Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Eliana (class of 2024) and features a selection of songs recorded live.

Best Live Performances

There’s an endless number of incredible live performances, but these are some of the ones that top my list. I suppose being able to see the real thing would be better but a YouTube video is a close second, right?!?

Kelly Clarkson – “A Moment Like This” (American Idol winning performance from 2002) – A true cultural reset

Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean” (Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983) – An even bigger cultural reset

Rihanna – “Love on the Brain” (Live at Global Citizen Festival 2016) – Performance I would have traded my left kidney for to see live

Miley Cyrus – “Heart of Glass” (Live from the iHeart Festival 2020) – The rockification of Hannah Montana

Soshana Bean – “She Used To Be Mine” from Waitress (From Club Broadway.com 2019) – The storytelling makes this a 15/10

Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Live Aid 1985) – No description necessary

Beyoncé – “At Last” (For Barack and Michelle Obama – Inaugural Ball January 20, 2009) – A defining historical moment that never fails to bring tears to my eyes

Keala Settle – “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman (2017) – BTS you need to see

Ben Platt & Broadway Cast – “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen – (From The Today Show April 2017) – Best of Broadway off of Broadway

Ariana Grande – “One Last Time” (From One Love Manchester June 2017) – Bravery and resilience highlighted in a single performance

Olivia Rodrigo & Joshua Bassett – “Just For A Moment” (Live Performance Vevo 2020) – Didn’t age well but the irony only adds to the heartbreak of the performance

Bruno Mars covers Adele’s “All I Ask” (The Live Lounge BBC Radio 1 November 2016) – Fun fact, Bruno wrote this song. And he kills it.

Here is a version of the whole playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57ZexFIivdsXLUDb4weJss_Niy