I chose Ex Factor quite last minute and although I know the song very well already, I started watching her perform it live for some inspo. (link attached)

For some more inspo, I was looking at some covers and live performances of Play that Funky Music and Get Lucky. I think they're two very strong, groovy songs that will definitely get a crowd going.

I already knew the songs we chose, so there wasn't a need to learn lyrics, most of my research has been based on different ways to sing the songs.

Despite the slow start, our final performance went really well. We had a great audience who were engaged and supportive, and each of us brought strong stage presence, which helped create a lively and confident atmosphere on stage.

But a couple of months before our gig, things started to shift. We began to understand each other better, started working more as a group, and somehow it all started to come together. Rehearsals weren’t as awkward anymore, they actually became fun.

By the time we hit the stage, it felt like we’d come a long way. We weren’t perfect, but we were finally a band and proud of what we pulled off.

So overall, it was a rough start but a strong finish and personally I am very proud of everyone and myself.

But being part of this gig actually gave me the push I needed. Once I got over the nerves and just did it, I remembered how much I love performing. Nothing excites me more than being on stage.

Now I’m starting to properly go for it, looking into local pub open mics, sharing more of my stuff on social media, and just slowly building my confidence back up. This whole experience has really reminded me why I started in the first place.

My friend and I are now actually planning a trip to dublin to maybe try some busking, performing in pubs etc.

Warming up gets my vocal cords ready and helps prevent strain. It’s like stretching before a workout essential for staying healthy and performing at my peak. These exercises might seem simple, but they’ve made a big difference in how confident and prepared I feel every time I sing.

Sometimes I do forget to warm up and when I do forget it’s very obvious because warming up your voice has a huge, huge impact on how you sound.

But once I step on stage, everything changes. I actually feel calmer up there, like it’s safer than being anywhere else. The nerves disappear, and it’s just me and the music. I forget the crowd, the stress, all of it. It’s kind of wild how performing does that, it’s like I’m in my own little bubble where everything just clicks, I almost feel like I transcend.

That’s how I knew with this performance and all performances to come, that I’ll do just fine.

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At the same time, I started playing around with Get Lucky to see how I could make it feel a bit more original. It’s such a well known song, so I didn’t want to just copy the original version. I experimented with slightly different phrasing, some vocal layering ideas, and even thought about how I might strip it back in parts or play with dynamics to give it more personality. It was fun trying to bring something fresh to a track that everyone already knows so well but still keeping the same energy that wild cherry uses.

We ended up spending a good few hours working on the arrangement, figuring out chords, discussing the dynamics, and getting a feel for how we could shape it as a band. It was one of those practices where things really started to come together, things were feeling better overall with our band and choosing Ex-Factor felt like the right move creatively and emotionally.

I took notes on her phrasing, how she uses silence, and the way she connects with the lyrics in such a raw, honest way. It really pushed me to think about how I could bring my own interpretation to the song while still keeping its original feeling. It wasn’t about copying her, it was about learning from her, making it as if I was telling a story while singing it and finding new ways to perfect my own performance.

I ended up leaving a bit earlier than the rest of the group because I didn’t want to strain my voice before the performance, vocal health felt extra important after all the work we’d put in, so I felt comfortable enough with what we had managed. Even though the lead up had its challenges, we’d managed to pull everything together. Seeing how far we’d come as a group made it all worth it.

The article really reinforced the idea that stage presence is more than just confidence, it’s about energy, authenticity, and emotional connection. One thing that stood out to me was the emphasis on vulnerability. Letting the audience in and being emotionally open can make a huge difference in how a performance is received, and I’ve definitely found that to be true in my own experiences.

It also talked about developing your unique stage persona, which made me reflect on how mine has evolved over time. Even though I’ve got a lot of experience, I’ve not had much experience in performing in bands so there’s always room to grow and I loved that the article encouraged that mindset. It was a great reminder that even when something feels familiar, there’s always more to explore.

1. Most of my research was focused on live performances as I already knew the songs but needed some more inspiration on how to perform them. I wanted to get more ideas on stage presence specifically how to engage with an audience while still staying emotionally connected to the song. Watching how experienced artists move, use eye contact, and express themselves helped me think about how I could bring more of that into my own performance style.

2. How did research help or inform the development of my work?
   Watching the performances definitely gave me a clearer idea of how to use emotion in my own songs. Seeing how artists expressed themselves on stage through their voice, body language, and overall presence inspired me to be more intentional with how I perform and communicate the meaning of each song to the audience. It’s really important to understand that you are telling a story and you’ve got to tell it with feeling.

3. How have my skills and knowledge developed over the course of the project?
   My skills have definitely developed over the time I’ve been on this course. At the beginning, I wasn’t very confident with band work because I’d never really done it before. Now, I feel a lot more comfortable collaborating with a group. I’ve also learned a lot about using microphones properly, we had a whole lesson committed to learning how to use them, set them up etc. Whivh has made a big difference in my overall performance, confidence and vocal control.

Get Lucky and Play That Funky Music were perfect examples. They both have that timeless, feel-good energy that appeals to older audiences who remember them from when they first came out, but they’ve also stayed relevant enough that younger people know and love them too. It was important to us that the set felt fun, familiar, and engaging from start to finish, we started with ex factor to draw the audience in, then get lucky to get everyone dancing and finally we finished with play that funky music, which everyone knows and loves to groove to. I watched this live performance of play that funky music lots of times over our practice period.