2000: Nippy News Release Articles

Whitney Makes Surprise Appearance at KTU "Miracle On 34th Street"
submitted by: Lisa D.
source: The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times
Date: December 21, 2000

Houston, Jackson cap MSG musical 'Miracle'

NEW YORK -- It was billed as a new "Miracle on 34th Street" and, indeed, that's what it turned out to be: a dazzling portion of today's hottest music stars (Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Christina Aguilera, 98 , Jon Secada, Son by Four, Destiny's Child and the list goes on) all strutting their pipes and other parts before an enthusiastic audience of 20,000 at 34th Street's Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, crowned in its final minutes by _ unbilled, unannounced, unexpected _ Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, everyone eventually near-buried in falling fake snow and good holiday cheer. Ring this one up as the most successful, and biggest, gala yet produced by David Gest, the gent best known up to now in Hollywood circles for the all-star shows he has thrown for his American Cinema Awards Foundation, which has raised many millions for the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital, the Actors' Fund, the Whitney Houston Foundation and other causes. But music has always been Gest's main love, and it served him in good stead for this pre-Christmas "Miracle," done for New York-area radio station WKTU to this year benefit Toys for Tots, the March of Dimes and the aforementioned ACAF. Above and beyond the dynamic performances of the night (mainly those of Martin and Anthony) and the surprise shows of Jackson and Houston, there were other highlights to boast about: Gloria Gaynor getting the proceedings off to a stunning start as she wailed her disco number "I Will Survive" accompanied by 16 dancers; also Aguilera doing "White Christmas" with a chorus of 49 youngsters; additionally, some striking vocals by Brian McKnight, Edwin Starr, Deneice Williams and Debelah Morgan. If there was a downside, it was Toni Braxton, who hosted the event. She changed her wardrobe for each of her 12 appearances, a clever touch, but soon became a bore by constantly calling attention to her ensembles ("Do you like my outfit, New York?" became the evening's most overused phrase). Each of her intros of a guest artist was basically limited to "Let's give this next entertainer some love," the evening's second most-overused phrase. Braxton was, however, the only flaw in an otherwise sensational show, one worthy of that "Miracle" designation.

POP REVIEW: All Soaring Skyward, Except for the Silent One
By JON PARELES

The era of the lip-synching, barely singing pop star may be ending. On Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, WKTU (103.5 FM) had its annual holiday charity concert, "Miracle on 34th Street," a revue of 16 hitmakers (plus two surprise cameos) paying obeisance to the station that helped put them on the charts. And lo and behold, most of them had extraordinary voices.

With headliners including Marc Anthony, Destiny's Child, Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Brian McKnight, the concert ran as efficiently as a radio show, and without commercials. The station's disc jockeys appeared onstage only at the beginning, leaving the singer Toni Braxton as host and model, wearing a different outfit for each introduction.

In an impressive veto of pop-star ego, one orchestra and backup choir accompanied all the performers. Directed by Joey Melotti, it handled styles from thumping dance music to Latin syncopations to gushy ballads, along with a few Christmas songs.

It was a night of songs about lust and longing, heartbreak and post-breakup resilience. The songs also outlined WKTU's format, which favors bright, danceable tunes, often with a streak of Latin rhythm. (According to the Arbitron rating service, 28 percent of the station's overall audience over 12 years old is Hispanic; 61 percent of those Hispanic listeners are female.) A troupe of dancers surrounded most of the singers, who either joined in the choreography -- preening before prostrate admirers, knocking away suitors with a flip of the hips -- or confidently strolled through it.

As spectacle, nothing topped the first number. Gloria Gaynor, in an outsize gold-lame outfit fit for a disco queen, belted "I Will Survive" with gospel intensity. Meanwhile, women danced wearing halter tops, short shorts (with glittering GG's on the backsides) and boxing gloves, delivering uppercuts and karate kicks to their ex-boyfriends.

Mr. Martin drew the loudest squeals, singing about the overwhelming power of female allure while he shook his shoulders and pumped his hips.

But the real showpieces were for the ear, in the lavish, far-reaching phrases that came from nearly every singer. During the music-video era, a pretty face has been essential to success, and good dance moves haven't hurt; plenty of merely passable singers got by on studio productions and video clips. Now, with the rise of harmony groups, listeners seem to be demanding full-fledged singers without giving up on the looks or the dancing. As in the glory days of Broadway and movie musicals, top performers are expected to show nearly superhuman abilities.

The vocal standards were high throughout the concert. Mr. McKnight sang with gracious, velvety tone, moving from simple phrases to exultantly ornamented ones. Ms. Aguilera worked over every phrase, refusing to let a note get by without a swoop or a moan. Mr. Anthony carried crooning to clarion trumpeting, never losing his smoothness. Whitney Houston, a surprise guest, sang part of "The Greatest Love of All" with Mr. Anthony, letting him peal out her old melody while she toyed with sultry, jazzy asides.

Destiny's Child gave an unaccompanied gospel song striking harmonies, but didn't give their own sassy hits a chance to breathe. Son by Four and 98 Degrees each harmonized a ballad, with Son by Four emoting harder as its song switched into Spanish. And Debelah Morgan and Tamia each pushed their voices skyward, unafraid to be shrill. Deniece Williams and Edwin Starr, survivors from the disco era, gleefully reanimated their old hits. Only Melanie C. (of the Spice Girls), a hoarse Jon Secada and Lara Fabian were out of their vocal league.

For the finale, it was announced that "a ghost" was backstage. The performers lined up across the stage and the orchestra started the Jacksons' "Shake Your Body." Then Michael Jackson himself walked on stage, looking ashen and shy. As the singers waited for Mr. Jackson to dance, sing and outdo them all, he quieted the band and announced, "I can't perform tonight, but I wanted to say 'Merry Christmas.' I love you all, you all have been phenomenal, and the best is yet to come." The ghost of pop past accepted some hugs and walked off stage, perhaps thinking about his latest competition.