You never know what an artists “people” have told them prior to an event or what they know about you as a promoter or producer, so I have always done my best to be the only point person the artist and/or their management deals with for events. By building a more personal relationship with them, hopefully you gain their trust, which usually leads to an amazing performance, and often an extra song or autograph signing session tossed in. Here are some of my favorites so far.
10. Taylor Dayne. Definitely more on the “stand off ish, DIVA” side, but once you get past her wall and she somewhat trusts you, she’s great. Plus, the voice has never been better.
9. Erin Hamilton. It was a chance meeting of literally me crashing into her in Miami—me leaving the stage, her heading to it, that lead us to a great working relationship. She is genuine, giving and beautiful. I will always be a fan.
8. Pepper Mashay-Always welcoming, always charming always with so much energy. Plus, get this gal to dive in poolside sometime and she will crack you UP!
7. Reina-With her 6-octave range and Latina sass, this dance diva has always been a favorite. We are ready for more, darling!
6. Jody Watley. Some people warned me that Miss Watley would be a difficult experience, but I found her to be engaging and all class. She came on board at the last minute for a club opening event I co-produced and brought glamour, sex appeal and stunning vocals. Not to mention an amazing and very personal conversation about musical inspirations I will always treasure.
5. Jeanie Tracy. This legend has a heart of gold and a voice to match. If any other DIVA had been accidentally been locked in an unheated freezing room for 45 minutes prior to going onstage, there would have been a wig throwing, chair hurling, high heel kicking meltdown. TRUST. The first thing Jeannie said once it was discovered she had been trapped for almost an hour? “Are we on time for my show, cuz I’m ready to SING, honey!?” She had us laughing all the way to the stage and to this day when I see her, we still giggle.
4. Missy Elliot. All I kept thinking prior to meeting Missy was “don’t be an idiot, don’t be an idiot, don’t be an idiot”. With one of the most lengthy contract riders I have seen, we scrambled and had it all in place…all 4 pages of requests. Then, here came the 4 black, tinted windowed SUV’s with Missy and her entourage. Since Missy was still on crutches and/or in a wheel chair from foot surgery at the time, there was no guarantee she would perform. Her people let us know that she would decide once she arrived. Every single person in her entourage could not have been more professional, except the bodyguards, but that’s their job. When she got into the VIP area and felt the amazing energy in the room, she let us know she would like to perform. One of the great thrills of my career was to walk out onstage in a massive gay club and say ‘Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome MISSY ELLIOT” and watch 1000+ people go into a complete meltdown. Missy was wheeled out in her chair, helped up, given a cordless mic and her crutches and preceded to tear it UP. She was nothing short of brilliant and so very gracious.
3. Jennifer Holliday. I have an emotional attachment to Miss Holliday from her Tony Awards performance of “And I Am Telling You” from 1982. I still burst into tears every time I see it at Sidetrack here in Chicago. We have worked together countless times since our first meeting in 2001 in Pensacola, Florida. With bad weather and some other chaos that often comes with large events, I watched this artist walk onstage in front of thousands of people without so much as a sound check or rehearsal and deliver a 4 song set for the ages. On the fly, they devised a hand signal system for her to cue the sound guy for what she needed on stage to better her show—more monitor was one signal, more reverb was another and so on. I would be TERRIFIED to walk out and sing live without so much as a “check 1, 2, check, check…” into my microphone. Jennifer took charge, said a little prayer and hit it hard and perfect. Since that night, I have had the honor of working with her many times in many types of events. “Here’s my number, call me anytime”. Really? Charity events, club dates, street festivals and even a Christmas HOLLIDAY show where we picked the songs together and created a beautiful evening of holiday cheer that lead into a dance party. With her new song “Magic” climbing the charts, it’s only a matter of time before I have her on my stage again.
2. Deborah Cox. Legendary. Classic. Fresh. Passionate. High Fashion. Aural Perfection. Thank you for so many wonderful events. More, please.
1. Kristine W. Once you get the artist involved with the show and engage them to help you mold it to their often times broader, less publicly known abilities, you might just come up with something more dynamic than you had planned. Kristine W is hands down the most versatile club performer in our land of the living. Drummer. Saxophone player. Dancer. Songwriter. Singer. Style icon. I had an idea for Kristine to be the featured entertainer for a black tie gala here in Chicago. We already had a band booked that could do anything from Motown to rap so why not keep the night seamless like a dance party? I asked Kristine if she wouldn’t mind bringing her sax and drumsticks along with her amazing vocal pipes. I would have the band keep vamping on their last song before they took a break while Kristine sang so we could mix her first track in live. During her set, she sang, played the sax, beat on the drums and gave the audience a Vegas styled 40 minutes of high-energy showmanship. To keep the seamless vibe going, Kristine then had the band come back onstage during her last song and then joined them in doing “Proud Mary” complete with an impromptu sax solo. Brought the house down. We have had many great times together before that night and since and I look forward to many more years of explosive musical moments from Miss Kristine. There is a reason she is Billboards #1 charting female dance artist. Well deserved.
