What is charisma? Which person has it?

Parent Cafe
1

Charisma is a mysterious quality that some people have. If you have it, attracting friends becomes very easy.

Historically, it has been associated with supernatural powers, a gift from God.

Recently, researchers have discovered common traits of charismatic people. However, non-charismatic people can copy those traits and still be non-charismatic. In other words, people without charisma cannot really “learn” to get it. (according to what I have read).

Some researchers speculate that charismatic people are that way because they display personality in their face. While that is certainly true, charismatic people can be identified from far away, where the subtle facial expressions cannot be seen well. Additionally, charisma can be detected by people with poor vision.

Apparently, charismatic people can be identified across cultures. So, a charismatic Japanese will be equally charismatic in France, USA, etc. even if he can’t speak the language.

Anyways, in this video, one singer really sticks out, in my opinion. I think he has charisma. I was wondering if you agree with me on this. Which singer really has charisma, in your view? I don’t want to bias you so I’ll tell you what I think once others have posted!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ypIhY42-o

2

Charisma is definitely a thing and I have an opinion about who has it in your video but I guess I will wait as well. There are very talented people who you don’t really want to watch and there are people who you could just watch all day. It isn’t necessarily about looks.

3

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4

My D votes for Ireland, hands down. Says Japan was also very memorable, lots of personality, and that the Dutch guy is usually VERY good and quite famous in the Netherlands, though he doesn’t particularly bring it here. She hadn’t seen the video in years, but was able to instantly name Ireland and Japan as most memorable/charismatic.

I liked them all. I am more able to decide if a person has charisma when I meet them in person. Performers (if they are decent) just draw me into their world and I am not a good critic.

5

I couldn’t say their countries of origin but the first guy is the one who has it.

6

For me, it’s the guy on the far right.

7

The guy in the white shirt who comes in around 2:25 in the video.

8

I’d say the last guy in the white shirt as well, but I don’t know if this video is the best example to show charisma. The last guy stood out to me because of his vocal power and talent. They are all amazing of course, but I’d say the last guy was a notch above but I’m not sure if charisma is the defining difference or just extra talent.

9

I love that video. I vote for the first guy, also. They are all extremely talented but in this video, he engaged me before he even began to sing. I also watched how the other singers reacted towards him which possibly affected my choice.

10

Harrumph. I wasn’t really listening to the singing, because that’s not what we were asked. We were asked who had the most charisma, not who had the best voice.

11

I think the first guy because he seemed to connect with the audience by looking directly at them and with his expressions. The guy at the end with the white shirt was very powerful in his singing so I was impressed. At the end when they all sang together the voice of the guy with the white shirt was most dominant.

12

The guy in the white shirt just had some really positive energy that came through. The others were serious. “White shirt guy” was smiling and you could tell he was in his element. In all fairness he was also most likely the youngest and the best looking so that helps too.

13

Re: Singer.

If you happen to know Sam Tsui, how do you think of him? He seems to have the chops in his singing skills (but some people think they do not like his “voice.” ) and attracted quite a large audience when he was in college, even though he is short as a male, a minority and, arguably speaking, not particular good looking.

If you happen to know Jackie Evancho, do you think she has charisma? She seems to be able to attract some audience at a young age. (Not intend to discuss whether it is appropriate for parents to put their child OUT THERE at a young age here.) Many seem to like her voice. She is relatively good looking though.

She seems to be “fearless” at her age, when on the stage.

14

Colm WIlkinson, without a doubt.

But it’s not really a fair contest: he owns the part. The others just cannot match his ease and authority in the role, whatever their vocal ability.

It would be interesting to see them all in a neutral setting.

15

For those of you choosing Colm Wilkinson, don’t you think the camera/editing favors him in this video and that is biasing your opinion? As Consolation points out, it’s not a neutral setting.

16

I think most of you agree with me then. I would say Colm Wilkinson, the first gentleman. The one in the white shirt is Alfie Boe. I would say he definitely comes in a close second. Colm Wilkinson radiates a friendless that, in my opinion, differentiates him.

All of them are among the best in the world in terms of singing.

Interesting how people can be so agree so much on charisma, when you all must have such varied opinions on other things!

17

I remember thinking about this years ago when I was laid up and watched umpteen hours of Live Aid. There was act after act–many of them really famous–but two people popped out as having charisma: Bono and Freddy Mercury. I was particularly surprised by Freddy Mercury, because I didn’t like Queen’s music all that much, and I thought (from pictures) that he was weird-looking. But live, he exuded charisma. I also noticed this at live concerts–Johnny Cash had loads of charisma; Linda Ronstadt (although a favorite of mine at the time) had none. It’s hard to put your finger on what it is–it’s not just how well they sing.

18

Interesting I like Freddy Mercury and Johnny Cash. One of the few times I actually agree with Hunt.

19

Charisma is a funny thing, it can mean a lot of things. Love him or hate him politically, Bill Clinton had charisma, the good ole boy charmer, while quite honestly his wife almost has negative charisma. GW bush had charisma in my opinion (it has nothing to do with my political feelings for him), a lot of people said he was the kind of person they would want to spend time with, while his father, at least from his public persona, appeared to me to be non charismatic. It isn’t necessarily genetic, because siblings often are way different, including twins from some things I have read.

Performers have this, too, and I have noticed it time and again with soloists in the classical music field. I saw a lot of young performers who were playing at an incredible level, who teachers would gasp at, who had zero stage presence, which is a form of charisma, yet there would be some performers who though not quite as solid, would rivet an audience (Yehudi Menuhin was famous for that. As an adult, his performances technically were all over the place, and in some ways he never achieved what he did as a young performer, but audiences absolutely loved him). Someone like Pavarotti in Opera was not the most accomplished singer, yet he had charisma, as does Placido Domingo (who also technically was among the best), yet there are opera singers that critics and those in ‘the know’ love, who on stage have little charisma. The band “The Cars” was one of the most uncharismatic groups I ever saw, but as someone pointed out, Freddie Mercury had it, Johnny Cash had it, Bono has it, as does Mick Jagger, while Miles Davis, an incredible musician, had almost zero on stage.

I suspect it is a combination of their facial expressions, the way they move, the way they look at the audience, and their looks, though of course you don’t have to be good looking to be charismatic (see Freddie Mercury, Johnny Cash and Mick Jagger). I also think some of it is something less tangible, the energy people put off, it is the only explanation I can give.

20

I agree. No opinion on the Les Miz thing. I pretty much despise that sort of music, but the first and last had the most stage presence. Of singers I’ve seen either live or in video Freddy Mercury for sure (despite the terrible teeth!), Johnny Cash “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash”, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis (at least when he was young), Mick Jagger.