Top 10 Best Live Music Performances of 2025

MsMojo

Get ready to reminisce and sing along as we spotlight the live music moments that lit up 2025! From intimate Tiny Desk vibes to explosive Super Bowl stages, these performances blended raw talent, unforgettable visuals, and electric energy. With stars like Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, and Olivia Rodrigo setting the tone, these shows left fans buzzing and craving more. Which standout act got you on your feet? Tell us below!

Transcript

00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the live

00:10performances that had everyone singing along. For this list, we're sticking to

00:14performances that were widely available via TV or streaming.

00:17Number 10, Tate McRae, 42nd MTV Video Music Awards. One of music's rising pop

00:29sensations put her dancing background to good use at the VMAs.

00:45Former So You Think You Can Dance contestant and newly minted hitmaker Tate McRae turned up the heat

00:50with a sultry performance of two singles, Revolving Door and Sports Car. The dark and decadent set

00:56piece sees her singing as her scantily clad dancers pose like statues. Then McRae herself gets in on the action.

01:09She completely commits to the choreography just as much as her team of dancers.

01:13Her voice, which is naturally breathy, doesn't seem to be affected at all.

01:26Number 9, Bad Bunny, Bad Bunny, Tiny Desk Concert. The Puerto Rican rapper-singer's gritty vocals and

01:33incredible felicity with heartfelt storytelling are on full display in this Tiny Desk presentation.

01:39The half-hour set mostly features songs from his album, Debi Tirar Mas Fotos. Bad Bunny and his band

01:56play with such assured technique and ease that this simultaneously feels like a musical masterclass

02:01and just a bunch of friends casually hanging out.

02:13Just as impressive as the man himself are his energetic and supremely talented musicians.

02:18Every single person in the NPR studio looks like they're having a great time.

02:22The vibes are immaculate. Number 8, Olivia Rodrigo, 39th Glastonbury Festival.

02:39The driver's licensed singer made a triumphant return to the stage of the UK's world-famous

02:54music festival. Olivia Rodrigo was a major headliner at Glastonbury 2025 and more than lived up to her

03:01prime performance slot.

03:14Clocking in at almost an hour and a half, Rodrigo's modern pop appeal and her love of classic rock were

03:20on full display. Proof? Look no further than her duet with Robert Smith, the legendary lead singer of

03:25The Cure.

03:37As she sang her face off and hopped around the stage in her sparkly Union Jack shorts,

03:42she further cemented her place as a force in music. Number 7, Lady Gaga, 6th Netflix to Dumb.

03:48The undeniable highlight of the streaming giant's annual fan convention was a medley of bangers from

03:54Mother Monster herself.

04:07Lady Gaga's performance of creepy, kooky hits tied in with Netflix's Wednesday series,

04:12but she owns the stage. The Addams-inspired performance even included a Jenna Ortega appearance.

04:18How Ortega manages to sit at a dinner table while Lady Gaga and her dancers tear it up

04:30is anyone's guess, but that's why she's a perfect Wednesday. But Gaga is the star here. She's in top

04:36vocal form and totally locked in. The iconic choreo, the conceptual stagecraft, and theatrical

04:49energy feels as exciting as her most unforgettable early performances. Number 6, Chapel Roan, 67th annual

04:56Grammy Awards. Capping off an incredible year, the pop music supernova took her victory lap at the

05:02Grammy Awards in February. The same evening she walked away with the award for Best New Artist,

05:15Chapel Roan performed her flamboyant ode to art and freedom, Pink Pony Club. Buoyed by a troupe of

05:21dancers and perched atop a magnificent Pink Pony, Roan seems to be living out the song's inspiring message

05:27of an artist living her truth. It takes a lot of skill to make a heavily choreographed stage show

05:44look like a real party, and if you can get the crowd at the Grammys singing your song,

05:48you know you've made it. Number 5, Hayley Williams, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. With her

06:04third solo album, the lead singer of Paramore explored new emotional depths. In October,

06:09Hayley Williams performed True Believer on The Tonight Show.

06:12Tourists tumbled down Broadway, Cumberland keeps claiming bodies.

06:19The song is a mournful, soul-bearing elegy about the state of the world. With powerful references

06:24to the history of racism in America, her disillusionment, pain, and anger are palpable

06:29throughout the song. They say that Jesus is the way, but then they gave him a white face.

06:36The performance ends with a few bars from the powerful protest song, Strange Fruit,

06:41Accompanied by a band and an entire string section,

06:44it feels poignant and bigger than just a performance on The Tonight Show. It's a moment.

07:00Number 4, Youngblood, Back to the Beginning. Paying tribute to a legend at his own concert is a tall

07:05order. Youngblood rose to the occasion.

07:14Weeks before his death, rock legend Ozzy Osbourne joined Black Sabbath and special guests for one

07:20final show at the massive Villa Park Stadium in Birmingham. However, it was Osbourne's friend,

07:25Youngblood, who stole the show.

07:33Joined by musicians from other incredible bands, his full-throated, searing cover is a fitting tribute

07:39to a legend. Youngblood performed the song at the VMAs later in the year, but watching him do it for

07:44thousands of tearful and grateful Ozzy fans just can't be beat.

07:48Wish I could go back and change easier.

07:57Number 3, Sabrina Carpenter, 42nd MTV Video Music Awards.

08:02The artist behind Espresso showcased her sense of humor and old-fashioned razzle-dazzle at the

08:16year's Grammy Awards. However, it was a performance for her latest album that set the VMAs on fire.

08:22Sabrina Carpenter folded an overt political message into her live recreation of her fun,

08:35sexy hit Tears. She performed alongside an ensemble of drag performers made famous by RuPaul's Drag Race,

08:42flying in the face of ongoing political narratives.

08:53Carpenter was able to stand out in a truly star-studded ceremony. It was pure campy fun

08:58and completely over the top, the way the VMAs should be.

09:02Number 2, Dochi, 67th Annual Grammy Awards. It says a lot that she performed in the midst of a

09:08medley featuring the nominees for Best New Artist, but Dochi took her three minutes and made them

09:13count. This medley of Catfish and Denial is a River is packed with wow moments at every turn.

09:27The dancers are impossibly good here, moving with all the fluid precision of moving props.

09:32It amounts to a perfect encapsulation of Dochi's catchy lyrics,

09:36sense of humor, and athletic performance style.

09:48She had the biggest stars in the house on their feet by the end. If you didn't know her before,

09:52you definitely won't forget her now.

09:54I mean what? I like pills, I like drugs, I like getting money, I like strippers, I like to

09:59uh, like day drinking and day parties in Hollywood, I like doing Hollywood-ish, more than Hollywood.

10:04What can I say?

10:05Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

10:09Benson Boone, Saturday Night Live. The in-studio audience flipped for the dreamy singer and his velvety voice.

10:15I wouldn't mind it if you gave me just a little bit of something we can work it with,

10:21but all you do is push me out.

10:26Ray, 67th Annual Grammy Awards. The British singer-songwriter left it all on the Grammys stage.

10:32Alex Warren, 51st Annual American Music Awards. A powerful,

10:48choir-backed version of the Billboard chart-topper.

11:05Doja Cat, 42nd MTV Video Music Awards. All the 80s references and funky retro moves you could want.

11:18You wanna do what now with who? I don't need a pin drop or a text tonight. I ain't even coming out with you.

11:23You don't wanna show me off to your ex and your friends tonight.

11:26Glorilla, Saturday Night Live. An energetic rendition of her Billboard hit on the SNL stage.

11:32Everything I got on new, it look like I got renovated. I'm cocky, but now we're just humble.

11:37They damn appreciate it. Junk with it, ratchet. I'm the hood, women, motivation.

11:42On top of the world now, they tried to underestimate it.

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12:011. Kendrick Lamar, Apple Music's Super Bowl 59 Halftime Show.

12:16Talk about an artist putting the period on a great year. Kendrick Lamar delivered a Super Bowl

12:20halftime show to remember with assists from SZA, Serena Williams, producer Mustard, and Samuel L.

12:27Jackson as Uncle Sam. By almost any metric, Lamar had already won his ongoing beef with Drake.

12:42But even when the rapper performed key songs in that drama, including Not Like Us,

12:46it felt bigger than a war between two artists.

12:59Like his Pulitzer Prize or numerous Grammys, it was another reminder of why he's one of the most

13:03important and commanding artists of this or any decade. What performances did we miss? Support your

13:09fave in the comments.

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