On April 13th, 1999, Brandy joined Whitney Houston, Cher, Tina Turner, Mary J. Blige, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan, LeAnn Rimes and
Elton John in
VH1 Divas Live/99, a benefit concert supporting the Save The Music Foundation. The concert, originally aired live on VH1, is available on DVD.
The concert features a number of moving live performances from some of the best vocalists around. Everyone brought great energy to the show, and carried an impressive stage presence. They're all prime examples of having what
Simon Cowell calls the “X Factor;” not to mention, they all got the skillz to raise the roof.
The show is charged right from the beginning, with the catchy electric beat of “The Best” narrating Tina Turner's strut into and through New York's
Beacon Theatre and onto the stage to sing her hit. By appearance I'd have thought her at least a decade younger, and on top of this, she shows a very dynamic, youthful energy. She sings with power and charisma.
Tina Turner is then joined by Elton John on vocals and piano. The two of them deliver an energetic performance of “The Bitch Is Back”,
on which they show a great chemistry. (Oh, and from the looks of it, Tina sang a bit more than we got the chance to hear!)
Tina then gives a slow, dramatic entry to “Proud Mary”, which she delivers with great energy. She's joined by Cher, and the two of them have a blast on the song.
Sir Elton John then lends his piano playing and unique voice to a great performance of “I'm Still Standing”.
LeAnn Rimes then takes the stage and shows us that country music can be really soulful, with a moving performance of “How Do I Live”.
Next, Cher has great fun belting out “If I Could Turn Back Time”. Here's another diva whose youthfulness completely defies her age.
Brandy then graces the stage, looking lovely and singing beautifully. She does a great job even beside divas three times her age. Brandy gives us soulful renditions of “Have You Ever” and “Almost Doesn't Count”, in that sweet, soft voice. She sings with great conviction, especially on “Have You Ever”.
Brandy is joined by Faith Hill on a heartfelt performance of “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”. Brandy adds a nice touch by singing her devotion to her fans.
Brandy is very charming, as always, and presents a very genuine, gracious, and modest attitude that makes her very likeable as well as pleasing on the ears (and eyes).
Faith Hill follows with her fun hit, “This Kiss”.
Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige then steal the stage with a tribute to Aretha Franklin. They sing a compelling rendition of “Ain't No Way”. Both ladies sing with power, skill, and a great deal of emotion.
I could have sworn by her introductory blurb that the next song Whitney was going to do was “Greatest Love of All”... (is anyone with me on this?) Instead, we get “I Will Always Love You.” Of course, she's spectacular; won a standing ovation. But that shouldn't come as a shock.
Whitney is joined by Chaka Khan for an energetic performance of “I'm Every Woman”.
The show is closed out with all the divas on stage for a reprise of “I'm Every Woman”. The audience participates as well, for a vocal soup; fortunately, everyone's on point, so it works.
The performances I personally liked the most, though all of them were terrific, were from Brandy, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, and LeAnn Rimes.
The show is hosted by a number of female celebs who throw in some cute commentary.
In some parts, the audio lockup is totally out. There will be a very noticeable delay between the performer's lips moving and hearing the sound. This is an enormous
error in the video editing, but fortunately it only happens briefly in a couple places.
The DVD includes biographical information on the featured artists, as well as a short interview with each. The interactive menus get the job done, although they could have been better organized in places. Oh, and they made a little boo boo. Brandy was born in Mississippi, not Missouri!
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the VH1 Divas Live/99 DVD are donated to the Save The Music Foundation, in support of music education in schools.
