Long before she made her reputation as a first-tier jazz singer, Nicole Henry was listening to pop, soul and any other music coming out of the radio in the ‘80s. And a lot of what she heard were songs by the pop sensation Whitney Houston.
“As a quote-unquote “jazz artist,” I’ve always come at it from a pop-soul background. They way I interpret, and my melodies are all influenced by pop and soul.”
So doing the music of Whitney Houston, she told me during a call from her home in Miami, “was a natural for me.”
Nicole will bring her Whitney Houston to the Palladium on Saturday, March 28. For tickets and information, please follow this link.
She’s coming with a four-piece band and two backup singers, some projected visuals, and a voice that can handle all of Whitney’s vocal pyrotechnics.
The Miami Herald has called her: “The vocal love child of Whitney Houston and Sarah Vaughn.”
Nicole told me she’d always sung Whitney tunes and didn’t realize that they were hard to sing.
“I never knew they were supposed to be difficult until I’d been singing them for years,” she said. “I feel blessed that I can do justice to her voice.”
What makes her show special is that it’s not a standard tribute show. It’s her own one-woman life story, told through Whitney Houston songs. Nicole talks about who she was and where she was when she was listening to Whitney’s songs. It’s a very personal experience.
“I love that part about this show,” she said.
She was looking to create a one-woman show when a theater and film director she knew called.
“He told me – ‘I have the idea for you, tell your life story all to Whitney Houston songs.’ “
He and Nicole created the show together. In it, she talks about her younger self, as she was discovering music and growing up.
“Everybody can relate to being in middle-school and high school,” she said.
Doing Whitney ‘s songs in this format has taken Nicole Henry into larger rooms and found her bigger audiences.
“I’m really grateful for this show and where it has taken me.” Come take that journey with Nicole and Whitney next Saturday night at the Palladium. You won’t regret it.
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