Cape Town diva Belinda Davids has the vocal skills and looks to pull off a seamless Whitney Houston impersonation.
And now this single mom of two has won the International Special Recognition accolade at the 2019 National Tribute Music Awards held in the UK.
Belinda, 42, was born in Port Elizabeth but moved to Cape Town at the age of 17 and fell in love with music icon Houston when she heard the 1985 song, Hold Me, which featured Teddy Pendergrass.
Now she’s living her best life, travelling for six months as part of the Greatest Love of All Tour where she stars as Whitney Houston.
“My love for Whitney has become my passion, my job and I’ve earned a career from this - and international fame,” says Belinda.
Belinda was named Artist of the Year at the NTMA on Wednesday evening at the posh awards function.
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She said it is a great honour to accept this award, an inaugural international category, she says was especially created for her as there is no such award for tribute artists.
Belinda hopes to “work on an album, which will push my career to the next level”, adding the award recognises “all the hard work I’ve been putting in for the past 25 years”.
Since its inception in 2013, The Greatest Love of All Show by Showtime Australia has seen thousands of fans praise Belinda for her awesome stage presence, voice - alles.
Belinda, who almost missed out on the original auditions for the show, now entertains thousands of Whitney fans each year with a hectic tour schedule of up to five shows a week.
This Kaapse songbird trumped more than 15 000 audition hopefuls from 12 countries to claim this tribute show top spot as her own.
“I’m honoured by this award and I remain humble in doing my utmost to keep the music of Whitney Houston alive,” she says.
“It doesn’t matter how good I am at this talent, I will never want to fill her shoes but instead pay tribute by honouring her legacy and sharing the gift of music she blessed us with.”