Arts & Entertainment, Music
Performance Review
Lesson time 14:00 min
Usher walks you through his latest tour performances at London’s O2 Arena. If you missed his last world tour, you won’t want to miss this chapter.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Stage presence • Costume and wardrobe • Using silence effectively
Preview
You have to believe that you will get better in time. As a matter of fact, I'm willing to show you what I mean when I say, let's critiquing it. We're going to look at some of my footage right now. We're going to roll it back, give you a quick roll to reel, maybe walk you through some of the inspiration of my live performance in London. Check this out. Playback. [MUSIC PLAYING ] First, let me start off with the fact that this entire segment of the show was dedicated to James Brown, a man who didn't need a lot. He had his band and he had control. Taking this moment right now. Seize the moment. Own the moment. Dramatic-- you see me kind of doing little things that-- I kind of got the little nose wipe from Michael. But I actually did it my own way. I was literally wiping sweat off my face though. [AUDIENCE CHEERING] But you look at them. You take it in. You build the intensity of the moment. You look up. And I don't even know who I'm looking at right now. I'm just looking up there just to give them the drama. This is all living in the moment, owning the moment. Sometimes the most potent part of your performance can be silent. It's what you're doing. It's your persona. It's your energy. It's how serious you are. Look at my face right now. I mean what I'm not doing. Man, it was a cool night. And then it happened. Wait for it. [MUSIC PLAYING] That's Ray right there. So James Brown, he understood what it was to really hold the moment and show your control, show that you are the master of this ceremony in this moment on stage, all right? That element can't be duplicated, man. He was a one of a kind, but such an inspiration for me. Band hitting it. [MUSIC PLAYING] Oh, yeah, uh, yeah, uh, yeah, uh. Matter of fact, I'm the guy who will make you wait about three to four minutes of just pausing, that awkward tension in silence, building the drama, owning the moment, knowing your audience, commanding your audience's attention. Does it again. [MUSIC PLAYING] Let me put my shades on. The stage looks better with the shades on, right? And when you go, you let it all go. [MUSIC PLAYING - USHER, "TWISTED"] You've got it twisted. Tell me why you wanna do me that way. You've got it twisted. You introducing shit, you know I don't play. As a cheat too, by the way, if I'm taking those breaks, it's because I'm catching my breath. But now it's time to let it go. You had me looking stupid, but I let it go that way. Yeah. All the time and money I spent, can't believe what I'm in-- Telling this story now, this is kind of like a narration of the moment. I'm talking about this girl, who's the inspiration. But I'm still my mode. You see me moving a little bit. She's playing with me a little bit now. Back into it. But this is the ...
About the Instructor
Usher, winner of 8 Grammy Awards, reveals the technical skills, career lessons and breakthrough advice that he has used to captivate audiences for over 25 years. For the first time ever, learn how Usher approaches performance and wins over audiences from the studio to the stage. There has never been a class like this before.
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Usher
In his first ever online class, Usher teaches you his personal techniques to captivate audiences across 16 video lessons.
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