When Robert Downey Jr announced "I took a beta blocker so this is going to be a breeze" at the 2024 Golden Globes, many were likely shocked to discover that someone who has been in the public eye for decades would require medications for performance anxiety.

Stage fright is nearly universal among vocal performers. There are ways to get through stage fright without medications. Newer research helps us understand performance anxiety as a physiological, uncontrollable, and repetitive condition that must be approached with more empathy and a deliberate, holistic approach.