There are lots of reasons why I shouldn’t become a professional singer, but I reckon that even if I had an Adele-like voice, the thought of forgetting lyrics on stage would be enough to keep me away from the stage.
Of course, singers are only human ― they forget the words to their own sing all the time.
So what do they do if they blank out in front of a crowd?
Some use a teleprompter
Speaking with Cosmopolitan, a “pop and rock veteran” veteran who’s worked with artists like Kesha and Gwen Stefani revealed that many artists use a teleprompter ― like the ones news anchors use ― to see them through their set.
“When you’ve got a huge repertoire of songs 50 or 60 songs and you don’t do the same set every night, sometimes it’s like, ‘I haven’t played this song in five years!’,” she pointed out. “I think many artists don’t completely rely on the teleprompter, but it’s just there in case.”
Musician JJ Peters also revealed that the crowd can help to fill in any blank spots.
“If there are ever any points in the night where I – for whatever reason – have a bit of memory loss, I just put the mic in the crowd, and someone will fill up, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s right!’” he told Alternative Press.
Others said that they can tell their lyrics by lip-reading the crowd who are singing along, while one artist pointed out that he crowd-surfs when he draws a blank to help fill the empty space.
Remington Leith, however, said she just switches one verse for another ― or makes words up entirely. “I’ll switch verses, because there are some days that it’s just a complete blank, and it’s so obvious. I’ll make up some gibberish or some bullshit or mumble the melody,” she revealed.
And then, there’s the option of just laughing it off ― “You just got to laugh and try your best to remember what you’re supposed to be singing. But it’s never because the words don’t mean a lot to me,” Matt Caughtran revealed.
Yeah, I’m still pretty happy leaving the styling-out to the pros...