'You Want It to Be Authentic': BASE Hologram Details New Whitney Houston Hologram Tour
The hologram tour will hit the road in early 2020.
BASE Hologram has partnered with the estate of Whitney Houston to create its latest hologram tour. Working closely with the Houston’s sister-in-law Pat Houston, who is the sole executor of the estate, the production company plans to present "An Evening with Whitney" to audiences in early 2020.
“Each step of the way, on every decision, Pat Houston and the estate are side by side with us,” BASE Hologram CEO Brian Becker tells Billboard. “We’re in the studio now on the set shooting. It's very important for us to have their input. They take this responsibility very seriously, as do we. It's great to collaborate with them.”
"An Evening with Whitney" will include master recordings of the late singer and feature a live band and backup singers on stage with the hologram. Becker says fans should expect the singer’s greatest hits along with some deep cuts for the upcoming production.
The Estate and Base Hologram have tapped music video director and choreographer Fatima Robinson as the creative director for the show. Robinson has worked with Michael Jackson, The Black Eyed Peas and Mary J. Blige and directed productions for the Super Bowl, the Grammys and the Academy Awards.
“We’ve been working on this for quite a while with Pat and Fatima,” says Becker. “You want to be authentic and you also want to be interpretive. You want to be respectful and celebratory, and it’s good to have a couple sets of eyes to make sure you’re doing that within the context of what represents the artist best.”
“Whitney prided herself on her family and that included her fans. She adored her audiences and that's why we know she would have loved this holographic theatrical concept,” said Pat Houston in a release. “An event at this level is something special, and BASE Hologram’s track record to be fully authentic and respectful made them the perfect partner. This upcoming tour will allow audiences to experience Whitney’s amazing voice and passion for music for a long time to come and help them share that magic with future generations."
The tour announcement follows the news that Primary Wave Music Publishing signed a deal last week with the estate that gives the publisher a 50 percent stake in Houston estate assets, including royalties from her music and film careers, as well as merchandising and the right to explore commercial uses of her name and likeness. Becker explains that the hologram tour was in the works prior to the Primary Wave deal.
According to Becker, the shows take between nine to 12 months to put together. "An Evening with Whitney" will hit the road next year in addition to their other holograms of Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Maria Callas.