The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maestro makes rare live appearance
He’ll be joined by a trio of voices at Atlanta Symphony Hall.
The list of superlatives attached to David Foster’s name would require a dozen Wikipedia pages. The 16 Grammy Awards. The 2010 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The honorary doctorates and distinctions bestowed upon him in his native Canada.
And then, of course, the parade of artists with whom Foster has written, composed, produced and/or performed within his 40-plus-years career: Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Kenny Rogers, Rod Stewart, Donna Summer, Madonna, Toni Braxton, Natalie Cole, Andrea Bocelli. We could keep going, but let’s pause for the reminder that Foster is also credited with discovering Josh Groban and Michael Buble, and shepherding their careers.
The maestro, 69, is currently on a brief tour that wraps Sunday at Atlanta Symphony Hall and will reignite this summer in Canada.
Foster last visited Atlanta a decade ago with a few artists (Peter Cetera, Philip Bailey, Reuben Studdard) to sing his greatest hits. This time, he’ll be joined by another trio of voices – “American Idol” alum Pia Toscano, Stevie Wonder protégé Sheléa Frazier and classical crossover vocalist Fernando Varela (an “America’s Got Talent” finalist with the group Forte Tenors).
The genial Foster, a true creative mind with a penchant for sumptuous melodies (Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire,” Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” Cetera’s “Glory of Love” are smattering of his output) is also currently engaged to singer/actress Katharine McPhee (no wedding date yet, he said).
In a recent candid interview from Los Angeles, Foster focused on his newfound affection for live performances, what audiences will experience at his show, and why it’s impossible to determine what makes a good song.
You don’t go on the road very often, so what prompted you to go back last year?
I have made music for so long within four walls, figuratively
speaking. We didn’t figure out until 15 years ago you could have a window in a studio! So you never know who you’re reaching. The artists I work with got to take our music we created together out on tour and about 10 to 15 years ago, I (toured) a little bit, and I think that showed me how great it was (to share with an audience).
Are you performing with the ASO?
No, I have a band. I tell stories. I love to go to the audience and get people to sing. It’s always completely random. If it’s planned, it never works out. Nine out of 10 times, I get something great. I think in the back of their minds (the audience singers are) thinking this is going to be the shortcut to success, but it’s just a fun moment.
Tell me about Pia and Sheléa and Fernando and what they bring to the show.
They are three amazing singers; all three are on their own trajectory to their own stardom. The songs are known — they’ve already been hits — so if you have great singers and an interesting story to tell, people don’t mind that it’s not [the original singers].
I know that audiences always love hearing the stories about how things unfolded – such as when you discovered Michael Buble or working with Streisand or Whitney – but do you like telling those stories?
I do enjoy telling them nightly because there’s always a twist; someone from the audience who will say something to take you in a different direction. Some artists drop in (via) video. I can decide on any given night which artist I want to drop in to sing and play with us. It is different every night. You’re talking to a guy who has done less than 100 (concert) dates in his life — that’s a weekend for Buble! I’m excited about it. It’s turning into more than a novelty as I get more interested in touring and less interested in making records. I stepped out of the studio for a few years because I just got bored with myself. The music business is awesome — it’s more robust than ever, they finally figured out streaming — but I’m certainly not bored on stage.
What do you think makes a good song? Are you a melody guy or a lyrics guy first?
I have no idea. If I knew I would have done it a thousand times. I’ve co-written a thousand songs. I just don’t know the formula. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, it stiffs, and if you think it’s a stiff, it’s a hit. When the 2000s came, my focus shifted to Groban and Buble, and we weren’t having Top 40 hits but were having tremendous success selling CDs, so that carried me through until I stepped out of the studio. You can have three successful songs in a row and the fourth one you apply the same principles, but it fails. You turn 70 (in November), and things seem to be going well in your personal life. Do you attribute that happiness to a continued creative desire?
I don’t really see a link, other than I stay busy and that keeps me in the youth box. There’s no getting around that some days you wake up and have a sore shoulder and don’t know why. I live clean, I work out, I’ve never done drugs, I don’t drink and I haven’t smoked in 40 years.