The band performed the single for the very first time at Third Encore Rehearsal Studios in Burbank, California on May 16, 2012, to an audience who won passes from radio station KROQ. The band performed the single at numerous award shows, namely: the 2012 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, TV total Autoball at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan at the Makuhari Messe, and the American Music Awards of 2012 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. "Burn It Down" was also included in the set list of the 11th Annual Honda Civic Tour (2012), where the band's performance of the song was accompanied by pyrotechnics.