adminBongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
AMERICA’S “musical husband and wife”, legendary R&B superstars Toni Braxton and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds are billed to perform in Zimbabwe and South Africa next month. If all goes according to plan, the artistes will jet into Zimbabwe on August 28 for a performance at Borrowdale Racecourse in Harare. From there they will travel to South Africa for shows in Capetown, Durban and Johannesburg.
Known for their chart-topping radio classics, the couple both singer-songwriters shaped the sound of R&B throughout the 90s both as individual superstars and collaborators.
Organisers of the event, a South African music promotion company — Canoc Live, said revellers should brace for nights to remember.
“Each date of this tour guarantees a night of authentic R&B music filled with romantic love songs in the form of three spectacular shows from these Grammy Award winning artistes,” said a spokesperson, Pleasure Letsoalo.
He said tickets to the Zimbabwe concert would range from $50 to $150.
“The cheapest ticket will be $50 while the most expensive (VIP) will be $150. We’re still finalising on where the tickets will be sold and will communicate that information before end of this week.”
“We’ve hosted 19 shows with eight international artistes and we’re now thrilled to welcome Toni Braxton and Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds to Southern Africa. Fans will be treated to a double bill as Braxton and Edmonds will each perform their own sets on the same stage.”
The Durban concert will be held at Moses Mabhida Stadium on August 30 while the Cape Town show will be held at the Grand Arena, Grandwest on September 1. The Johannesburg show will be held at the Ticketpro Dome on September 3.
The duo will follow the footsteps of other Americans, Ciara, Lil Kim, Tevin Campbell, Bryan Adams, Soul for Real and Joe Thomas who have staged shows in Zimbabwe.
With hits such as Every time I close my eyes, Babyface wrote and produced tracks for the late Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Eric Clapton, TLC, Mary J Blige, Gladys Knight, the late Michael Jackson and of late, Ariana Grande. The 11 time Grammy award winning artiste has more than 130 Top 10 R&B and Pop hits, 43 number 1 R&B hits and 55 Top 10 Pop hits. He has received numerous awards that include Soul Train Music Awards, BMI Awards and American Music Awards.
Babyface also wrote some of Braxton’s popular hits including Fairytale, How could an angel break my heart and Breathe Again among others. Braxton has earned a total of seven Grammy Awards and sold over 66 million records worldwide in her career. She has received nine Billboard Music Awards and seven American Music Awards.
Braxton and Babyface last year paired up to share their experiences of love on the album Love, Marriage and Divorce, which debuted at number 4 on Billboard’s Top 200 and number 1 on the R&B and Hip-Hop Albums chart. It went on to win a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.
Online Reporter