for anything that looks bad when editing the video- there is more chance of the viewer noticing a mistake than yourself.
• Lighting and colour schemes (if any) should match the emotion of the song.
• Use dynamic mics as they are not as sensitive as condenser mics, meaning they are less likely to pick up on bleed.