Talented singer Belinda Davids to perform in the Bay

The Greatest Love of All star Belinda Davids is coming to Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

Belinda Davids is looking forward to reconnecting “with the crowd and getting to know them again after so many years” away.

The star of The Greatest Love of All will be performing at Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre on May 30 as part of a New Zealand tour.

After a brief debut NZ tour in 2016 and a return to Auckland in 2018, Davids has since starred in major TV shows including Showtime at the Apollo, Britain’s Got Talent and Even Better Than the Real Thing where she was crowned the winner.

Despite Covid-19 interruptions, Davids still managed to sell out tours in Britain, the United States, Europe and South Africa recently, and is now returning here with her revamped production.

The two-hour international production is set to fill audiences with joy, nostalgia and wonderment as it takes them on a heartfelt journey through all of Whitney Houston’s greatest hits including I Wanna Dance With Somebody, I Will Always Love You and The Greatest Love of All.

Davids will be accompanied by her live band and backing vocalists plus glorious state-of-the-art sound, lighting, vision and theatrical FX, making this what producers claim is a “beautifully crafted tribute”.

Born in 1976, Davids started life in the small coastal town of Port Elizabeth in South Africa, where her musical family of seven children spent much of their time in church, singing and surrounded by gospel music. Her talent was glaringly apparent from an early age.

She has never had vocal training and is blessed with a four-octave vocal range, putting her in the company of such vocal luminaries as Minnie Riperton, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Freddie Mercury.

She began performing professionally at just 14 and became technically adept at many genres, but her true love has always been R&B; her childhood inspirations included Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Michael Jackson and of course the one artist who has had the biggest impact on her life — Whitney Houston.

Her introduction to her idol was the track Hold Me, which Houston recorded with Teddy Pendergrass, and which became one of the first LPs she ever owned. She was innately drawn to Houston’s musical style, which resonated with the same modest familial values and gospel influences that pervaded her own upbringing.

Tickets to The Greatest Love of All are available from eventfinda.co.nz

WIN

Hawke’s Bay Today has two double passes to give away to The Greatest Love of All at Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre on May 30.

To be in with a chance to win, email competitions@hbtoday.co.nz with The Greatest Love of All in the subject line

Entries close on Monday, May 15, at 9am. One entry a person. Please include a daytime phone number.