The Greatest Love of All – The Whitney Houston Show

The Greatest Love of All – The Whitney Houston ShowRenown South African singer Belinda Davids, opened her Australian tribute tour, The Greatest Love of All – The Whitney Houston Show, at the Athenaeum Theatre this weekend with a passion and talent which channeled the late great Whitney Houston so well that, if you were to close your eyes, you’d swear that the diva herself was belting out her award winning songs for her Melbourne fans in attendance.

At the beginning of the concert, as the lights dimmed and images of Houston flashed onto a screen, the energy in the theatre was simply electric. The audience was extremely pumped and enthusiastic… maybe, too much even. I overheard someone say: “They do realise that the real Whitney Houston is not going to come out on stage, don’t they?” But, within minutes of the concert, the same person was as enchanted by Davids’ performance as the rest of us, and by the end she had moved many to tears. 

Self-taught and blessed with a four octave vocal range, Davids has always been an avid fan of Whitney Houston. Since an early age, she emulated Houston’s look and musical style, plastering her bedroom wall with her posters, and performing her songs every occasion she could. It would be safe to say that she was “destined” to outshine the other 15,000 artists who auditioned for the tribute, and bring Houston’s persona and voice to the stage.

During The Greatest Love of AllDavids sang most of the hits which Houston made famous during her three decade-long musical career, among them: Where Do Broken Hearts Go, I'm Every Woman, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and of course I Will Always Love You, among many more. 

Davids’ vocal talent is fabulous, but whilst on stage, her mannerisms, facial expressions, the toss of her hair and even the costumes she dons make for the complete package. Davids is mind-blowingly spot on as Whitney Houston. It’s no wonder, whilst performing I Will Always Love You in Hong Kong, she was asked to sing the song a capella, because the audience had their suspicions that, she was lip-syncing to the original Whitney Houston song. When she appeased them, Davids received a standing ovation. 

The Athenaeum’s audience made no such demands of her, but we did jump to our feet several times, to dance and to scream out our love and appreciation for her; her performance moved us to our core. I strongly recommend you catch The Greatest Love of All – The Whitney Houston Show, it’s pure magic!


The Greatest Love of All – The Whitney Houston Show

Venue: Athenaeum Theatre | 188 Collins St, Melbourne
Dates: 15 – 30 May 2015
Tickets: from $49.90
Bookings: 
132 849 | www.ticketek.com.au
Visit: www.thegreatestloveofall.com.au


The above article was originally published on AustralianStage.com.au here.

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