Here's my opinion on it.
Separate Ways is a very difficult song to sing, especially during the chorus. I've definitely run out of steam before during the chorus, because of the timing and the melody make it tough to catch your breath.
Is this a great performance? Not necessarily what I would call a great performance.
But we need to look at something that I think is a misconception here that may address why Perry is giving a choppy and clipped delivery here. From what I can tell, his pitch is great, and he hits some amazing notes here.
I read a lot that speeding up a song is easier for a singer. Some people may think this, but for me it makes the song a hell of a lot more difficult to sing.
For example: Try running 2 blocks at an easy jog. Now run that same two blocks at an all out sprint. Which was easier? I think most people would agree that the easy jog is less strenuous and a lot less stressful than the sprint. Sure, you get there quicker while sprinting, but you just wore your ass out.
Same thing with singing. Singing a song at it's optimum pacing and tempo is the ideal way to perform a song live. Breath support is the biggest thing to worry about during the pacing of a performance. If you are at an all out sprint, you're going to run out of breath and rush words, and eventually lose the breath support you need to project a song properly. If you sing at a normal tempo, you may have to hold notes a little longer, but how many times are those notes going to be as long as the ending scream of Sep Ways or the bridge of After The Fall? Rarely is that few seconds the singer is saving going to make any difference in their voice. And if they are singing faster, they are rushing, losing breath, and eventually ending up winded and not able to get the notes out anyway.
So Perry's clipped and huffy performance here I would say is actually a direct result of the tempo of the song, which could have been because of drugs or could have been an intentional choice based on set times or concert pacing. I do know that by hearing the clarity and acrobatics of some of those later notes, the song would have been SUNG much better at a much slower tempo.
Anyway, that's my .02, take it for what it's worth....
