Be stunned by the captivating performance of Belinda Davids
South African born singing sensation, Belinda Davids returns home later this month with the international smash hit show, The Greatest Love of All, on the Mandela Stage at Joburg Theatre for a strictly limited run.
This will be the show’s third season in Johannesburg in as many years. With sold out performances in 2022, Belinda Davids back with her formidable live band for four shows only, from 23 – 25 August 2024.
The two-hour setlist of Whitney Houston hits, which includes Greatest Love of All, I Have Nothing, I Will Always Love You and so many more is not to be missed.
Tickets are now available through Webtickets.
Belinda took time out of her hectic schedule to chat with us before heading off to the USA.
You have performed on stages all across the world. Can you think of any stage that you have not performed on yet but would like to?
Oh my goodness, that’s really hard to say because I’ve travelled to so many countries. A stage that I would like to perform, let’s see… I’m drawing complete blank because I’ll tell you I’ve just been to Spain.
No wait… we have a new territory we are going to at the end of the year, actually there are two different territories.
While we’ve been to Paris before, we’ve just gotten a new stage in France that’s gonna be in what looks like a circus venue. It is absolutely incredible! I’ve seen it and I cannot wait because I’ll be in the middle and everyone is going to be around me. I am really looking forward to that.
We are also going to Chile as we’ve not been there yet, but having built a fan base there, I said to my management, listen, we have to go to Chile! I also want to go to Brazil.
So yeah, there you go… there are three stages, in three countries that I still want to go to.
You are still excited about the industry, and about what you do?
Absolutely! I think what it is for me is that I am surprised by some of the places I go to. I was just in Spain; in fact, it was a small town just outside Barcelona called Martorell.
It’s so beautiful. The architecture was so beautiful, but it was such a small town. That was exciting for me because it was a little festival that they have, a summer festival (the Fiesta Mayor) over a period, I think of 10 days, and it was their 10-year anniversary.
For me, the excitement comes from going to places, doing the show, going to places where I’ve never been in my entire life.
With all the countries we’ve been to and these new areas we go to, I asked: Do they know Whitney Houston? And everyone went, yes, we know Whitney Houston. And that was exciting for me.
I’m always excited to go to new places.
If you had to choose anybody that you would like to sing a duet with, who would that be?
If there was someone that I want to do a duet with originally with original music, I think it would probably have to be, the South African artists, the lead singer of MiCasa, J’Something.
I would love to do a duet with him with original music, but as far as the show is concerned, I think I would want to do a duet with someone that she (Whitney Houston) has done a duet with that’s alive.
You’ve come a long way in your career. Is there this something that you would still like to? As an artist, you always want to do better than the previous performance, but if you think about your career, what would you like to achieve going forward?
I think I want to release my own music. I’ve done the show for so long, but I think in order for me to do that, I have to step away from the show. I would have to not do the show, and I would have to really throw myself fully into my own music.
There’s a lot of things that I so dream about. I want to build a school for developing artists and that is something that’s going to take a lot of work.
And I feel like even when I’m, even if it’s 20 years from now, that’s something that I really want to achieve.
Do you still speak Afrikaans?
Natuurlik praat ek Afrikaans! Natuurlik! Ek praat mos eers Afrikaans en dan praat ek Engels. My Engels deesdae is net beter as my Afrikaans want ek praat so baie Engels, so my Afrikaans is nie so goed meer soos wat dit was toe ek nog ‘n kind was, maar dis nog daar.
If you had to speak another language, what would you like to learn?
Listen, so my fiancé, yes, I’m getting married. My fiancé is Italian, so I have to speak Italian. So I’m busy learning Italian.
I think the first language that I really fell in love with was Spanish. It was perfect for me to go to Spain and speak a little Spanish. I speak a little Italian, I speak a little Deutsch (German), because when I went to Germany the first time I had to take some lessons to, you know, to talk to the crowd in Deutsch.
In 2020 you had Simon Cowell smiling and complimenting you. How did that moment feel?
Oh, it felt incredible! I think it’s more for me what led up to the performance that made it a little bit easier for me to, you know. There was a little interaction with Simon before I did my audition. And it was really cool.
I spoke to someone the other day about this, as a matter of fact, because they were asking me, so what is Simon like? And I said, well, he’s, I was a little bit, ever so little bit disappointed that he wasn’t so hard on me, like he would usually be. But, what led up to that was, I was backstage and everyone was getting ready for their, their pre-show check with the producers. And I literally walked by Simon and he saw me, but I walked by so quickly because I didn’t really want him to see me interrupt them, and he saw me and he did a double take.
I looked at him and I thought, oh my, he’s really short… I thought he was a lot taller he is, but he’s so short.
Then I got on stage, and we had a little chat and he was talking and then he brought me up water because I had the driest nervous mouth, you know, the dry mouth from being nervous, and I was so annoyed because I didn’t keep the water. I had a sip of the water, and I put it down.
And I said, he was so nice because I think it’s because he had just had his baby and he had a son, and so I think that softened him up a little bit, which made him really, really sweet to me.
Of the Britain’s Got Talent judges, who was your favourite?
Simon (knew it). Simon was my favourite judge.
I say this because I think that if he was not there for my auditions, I wouldn’t have gone through. This is just my thoughts.
Remember when he had the accident with his electric bike, he had that big accident. And so he couldn’t come to the finals. And everyone was saying, if Simon was there, you would have won because Simon really adores you.
And so, yeah, Simon was my favourite.
You seem to be able to keep your private life private as much as you can. Is it something you treasure dearly?
Absolutely. It’s so important for me because, when I’m in Cape Town, when I’m home, I don’t really go out because I don’t want to sound like a “celebrity”. I don’t see myself as that person.
But when I go to malls, you know, people have the tendency to come up to me and they want to take pictures and all of that. And I treasure my time at home.
So, when I get off stage, I’m home. I’m off. I’m completely off. Everything comes off, and I’m just a mom and I cook, and I’m here… I take care of my house, my kids, myself, and I rest alot because I’m never home… so I don’t really go out that much because it’s so important, my privacy is so important.
Not a lot of people know… I think you probably are the first one in the media to know that I’m getting married, and I’m almost like nervous. I’m like, oh my, should I tell them?
“People are going to find out.” Yes I know. But if I can hold on to that privacy, as long as possible. It’s mine. It’s just mine!
I’m not going to have a big wedding. I’m just going to celebrate in different countries. We want to get married here in South Africa officially, but we are going to have a celebration in Italy and a celebration in Moscow because that’s where we met.
You are bringing The Greatest Love of All show back to the Joburg Theatre later this month. How does that feel?
Every time, every time when I’m in South Africa, the amount of love that I get here is so, I treasure that so much. Don’t get me wrong, I get the same responses when I go to different countries, but when I’m home, it feels like home. It feels amazing because I know what I’m coming to, I know what I get, and I know you. I know how much people love the show here.
Do you have a message for the young, talented artists out there who are just not getting anywhere, not getting their break, what advice would you give them?
If you are passionate about having a singing talent, then you will work hard not only to just perfect it, and I always say… and it’s such a cliché to say… Oh, you can’t quit, you can’t quit! It’s such a fickle industry, there’s so much negative that comes with it, and there’s so much talent that comes with in this industry. If you love it, you just have to work hard for it.
If I tell you that we went to Spain, I was there for an hour and a half, but I travelled for four days just to do that. You have to know that you have to work hard. You have to have a thick skin, you have to persevere, and you have to be persistent and consistent. Consistency is key, but I love what I do.
It’s not a job for me. It’s not a job. So the sacrifices, you have to be aware of the sacrifices that you have to make in order to make it in this industry.
I have been doing the show for 10 years, and I really want to release my own music and I will, but when I’m done with this. So the point of all of it is it’s hard work, but if you love it, you will do the hard work.
I live by time. Everything happens in its own time. And exactly when it’s supposed to happen.
Do you play a musical instrument?
Yes, I play guitar. “Nobody” knows that I play guitar. I was just literally just looking at my guitar standing right there.
Did you ever expected a journalist to ask you a specific question and they didn’t ask?
Of course, there is, you know, the normal questions… What’s your favorite Whitney Houston song? That always comes, and it’s always a surprise for me when someone doesn’t ask that question because I always go, oh, it’s coming now. No, it’s not coming and then towards the end of the interview, I go, oh, now it’s definitely coming now. And it doesn’t come.
That’s the question that I always get asked and when it don’t get asked, I’m like, OK, I guess I’m not getting that question now.
Five quick answer questions:
- Are you a coffee or tea person? I’m a coffee person.
- Pizza or steak? I’m moody. Steak.
- Morning or evening person? Morning.
- Cats or dogs? Oh my. I wish I could show you. Dog. He’s laying right at my feet. I have a golden retriever. He’s laying right here.
- Ocean or the bush? Ocean… and the bush. Yeah, because I love nature.
We are not going to ask you what your favorite Whitney Houston song, but do want to ask about your love for Whitney Houston’s music having read that it’s something you started developing as a young child already.
Listen, the first time I heard it, I was eight years old. And you don’t really realize what you are listening to. You just know that you like that thing and that you want that thing, that thing all the time.
This is what this generation is currently doing with technology. You know, my son, he’s going to come home, he’s going to do his homework. And the next thing he’s going to do, he’s going to go stand in front of his PS5, my TV, and he’s going to play games for hours on end.
But I, I fell in love with her music throughout my life because she sang the tracks of our lives. There’s a song attached to every phase and there’s a memory behind every song that she did.
The love for her music runs deep. It runs deep.
That’s why you can’t let go of the show before it’s really, really time for it.
Finally… a last message to your South Africans fans, (and anyone that will be reading this article), that special message for your people…
I love you, and I appreciate you, and I will never let go.
Show Information
The Greatest Love of All
Venue:
The Mandela at Joburg Theatre
Dates & Times:
Friday, 23 August 2024 at 8pm
Saturday, 24 August 2024 at 3pm and 8pm
Sunday, 25 August at 2pm
Ticket Prices:
R180 to R390 (including VAT)
Bookings:
Webtickets is the only exclusive official ticketing agent
Discounts for groups of 10 or more (10% off) and groups of 20 or more (20% off)
(This production is not associated with the estate of Whitney Houston)
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