Vanessa Williams, due this weekend in Detroit, grows attuned to changes in music business
Metro Detroit music lovers can find their comfort zone at Orchestra Hall this weekend when iconic singer-actress Vanessa Williams performs with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The 11-time Grammy nominee will perform numerous songs from her celebrated catalog.
“It’ll be a mixture of hits that I’ve had, with symphonic orchestration,” Williams told the Free Press. “Some of my big ballads, like ‘Save the Best for Last’ (from her triple-platinum 1991 album 'The Comfort Zone') and ‘Dreamin’’ and ‘Sweetest Days.’ Some (Stephen) Sondheim music and my R&B hits that I’ll do with just my interior group. Rob Mathes, who’s my music director, has arranged all of the symphonic pieces, and it’s a pleasure.”
Fans of her holiday recordings, however, shouldn’t get their hopes up.
“I don’t know whether we’re going to do any Christmas songs,” she said. “I still haven’t pulled the trigger on that. I’m not quite there yet; I’d like to get through Thanksgiving and then start the Christmas season, so I don’t think we’re doing any Christmas.”
Despite the 100-plus-day actors strike that came to a tentative end last week, Williams has maintained a packed schedule filled with charity events, music performances and live theater. She’s also completing work on a new album, her first in nearly 15 years. The music industry has changed, and the singer has found herself learning the business all over again.
“Compared to my first album, ‘The Right Stuff,’ back in 1988, it’s a whole different approach to single releases and platforms and attention and work,” she said. “I have three daughters and a son, and my middle daughter has a singing group called Lion Babe. Watching her go through the process the past 10 years and really seeing how you’re reliant on self-promotion. … You can have a comfort base with the record company, but a lot of stuff happens with TikTok and Instagram and getting on the right tickets for all these music festivals like Coachella, so people are hearing your stuff.
“And many times, I’ve walked through an airport or been at a restaurant and heard (my daughter’s) music as part of the vibe. Yes, radio is a huge component — I get that. But now, it’s so much bigger. And my last album was in 2009. It was on the precipice of all this change, but now I’ve got to look at it with a different lens.”
When asked about any possibility of an “Ugly Betty” reunion (not likely, though the cast members remain close), Williams put on her actress cap and broke down some specifics about the SAG-AFTRA strike, which was still in effect when this interview was conducted.
“I’m getting a whole new group of youngsters now watching ‘Ugly Betty’ on Netflix, who were too young to watch back in the day when we debuted in 2006,” she said. “I’m happy that I’ve got a new audience and, of course, frustrated that the reason why we are striking is because I get zero for any of it, and that’s why we are striking as a union.
“Not only do we get zero from any of these streamers, but you know, the (artificial intelligence) component is twofold. One part is that they can inform their AI robots and use any of our past performances and create an actor using AI. For instance, ‘Ugly Betty ’— they can have an AI robot take all of my past performances from ‘Ugly Betty’ and compile them and make a clone of me and I get paid nothing, nor do I have to give consent. The other is that, for instance, Marvel can sign you on and scan your body, you sign off, and basically they can use your likeness forever, without consent and for the rest of your life.”
Williams, who enjoys watching the Detroit-produced HGTV home renovation series ‘Bargain Block,’ said she’s thrilled about her visit to the Motor City.
“I’m always very happy to sing in front of an orchestra, and Detroit is one of the top ones, so I’m very, very excited to step in front of the microphone with that amazing group.”
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.
Vanessa Williams
With the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday
Orchestra Hall
3711 Woodward, Detroit
$40 and up
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Vanessa Williams, performing at DSO this weekend, says AI poses threat
