A sizzling excitement was in the air, fuelled by the arrival of several celebrities. I spotted a few including, comedian, Marc Lottering, Expresso presenters, Zoë Brown and Leigh-Anne Williams, actor and TV personality, Siv Ngesi, singer and actor, Emo Adams and former South African cricketer, Paul Adams.
We were seated in the middle section of the theatre and had a good view of the stage. I was impatiently waiting for the show to start but everyone else was busy greeting, hugging and waving at each other. It felt like we were part of a huge family reunion – Whitney fans unite? Before I knew it, I too started spotting quite a lot of familiar faces, friends, acquaintances, former colleagues – wow, it really was a reunion! Nonetheless, I was delighted when the lights went dark, signalling that the show was about to start.
From the moment Belinda Davids started singing, she had the crowd at her feet. It was remarkable how much she, not only sounded like Houston, but also resembled the pop icon. She had an instant connection with the crowd, especially when she greeted everyone as Belinda from PE in Afrikaans.
Martin Myers 21 Jun 2017
Although Davids encouraged the crowd to sing along, they needed no invitation. I felt that the audience was a bit reluctant clapping along when it was requested but they really committed to singing every single song with her. Hits like, How Will I Know, Where Do Broken Hearts Go, One Moment in Time and I'm Every Woman. These songs are very difficult to sing but Davids hit all the high notes and never took any short cuts. She took us there with every song and even when there seemed to be sound issues nearing the end of the show, she pulled through like the pro she is.
She received several standing ovations, the biggest one after she performed, I Have Nothing while a video of Whitney performing it in a similar red dress (or the same?) playing on a big screen in the background. It was eerie the way Davids got Houston’s mannerisms down to a T. The singer even took a walk through the venue and greeted eager fans whilst performing Saving All My Love For You - still hitting those insane notes.
Tickets are available at Computicket and the show is running from 22 June 2017 – 16 July 2017 at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town.
