For the most part, audience members are content to stay in the audience and let the performers perform. They're not nearly as talented as the people performing onstage, and they know it.
However, sometimes a fan will get the desire to put on a performance, and depending on their mood, the star might well allow it. When this happens, the performance is usually not very good, and the audience member is quickly sent back to their seat so the actual talent can perform and reclaim the spotlight.
Sometimes, however, an audience member will blow everybody away with a surprising performance that ends up being just as good, if not better, than the person whose name is on the marquee. These surprising performances can be anything from a fan sheepishly asking Billy Joel if they could duet on his all-time favorite song, a young girl put on the spot by Josh Groban patrolling the audience for a partner, or a guy challenging Kendrick Lamar to a rap battle.
Whatever the performance may be, they're all incredibly surprising in quality and showmanship, and leave both performer and audience alternately speechless and loudly cheering. Here, for your viewing and listening pleasure, are 13 of the most surprising audience performances of all time.
http://www.ranker.com/list/audience-members-brought-onstage-who-ended-up-being-awesome/jason-iannone, videos, other,
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Josh Groban went into the crowd to find somebody to duet with, and he picked out a young girl named Maude, who spoke very little English. She knew enough to understand what he wanted to do though, and she responded with a gorgeous operatic voice that wowed the crowd and left Goban speechless. He was so impressed in fact, that he sang very little of the song on his own, preferring to shine the spotlight almost completely on Maude.
Michael Buble Duets with a 15-Year-Old Boy
A mother in the front row of a Michael Buble concert insisted to the singer that her 15-year-old son, Sam, could sing. Buble called her bluff and invited the boy up, and the two duetted on "Feeling Good." Once it was Sam's turn, he blew everybody away with a voice just as smooth and sweet as Buble's, and the two finished the song to a standing ovation.
Kristin Chenoweth and the Music Teacher
Singer and Broadway actress Kristin Chenoweth invited a fan, Sarah Horn, onstage to perform "For Good." Once onstage, Horn informed Chenoweth that she was a music teacher. Once the duet began, Horn proved that she wasn't making that up, upstaging the professional singer with a super-strong baritone that had Chenoweth literally throwing her arms up as if to say, "how come you don't have my job?"
Billy Joel Finds a Brand-new Piano Man
During a Q&A at the Uiversity of Vanderbilt, Michael Pollack asked Billy Joel if the two of them could play "New York State of Mind" together. Joel, without hesitation, accepted, and Pollack sat down at the piano. He immediately launched into a spirited rendition of the song, with a visibly impressed Joel singing along, while the amazed audience cheered the duo on.
Daniel Amos Lets The Audience Take Over for a Song
Daniel Amos (which is an entire band and not just one guy named Daniel), decided to replace their guitarist and singer with audience members for a performance of "I Love You #19." After the drummer and bassist slowed down the tempo to make it easier on the fans, the quartet performed a seamless version of the song that left the audience screaming for more.
Green Day Forms a Band With Three Audience Members
Not content with his current band, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong decided to form a new band for one night only, recruiting a guitarist, bassist, and drummer from the audience for a cover of Operation Ivy's 'Knowledge." Without any rehearsal or time for preparation, the three fans performed an awesome version of the song, complete with improvised bass and drum fills that brought everyone to their feet.
Idina Menzel Gets Upstaged by An Audience Member
Actress/Singer Idina Menzel was performing "Take Me Or Leave Me" from the musical Rent, and invited two fans named Michelle and Molly to sing with her onstage. Without missing a beat, Michelle started belting out the song like she had been rehearsing it all day. Molly didn't impress as much, but luckily Michelle was there to take the rest of the song home.
The Foo Fighters Forget the Words, are Saved By a Fan
The Foo Fighters wanted to cover Kansas's "Carry On My Wayward Son," but forgot the words. So they asked the crowd if anybody knew the words. One fan said he did, and luckily he wasn't lying. His high energy and chemistry with the band made him the greatest one-song singer the band ever had.
Paramore Finds a Kick-ass New Guitar Player
Before Paramore's show, a fan named Chris asked if he could play guitar on their song "Misery Business." During the song, the band found Chris and gave him the guitar. Without even waiting for instruction from singer Hayley Williams, Chris leapt right into the song, shocking everyone in attendance and prompting Hayley to have the band start the final chorus immediately, since their new guitarist clearly needed no warmup.
Linkin Park Auditions Fans for the Guitarist Role, Nails It on the Second Try
For a performance of their song "Faint," Linkin Park decided to let a member of the audience play guitar. After an aborted first attempt, they found their guy, a kid named Jeff who knew what to do from the very beginning. He performed the entire song flawlessly, and received a standing ovation from the crowd at the end.