And, Steve B, singing a song where specific lyrics are key is quite different from what most stand-up comics do.   Professional speakers regularly use either note cards or (in recent decades) a teleprompter.

The key to professionalism in using "prompts" is in HOW you use them and whether you can use them discreetly without interfering with your connection to the material (song, speech, poem) you're presenting or to your audience.

I heard/watched Basil Rathbone do a poety 'reading' when I was in college. And, yes, it's called a "poetry reading," but although Sir Basil did have printed material on a lectern, he did not fix his eyes on it, nor did it lessen in any way the brilliance of his delivery of the poems.

Genie