Dionne Warwick returns to Manila for V-Day show

Dionne Warwick

Dionne Warwick, the iconic R&B-gospel artist known for her enduring work with songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David, will hold a two-night Valentine concert, on Feb. 13 and 14, at the Solaire Resort and Casino’s Grand Ballroom (call 8919999).

“I have been to Manila several times… Manila audiences are wonderful—they have always seemed to enjoy my show,” the American singer said in a statement.
“I’m truly looking forward to going again to Manila, and I do hope all of you will be at the concert to enjoy.”

She said she will perform “songs I’m expected to sing … and a few surprises.”

With a career spanning five decades, Warwick has popularized such timeless songs as “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Alfie,” “Walk On By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” and “I’ll Never Love this Way Again”—all of which she considers her “children.”

“All of my songs are close to my heart. The success of these songs I attribute to their wonderful composers and lyricists,” Warwick said, adding that well-crafted lyrics and “memorable” melodies are the ingredients of a great song.

“I must believe in the words I sing,” pointed out Warwick, who was once described by Bacharach as possessing “a tremendously strong side and a delicacy when singing softly, like miniature ships in bottles.”

The 77-year-old singer has five Grammy awards to her name and is the second most-charted female vocalist on Billboard’s Hot 100, from 1962 to 1998—second only to Aretha Franklin. But despite all her accomplishments, Warwick refuses to call herself a “diva.”

“The label ‘diva’ is an operatic term. I don’t sing opera,” she stressed. “Therefore, I can’t and don’t accept being called as such.”—ALLAN POLICARPIO