The I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour was the third world concert tour by American singer Whitney Houston, in support of her hit album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990). In a span of seven months from March and October 1991, Houston performed 99 concert dates in Asia, North America and Europe.
Following the end of her expansive 160-date Moment of Truth World Tour in 1988, Houston took a much-deserved break from the road, having performed nonstop for four years since the release of her debut album in 1985. Throughout 1989, Houston had formed the Whitney E. Houston Foundation for Children, a non-profit organization that looked after children and had also begun participating in duets with artists such as the gospel-singing sibling duo BeBe and CeCe Winans and soul legend Aretha Franklin. Houston also began getting acquainted with R&B singer Bobby Brown around this time.
By the fall of the year, Houston had returned to the recording studio to record the contents of her third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight. Houston took a more hands-on approach with the album, incorporating more gospel and funk elements after she had been accused of "singing too white" on her last album. It would be the first of her albums where she attributed composition and record production and her first to attain creative control as an executive producer. In the album's early stages in January 1990, she returned on the road for a 14-date tour of Japan, labeled the Feels So Right Tour, named after a song she had recorded called "Feels So Good", which later was released as the b-side of her hit single, "I'm Your Baby Tonight". The tour featured male background singers, including her brother Gary Garland as well as five male background dancers and newer band members such as Bette Sussman, Kirk Whalum and Ricky Lawson.
After finishing the recording of I'm Your Baby Tonight, which included producers Antonio "L.A." Reid and Babyface, the album was released in November and became an immediate hit upon its release, reaching number three on the Billboard 200 with the first two singles, "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need" going all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In the middle of its promotion, Houston gave an acclaimed performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV during the Persian Gulf War in January 1991. Because of the situation in the war, Houston, who had planned to start her world tour in the United Kingdom that March, decided to postpone the UK shows to the fall.[1] Afterwards it was announced that the tour would primarily stop in the United States in April with two preceding dates in the previous month at Japan.[2]
Overview
The I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour began in Yokohama, Japan at the Yokohama Arena.
Houston launched the tour in Yokohama, Japan at the Yokohama Arena on March 14, 1991. Following a March 15 date at the same venue, it would serve to be the only two Asian shows for the tour as Houston began negotiations with HBO for a televised concert for American troops stationed at Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Though by the end of her Japanese concerts, the war had ended and troops were returning home. Instead, the plan changed to holding a concert at the Norfolk Naval Air Base on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1991, with the concert proceeds going directly to the Red Cross. The singer and the network agreed to give a free, unscrambled concert so everyone could watch. That special, Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston, became HBO's most viewed concert in history at the time with over 50 million viewers watching.[3]
The tour wasn't without controversy: a night prior to her performance at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on April 20, Houston made headlines after she reportedly was involved in an altercation at a Lexington hotel involving her brother Michael and three autograph seekers, who verbally attacked Houston with racial slurs, leading to a physical fight, which ended when Houston jumped on one of the men for attacking her brother and punching him.[4][5] Initially charged with fourth degree assault, charges were dropped on the singer in May when prosecutors were confronted with "contradictory evidence" to claims made against her by Ransom Brotherton, one of the men involved in the melee, and for struggle to prove Houston guilty.[6][7]
Mid-1991 was considered one of the worst touring seasons ever. Many big names in pop and rock music were cancelling dates and playing to low capacities. Houston was no exception. The singer played to low attendances and even cancelled some dates due to poor ticket sales. Experts cited the ongoing recession and financial crisis as the main reason.[8][9] In August, Houston also developed a throat ailment. As a result, the singer was forced to cancel the end of her Canadian tour to rest her voice.[10]
The tour resumed in late August when Houston reached the UK. She played ten consecutive sold-out dates at Wembley Arena in London, surpassing her own record of nine straight dates at the same arena during the Moment of Truth World Tour, in 1988. The ten-date residence remains the most performances in a single year by a female artist in the history of the arena.
Following the historic UK performances, Houston finished the tour with dates in Spain, Germany and France before ending the tour in Paris on October 2. A month and a half after the tour concluded, Houston would begin production on her first feature film, The Bodyguard, which had been announced that April but postponed to November by Kevin Costner.[11]
The show
Unlike her previous tours, the shows had more focus on visuals. The stage was lit by 300 lights spinning and flashing in synch with the music. The state of the art system was designed by Mark Fisher and Jonathan Park. The system had only been used previously by Pink Floyd in his "The Wall" show in Berlin and the Rolling Stones' "Urban Jungle Tour".[12] Houston also incorporated costume changes during her sets for the first time. She often wore skin tight jump suits. Houston also took part in choreographed dancing with backup dancers. Unlike her previous tours, the stage was not in the round. She was backed by a seven piece band. After her previous musical director John Simmons died, bass player Rickey Minor became the tour's musical director. R&B group After 7 opened during the North American leg. Dance act Snap! supported her on the European leg. One of the most noted features was Houston wearing flamboyant catsuits, designed by South African fashion designer Marc Bouwer, who would be her personal designer for a number of years.[13]
Houston reworked most of the songs during the show with improvisations and spontaneity, adding funk to the uptempos while slowing down the ballads.[14] According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Saving All My Love for You" was "sultry, taking excursions through the church and jazz world that aren't heard on the recorded version."[15] She incorporated her popular love songs into a "Love Medley", giving her time to try out the newer uptempo/new jack swing numbers on her current album.[14] Midway through the shows, Houston introduced her band while singing the gospel "Revelation". This started the gospel set which included a cappella and solos from her backup singers. Her brother Gary Houston also performed a Marvin Gaye medley. With hip hop music becoming popular during the time, Houston incorporated rappers into the show. Rappers were given verses during "How Will I Know" while shouting "yo Whitney yo" throughout other songs.[14] During some of the shows, Houston incorporated her hit "All The Man That I Need" into a medley with the Billie Holiday classics "Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)" and "My Man", which she dedicated to her own man at the time. At the time, Houston was rumored to be dating singer Bobby Brown. The rumor of course turned out to be true.[16] The Holliday cover earned praise from many critics. The Vancouver Sun said "her delivery was achingly soulful" and that the singer should continue towards that direction musically.[17] For some of the US dates, she performed her top ten pop hit "Miracle". Houston ended her show with "I'm Your Baby Tonight" before the encore, "Greatest Love of All", in Europe for some of the London, UK dates included the encore "I Belong to You".
Some criticized Houston for focusing on the MTV trend of relying on dancing and big production lighting. The Sun Sentinel noted that the singer should opt for smaller venues and theaters that are "far more suitable to her sophistication and talent."[18]USA Today praised the singer because she "shakes the confinements of her recordings' calculated productions and gets downright gutsy and soulful"[19]
This set list is representative of the concert on May 11, 1991 at Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Arena in Oakland, California.[20] It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.
March 14 and 15: in Yokohama, Japan, Houston performed a stirring rendition of "In Return".
May 11: her performances of "My Name Is Not Susan", "Miracle" and "Greatest Love of All" at her Oakland, California concert were shown during a televised telethon that aired on MTV, May 12, for The Simple Truth: A concert for Kurdish Refugees.
September 29: the concert in A Coruña, Spain was recorded and aired on TV in several markets of Spain, and select countries in Europe.
Shows
List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue
↑ Watrous, Peter. "Pop Life". The New York Times. August 7, 1991. Page C15.
↑ Dafoe, Christopher M. "Rock 'n' Ruin Not just the recession is to blame for the small crowds at rock concerts this summer" The Globe and Mail. August 17, 1991. Page C1.
↑ "Houston cancels rest of tour". The Globe and Mail. August 10, 1991. Page C3.
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