To Close or Not to Close: The Relationship Between Your Eyes and the Audience
Being a singing nerd, this a topic I love to seek out and discuss with other singing nerds because it’s a controversial topic, but it’s not the kind of controversial talk where you leave the conversation asking, “how can we ever be friends now that I know we have completely opposite views about this?” :)
A few years ago, I attended a live set by a well-known and adored (but previously unknown to me) indie singer/songwriter. He had definite fans in the audience who cheered wildly after pretty much every song. I immediately understood the allure of the artist - he had a distinct vocal tone, had written compelling songs, had a quirky, left of center personal style (ie wearing a trench coat), and in addition to his cool and contemporary vocal sound, he was an excellent guitar player. However, I just wasn’t able to really connect, to become a new fan myself. And the reason was because I never saw this artist’s eyes. He kept them shut the ENTIRE set. He would open them to say “thank you,” between songs, and then they’d disappear under his lids for the duration of each song in its entirety. Usually performers are taught to keep their eyes open. We’ll get to some of the reasons why in a minute.
But first, let’s examine some reasons why it’s GOOD to close your eyes:
It helps you connect to the emotional content of the song
It can help overcome stage fright
It helps you focus on key moments in your vocal delivery (it’s a gut reaction for most of us to close our eyes for belted high notes, for example)
It tends to be a natural means of expression, which is much more authentic and believable than, for example, hand gestures
On the other hand, here are some very important reasons it’s BAD to close your eyes:
We know what they say - the eyes are the windows to the soul. When you shut your eyes, you create a barrier between your inner self and your audience
This gives the audience the perfect opportunity to do anything else - check their texts, start chatting with their friends, get up and go to the bathroom - all of which mean you have lost their attention
Shutting your eyes can give the audience the impression that you are nervous, whether it’s true or not
Closing your eyes can be seen as performing selfishly - you’re connecting to the song deep inside yourself, but you’re not sharing that connection with the audience.
Everything in Moderation
As you can probably guess, the correct answer here is to close your eyes…but in moderation! I recommend limiting the amount of time your eyes are closed to 40% of your performance maximum, whether that’s one song, or a full set. And that’s being generous - 25-30% is probably the sweet spot. In the case of a full set, that means you could actually close your eyes for the whole song for a few songs in a ten song set, if that’s what really works for you. Choose and use those moments to really dig into the emotion, to calm your stage jitters, to focus in on nailing those killer high notes, and then let the audience back in, let them connect, let them feel your essence!
But if my eyes are open, I know people are watching me, yikes!!!
Be authentic to yourself - if you find yourself losing the connection to the song when you keep your eyes open, do what you gotta do. But start practicing performing with your eyes open. This doesn’t mean you need to uncomfortably stare at people while they watch you. For the most part, the best thing to do is to gaze out, slightly above their heads, to the back of the room. Occasional glances directly at people, especially accompanied by a smile, may make people weak in the knees for you! But too much direct eye contact will make them squirm. Revert your gaze to the back of the room. And be sure to use your angles, shift your gaze to different parts of the room, the left side, the right side, the balcony, the front row. Doing this includes and invites more people into this musical moment you’re sharing with them.
You Be The Judge
Here’s an excellent example of a performance with about 25% eyes shut. Bruno Mars closes his eyes when he’s connecting emotionally and when he’s working his power notes. Notice that when his eyes are open, he works his angles, he smiles when he makes direct eye contact, and he let’s the audience see how much he’s enjoying singing the song FOR THEM. This is an older video but I chose it because of the intimate setting where Bruno really has a chance to connect with the crowd (which he goes 100% all in on) rather than a big stadium show. Bruno Mars - Nothing On You Live
Now here’s an example of Bruno Mars keeping his eyes shut for nearly 100% of the song. It’s a very emotional, heartfelt song (with a vocal performance that is absolute perfection), so it’s more appropriate to have more time with the eyes closed. But is 90-100% of the time too much? You decide! Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man (Live)