The late Whitney Houston and daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown. (Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com)
By Jonathan Landrum Jr.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Whitney Houston ‘s epic concert in South Africa staged after President Nelson Mandela’s landmark election will be hitting theater screens this fall.
Houston’s performance in 1994 has been turned into a fully-remastered theatrical release called “The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban),” according to a statement Tuesday from several collaborators, including Houston’s estate, Sony Music Entertainment and Trafalgar Releasing.
The limited theatrical screening will debut Oct. 23 and feature the late singer’s never-before-released show from Durban, South Africa. The project will come ahead of a new live album, “The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban),” which will be released Nov. 8.
“She loved South Africa; she loved the people, and she loved Nelson Mandela,” said Pat Houston, the singer’s sister-in-law and Houston estate executor who is an executive producer on the concert film. “This concert is one of the most consequential concerts of her career. On this momentous 30th anniversary, we are thrilled that we can release this film not only to her fans, but to the people of South Africa and its new generation.”
In 1994, Houston took the stage for three concerts in South Africa including in Durban at Kings Park Stadium, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Her performances came in a newly unified post-apartheid nation following Mandela’s historic election victory.
The concerts drew more than 200,000 attendees in a show filled with celebration of freedom, hope and unity. The proceeds from her concerts benefited numerous local South African children’s charities through her foundation.
For the film, Houston’s performance was remastered into 4K video along with enhanced audio. The concert film will be shown in nearly 900 cinemas in more than 25 countries.
“It was my first time in South Africa, and I don’t think that I was truly prepared for how this trip would change me forever,” said Rickey Minor, a three-time Emmy winner who was Houston’s musical director for 25 years. “The energy was electric, and the audience was incredible, as we celebrated the end of apartheid. Whitney shared her love and shined her light.”
Earlier that year, Houston won three Grammys, including album of the year for “The Bodyguard” soundtrack. She won record of the year and best female pop vocal performance for massive hit “ I Will Always Love You.”
Houston was one of the world’s bestselling artists with her effortless, powerful vocals rooted in the Black church but made palatable to the masses with her pop persona. She sold over 200 million records worldwide during her 25-year career and won six Grammys, 16 Billboard Music Awards and two Emmys before her death in 2012.
Houston’s live album will include some of her greatest hits from “ I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “ How Will I Know,” “ I Have Nothing ” and “ Greatest Love of All ” It will also included the unreleased track ”Love Is.”
“The message of hope and unity from the Durban, South Africa performance is still as relevant today as it was 30 years ago,” said Marc Allenby, the CEO of Trafalgar Releasing. “Fans are going to be blown away by how powerful this is on the big screen.”
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