I was just wondering who you guys think is the worst live singer?
I remember seeing rihanna on her loud tour and remembering how off her vocals were! Maybe it was a bad night?

Justin Bieber is really bad. He was dancing around a lot but still..

No I totally agree with you, people seem to be obsessed with her though. Rihanna sounds awful recorded and being edited in the studio even, let alone what she sounds like live. Her songs diamonds and where have you been have made me want to dig my eardrums out this year.

Katy Perry is another one who in my opinion sounds just as bad on album as she does live.

I heard tinie tempah live, might of just been because hed been dancing around on stage for ages but he sounded pretty weak to me to.

Rihanna, Britney, Victoria Beckham and Geri Haliwell

I would say Miley Cyrus, but she doesn't sound much different live than from her studio recordings. At least her voice is consistent.

I'm far worse than any of those mentioned so far

is - britney, with madonna close second

was - michael jackson


reason - miming onstage as they couldn't sing their songs for one reason or another, or chose not to

Dare I say Adam Levine. I love Maroon 5 but I was shocked how weak his voice is live.

From the artists I have seen live, I would have to say Madonna.

It's funny. Rihanna and Katy Perry have been mentioned but when I saw Rihanna on her Rated R tour, she sounded excellent. Far better than I thought she'd be. I assume her vocals have just deteriorated since then? Also, Katy Perry - I saw her at the Capital Summertime Ball last year, and she sounded great.

Cheryl Cole has to be up there with them

Katy perry sounds terrible when she sings on award shows!!!!!!!!!! That must be what she sounds like on tour.

Nicki minaj aint good live at all neither is tinie tempah. Maybe thats why his latest record isnt doing great

Cheryl Cole.

Rihanna has improved.
Katy Perry is pretty bad tbh.
The Wanted are also bad a lot of the time.
Adam Levine sounds very weak live.

Katy Perry is probably the worst of all the mainstream pop and rnb women.

He has such a bland, nasally voice.

Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance.

He just sounds so unfit. Combine this with the fact that he tries to give an energetic performance, and he just sounds out of breath all the time.

I have never seen her live so I can't really comment on her vocal ability. However, it's worth noting that the sound is often very different whilst actually being at the venue than it is on TV. Sometimes, vocals don't translate well on TV.

Cheryl Cole is probably the worst live singer I've ever heard.

Absolutely terrible.

Rihanna has a decent voice but she's very hit and miss. She occasionally gives incredible vocal performance but unfortunately sometimes she is really bad. She also has a habit of only singing half-sentences, for example she'll sing a line like "We found love in a hopeless place" but only sing "we found love in a..." and doesn't finish the sentence. It's really irritating, next time you see her do a live performance, look out for it.

Singers who are pretty much always awful, or always mime:

- Britney Spears
- Taylor Swift
- Lana Del Rey

Justin Bieber
Adam Levine
Cheryl Cole

Can't resist pointing out Lana's doing a fantastic job of "miming" in this video:

Beats Festival, Prague this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gndCFmyAtTU

Shall I post some more videos from her tour as evidence, cause I would assure you she's always this "bad." You can see that by the way the crowd are in raptures of joy. Yep she's always rubbish live isn't she? Really can't sing can she ?

Lana has the odd wobbly moment but has massively improved since her nerves are now much less of a problem.

Katy Perry is vocally talentless, to be honest - I'd mime if I was her, or use a heavy backing track. Taylor Swift isn't much better, but her songwriting talent gives her a bye.

I was shocked by how bad Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys was when he sang live on an episode of the Alan Titchmarsh Show. It made me realise what a clever production effect his voice is on the records.

Funnily enough, it's not. I went to see her a few years back and wasn't sure what to expect as I too think most of her award/TV performances are pretty patchy. Truth is, she was very good live. So good in fact, i'm seeing her again next year.

Worst live performer at the moment is Cheryl Cole IMO. Terrible singer, and I still cringe when I think of her abysmal performance of 'The Flood' on Chatty Man a few years back!

Really, you do surprise me, I always thought of him as more of a talker than really a singer, which is why I didn't list him as worst singer live. Though somebody has got him down as best singer on the other thread, they must be deaf.