Eh??? I literally didn't hear any screaming in that performance.
She's clearly working on her vocals since she's basically got 1/4th of the hearing she did at the beginning of her career. I can't even imagine how hard that would be.

omg it's her best tv-live performance in like a decade!! and she looked so beautiful!! it's a shame they didn't make close-ups :(

but where's the belly??? they covered it so well

Then listen again. You don't notice because it's not as frequent and apparent as it used to be. Featured in the second half of the performance. Especially in the end: "sonna koto o tsutaeyō kana..."

I honestly don’t hear it either. It’s her best performance in years. If it wasn’t because her lip syncing is really obvious when she does it, I would have thought this was too. She sounds even better than on the studio version!! The hype for the upcoming concerts is real.

Agreed.

Hm, I totally understand how ballad performances may come as louder than usual since the instruments are gentler and allows her voice to be more powerful. I would not call that screaming though.
The note Chris85 mentions "sonna koto o tsutaeyō kana..." is a transition one so it comes out seemingly powerful than the one that follows it.
As a musician myself, I try to listen to a performance with the emotion in mind. How is she conveying that emotion? Does it reach me? In this performance it reached me without hearing any screaming or forceful notes.

It clearly is a subjective topic since our focus and hearing may differ, but keep in mind that not every powerful sung note is screaming. I get it how comparing to some of her other years and adjusting to her new vocals may be tough, but it seems that we tend to use the term "screaming" easily when it comes to her singing, which saddens me.

I stand by my point that it is obvious she has been investing so much in her voice this year and I hope she can sing like this in front of a live audience as well.

Absolutely. And there are powerful notes in this performance that I consider to be singing, but that one and few others I didn't like, more in the shouty territory to me.
Yes, it's subjective.

I'm so happy with this performance. The vocals were wonderful and her dress did not disappoint.:heart
I am hoping for more performances like this in the future. Good vocals, gorgeous costume, live band, natural emotions. I actually feel an excitement that I haven't felt in a while from this performance.

queen!