If high-temperatures cuprate superconductivity is due to electronic correla
tions, then the energy difference between the normal and superconducting st
ates can be expressed in terms of the occupied part of the single-particle
spectral function. The latter can, in principle, he determined from angle-r
esolved photoemission (ARPES) data. As a consequence, the energy gain drivi
ng the development of the superconducting state is intimately related to th
e dramatic changes in the photoemission line shape when going below T-c. Th
ese paints are illustrated in the context of the "mode'' model used to fit
ARPES data in the normal and superconducting states, where the question of
kinetic-energy versus potential-energy-driven superconductivity is explored
in detail. We use our findings to comment on the relation of ARPES data to
the condensation energy and to various other experimental data. In particu
lar, our results suggest that the nature of the superconducting transition
is strongly related to how anomalous (non-Fermi-liquid-like) the normal-sta
te spectral function is and, as such, is dependent upon the doping level.