Vanessa Williams is one of the most respected & multi-faceted performers in the entertainment industry today. Having sold millions of records worldwide, she has also achieved numerous #1 and Top 10 hits on various Billboard Album & Singles charts: Pop, Dance, R&B, Adult Contemporary, Holiday, Latin, Gospel & Jazz. Her critically acclaimed work in film, television, recordings and the Broadway stage has been recognized by every major industry award affiliate including four Emmy nominations, 11 Grammy nominations, a Tony nomination, three SAG award nominations, seven NAACP Image Awards & three Satellite Awards. Her platinum single “Colors of the Wind,” from Disney’s Pocahontas, won the Oscar, Grammy & Golden Globe for Best Original Song. A graduate of Syracuse University, Vanessa is a strong advocate for equal rights, especially concerning the LGBTQ+ community & minorities. She was honored with the Human Rights Campaign “Ally for Equality” Award for her humanitarian contributions. She also achieved a career pinnacle with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. Vanessa’s autobiography, “You Have No Idea,” co-written with her mother Helen Williams, was a New York Times Best Seller in 2012. Her recent Broadway credits include co-starring with Cicely Tyson in The Trip to Bountiful, (the #1 play of the 2013 season), After Midnight (2014) and a special limited engagement in Hey, Look Me Over at New York City Center in 2018. Vanessa was recently in previews for Josie Rourke’s City of Angels in London’s West End, when production was suddenly forced to pause due to COVID-19. Her charitable endeavors are many & varied, embracing & supporting such organizations as Concerts for America, Special Olympics and several others as well as the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation. Vanessa is one of the world’s most accomplished concert artists, appearing regularly with the most prestigious symphony orchestras in the world, most recently with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center.
I had the absolute honor to be invited to attend a national Zoom press conference with the one and only Vanessa Williams in support of the LIVE FROM THE WEST SIDE: WOMEN OF BROADWAY: Vanessa Williams event on Dec. 5. This show is the final show in the Overture Center‘s Live from the West Side: Women of Broadway series. The show, transmitted live in HD with professional sound mixing, will feature a mix of Broadway showtunes, pop songs and personal stories from Vanessa’s celebrated career. The performance will take place at The Shubert Virtual Studios on Manhattan’s West Side. At-home audience members will be invited to email in questions to be answered during the livestream.
Here is the snippet of my time with Vanessa where we talk about music she has been getting into & how the band is doing ahead of this event on 12/5. Such a thrill!!
