References

• The Greatest Love Of All - The Whitney Houston Show In a tribute to a woman who has long been an icon of pop music and vocal ability, The Greatest Love Of All - The Whitney Houston Show celebrates Whitney Houston's most loved songs with the breathtaking voice of South African singer Belinda Davids (pictured above). The 2 ½ hour concert and stage show spans Houston's 29 year career and includes hits How Will I Know, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Didn't We Almost Have It All, I'm Every Woman, Exhale (Shoop Shoop), Step by Step and I Will Always Love You. In preparation for such an anticipated show, and in respect for Houston's legacy, production company Showtime Management Australia dedicated over 12 months to perfecting this production and finding the right star. After conducting over 15,000 auditions in 12 countries, accomplished South African vocalist Belinda Davids was selected to pay reverence to Houston with her carefully crafted renditions. She delivers the voice, charm and even the nuances and gestures of Houston. Known as the Tribute King, John Van Grinsven Snr has been at the helm of Showtime Management Australia since it was founded in 1979 and his stable of star shows tour internationally. Showtime Management Australia's hugely successful shows include Michael Jackson HIStory and Queen - It's a Kinda Magic, which recently toured to Melbourne in October 2014. In the wake of Houston's tragic passing in Los Angeles at the age of 48 in 2012, her timeless music and awe-inspiring voice have received renewed appreciation from her legion of long-time fans and garnered a new generation of admirers. The Greatest Love Of All - The Whitney Houston Show with the glamorous Belinda Davids singing live on centre stage is not only a brilliant tribute but a spectacular concert experience with a full band, dancers and theatrical effects. Davids, born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, began performing professionally at the age of 14. Her four octave vocal range allows her the ability to sing any genre but her musical heart has always been R&B. Her musical inspirations as a child were Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Michael Jackson and the one artist whom she still, to this day, honours in every show she performs, Whitney Houston. The Greatest Love Of All - The Whitney Houston Show comes to Melbourne in May 2015 following sell-out tours to Dubai, New Zealand, Canada, the US and South Africa. VENUE Athenaeum Theatre ADDRESS 188 Collins St, Melbourne DATE Friday 15 May to Saturday 23 May 2015 TICKETS Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au WEBSITE www.thegreatestloveofall.com.au PRICES: Tickets from $49.90 © 2015 Copyright Wisdom Digital Media. All Rights reserved.
• Showtime Management is proud to present The Greatest Love Of All - The Whitney Houston Show A tribute to a woman who has long been an icon of pop music and vocal ability, The Greatest Love Of All – The Whitney Houston Show presents and celebrates a catalogue of Houston's most loved songs from the span of her 29 year career. The 2 ½ hour concert and stage show includes hits such as 'How Will I Know', 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody', 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', 'Didn't We Almost Have It All', 'I'm Every Woman', 'Exhale (Shoop Shoop)', 'Step by Step' and of course, 'I Will Always Love You'. In the wake of Whitney Houston's tragic passing in 2012, her timeless music and awe-inspiring voice have received renewed appreciation from her legion of long-time fans and garnered a new generation of admirers who appreciate Whitney's unique voice, undeniable talent and pervasive charm as a welcome contrast to the artists prevalent in today's contemporary music. In preparation for such an anticipated show, and in respect for Houston's legacy, Showtime Management dedicated over 12 months to perfecting this production and finding the right star. After conducting over 15,000 auditions in 12 countries, accomplished South African vocalist Belinda Davids was selected to pay reverence to Houston with her carefully crafted renditions. Davids' ethereal voice and long music career - as a solo recording artist and as a support act and backing vocalist for such acts as The Temptations, Keri Hilson, Keyshia Cole, Monica and Johnny Gill – make her a natural performer, but it's her intimate knowledge and love of Houston's music that give this show a personal, heart-felt feel. Exposed mainly to R&B and gospel as a child, Davids was innately drawn to Houston's musical style, and paid homage to her idol through her dress, hairstyle and by including Houston songs in almost every one of her live shows. Davids now understands the music so well that her performances are unbelievable for some audiences. One audience in Hong Kong demanded she sing 'I Will Always Love You' acapella to prove she wasn't lip-syncing; Davids obliged and was greeted with looks of disbelief, closely followed by a standing ovation. Davids will be directed by Showtime Management CEO John Van Grinsven Snr. and joined on tour by Artistic Director Kenny Wizz, Musical Director Dale Scheepers and Purple Ear Productions' Director Jon Van Grinsven Jr., the team also responsible for the worldwide hit show Michael Jackson HIStory. Belinda Davids Belinda Davids was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and began performing professionally at the age of 14. She has never had vocal training and is blessed with a 4 octave vocal range, and hence the ability to sing any genre. Her musical heart has always been R&B; Belinda's inspirations as a child were Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Michael Jackson and the one artist whom she still, to this day, honours in every show she performs – Whitney Houston. As a young girl one of the very first LP's Davids ever owned was a song called "Hold Me" by Teddy Pendergrass and Whitney Houston. The quality and style Whitney portrayed in this song struck a cord and Davids' fascination with the icon grew. She sang Whitney's music at every chance: at family gatherings, talent competitions and to friends whilst playing on the street. Like many young girls at that time her bedroom walls were plastered with posters and magazine cut-outs of the icon. Whitney's influence was so strong it inspired everything from her dress sense to her hairstyles. As a young woman Belinda had the burning desire to live out her dreams and follow in her idols footsteps. She took on the club circuit and her performances left many people amazed at how similar she sounded to the icon. In the mid 90's Belinda caught the eye of record executives at Tusk Records, which spawned the album "Belinda Davids". Three of the songs on this album, which Belinda wrote, were released as singles: "This I Swear", "This Is My Life" and "We Go Together". The latter was number one for six weeks in South Africa. Davids promoted her album all over South Africa for a number of years at various hotels, clubs & cabarets. She opened shows for many international acts when they visited South Africa including Michael Jackson's History Tour, The Manhattans, The Temptations and Peaches and Herbs. Years after her debut album Davids decided to travel abroad to expand her musical career, which took her to Dubai, London and Hong Kong to perform in major hotels and clubs, with renowned success. Whilst performing "I Will Always Love You" at a hotel in Hong Kong she was requested by the audience to sing acapella as they thought she was lip-syncing to the original Whitney Houston song, after which she received a standing ovation. After many years on the road she finally settled in Los Angeles where she started to focus on getting her solo career back on track. In L.A she collaborated with R&B singer/producer Sam Salter who worked on a couple of her promotional tracks. She also caught the attention of many R&B artists who asked her to perform and tour with them, such as Keyshia Cole, Monica, Johnny Gill, Kelly Price and Keri Hilson. She appeared on The Jay Leno Show and The George Lopez Show as a back-up vocalist for Monica. In 2013 Belinda Davids will once again showcase her exquisite voice as she takes on the lead role in the brand new Showtime Management production, The Greatest Love of All – The Whitney Houston Show - a show dedicated to keeping alive the music and spirit of the late, great and incomparable Whitney Houston.