ON THE RECORD
The accomplished composer chats with Us about Netflix’s documentary David Foster: Off the Record
David Foster talks to
Us about his life, from his wild career and heartbreaks to his happily-ever-after with Katharine McPhee.
Even at the age of 70, David Foster’s as ambitious as ever. “My goal when I go into the studio with a singer is, I believe in my head that I’m going to get a better vocal than he or she has ever done before or will ever do again,” says the star of Netflix’s new documentary
David Foster: Off the Record (available July 1). With more than half a billion records sold, the music exec and 16-time Grammy winner — who’s worked with greats like Barbra Streisand, Céline Dion and Whitney Houston — has had a fascinating career and wild life. But just for the record, Foster isn’t looking to retire anytime soon. While things have slowed down due to the pandemic, the composer’s still working on three — yes, three — musicals he’s “hoping to see on Broadway one day.”
However, it’s a different kind of life the former workaholic is leading nowadays. “I’m not motivated by work anymore, so that’s a big change,” Foster explains. Change has been a constant in the producer’s life, from his multiple ex-wives to his various career projects, including a spell on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (see box, right). Yet even after starring in reality TV, the father of five (and granddad of seven) found it difficult to be vulnerable while making the documentary. “I always used to say — and this isn’t a mantra anyone should live by! — ‘I don’t really want to dig deep, for fear of what I might find,’” he says. “But when you’re in it, you just go with it and forget the camera’s rolling.” Here, Foster tells Us just what that camera revealed.