What Nigerian artistes can learn from singer’s performance at ‘Encore’ concert

Congratulations to every artist who missed out on a chance to watch Asa perform at her ‘Asa Live In Lagos: Encore’ concert.

Well done for missing it. You guys played yourself.

And what’s your excuse for missing the show?

You have no money? Then stop popping bottles in clubs and you will afford it.

You were engaged? Recording a song that you are 99% sure will not become big.

You were having sex? Sorry, you better not have an STD, because that will be you losing on two ends.

There weren’t many Nigerian artists who showed up to witness the greatness that is Asa’s concert. As I stayed on the red carpet watching for familiar stars and their airs, I found very few. So few, that you could have sworn that no star showed up to enjoy what would have been instrumental.

For artists, attending an Asa concert is less of ‘I am supporting my fellow artists’, and more of ‘I want to go and help my life’. And that’s because the benefits for musicians far outweigh any enjoyment that it does provide.

Watching Asa perform should be in the training manual of every Nigerian artist, as a compulsory exercise in live music, stage craft and more. You can’t find many independent clips of Asa performing live on Youtube. She and her team regulates her copyright and content. And even if you do, you can’t get even a tiny fraction of the feeling that comes with the experience.

Lights

Asa understands the power of ambience, and how much lights help in providing it. So she moves with her personal light crew which synchronize the lights with the performance, dictating the mood via the use of colours. A sad song comes with a dull eerie colour, but when the band and the guitars spark to elevate the mood, the colours change and shine like the sun. That’s Asa.

Lighting might seem like a non-essential element of performances, but when you do get to experience it in its full glory, you would never want a show with poor lighting.

Band

You have to perform your music live. The best case scenario is to have a full band assist you. But we understand that times are hard, and concert promoters might not have the budget for that. So no stress. You switch to Plan B. Plan B isn’t hard. It just requires you to prepare a performance CD that you can perform live. Preparing it is hard work, but it helps you give fans a better performance. Play the drums, remix your instrumental and give everyone a live rendition of your singles. That way, you score huge points.

Dance

I don’t know how Nigerian artists get away with zero dancing during performance, but you have to dance. Dancing is a great tool of entertainment as it generates enough emotion and adds variety to all that singing. Asa dances like a child. Her free spirit roams with all of the diverse emotions from her music, and she moves in tandem with them. No inhibitions, plenty of abandon, and beautiful to watch. But the catch for artists is, if you are unable to dance, get dancers to provide it for you. It’s important. Very important.

Connection

The most important part of your performance is to have a connection with your audience. As a top artist with hit songs, half the job is already done. People already have a connection with your music. But while watching you live, you have to build on that. There’s really not much to do here, other than involve them in the performance. Tell them stories, invite them to clap, let the audience sing along, and react to their expressions. Do that, and you are in great territory.

Asa shares stories during her performances. Funny stories, touching stories, and more.

Rehearsal

A great performance comes from practice. You have to rehearse like your entire career depends on it. And yes, your performance career depends on it. No matter how you try to look at it, you can’t get better or master your moves without practicing them. Performance is a motor skill. It has to be learnt by rehearsals. This is the most important part of your stagecraft.