The Bodyguard World Tour

The Bodyguard World Tour

World tour by Whitney Houston
Promotional poster for tour
Location	North America • Europe • Asia • Africa • South America
Associated album	The Bodyguard
Start date	July 5, 1993 (1993-07-05)
End date	November 19, 1994 (1994-11-19)
Legs	8
No. of shows	58 in North America 16 in Asia 36 in Europe 7 in South America 3 in Africa in total 120
Box office	$33 million ($71.71 in 2023 dollars)[1] $14 million ($29.53 in 2023 dollars)[1] (North America only)
Whitney Houston concert chronology

The Bodyguard World Tour is the fifth concert tour by American recording artist, Whitney Houston. The tour was in support of her multi-platinum soundtrack album, The Bodyguard, and also of the movie of the same name. Following the success of the album and worldwide hit singles "I Will Always Love You", "I Have Nothing" and "I'm Every Woman", Houston started the extensive world tour that lasted through the fall of 1994.

Background

With the enormous success of the film and its soundtrack, Houston went on an extensive world tour to support her projects. Houston began rehearsals two months after giving birth to daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown. The opening date was in Miami on July 5, 1993. Houston received a lot of flak for showing up late and then telling a fan who wanted an autograph to sit down. Houston played five nights at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and then played six nights at the Sands Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.

Most of the shows during this 1993 US leg were in theaters because Houston wanted an intimate setting. During the US leg, Houston took a break to fly over to Europe to accompany husband Bobby Brown on his tour. Gospel act Angie & Debbie Winans were the opening act for the 1993 US leg. During the second North American leg in 1994, Houston performed at the opening ceremony of the 1994 FIFA World Cup at the Rose Bowl Stadium.^[2]

During that time, the singer had throat ailments and had to cancel eight shows, all of which were rescheduled a month later. Houston also went public concerning having a miscarriage during the tour.^[3] The tour was a big success. Many shows were among the highest grossing shows of their week. The grossings helped Houston make Forbes magazine's Richest Entertainers list. Houston earned over $33 million during 1993 and 1994, the third highest for a female entertainer.^[4]

Critical reception

During her first Radio City Music Hall performance in New York City, Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote that "her stylistic trademarks — shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration — infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning."^[5] At one of her Atlantic City dates, Kevin L. Carter of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that Houston handled her songs "with subdued emotionalism and the intelligence that only a gifted musician can bring to a song.^[6]

"Saving All My Love for You" was turned into a "smoky saloon-style ballad".^[7] Many critics noted that the highlight of the show was when Houston took on "And I Am Telling You" from Dreamgirls, and "I Loves You Porgy" from Porgy and Bess. Stephen Holden wrote of the medley that "her voice conveyed authority, power, determination and just enough vulnerability to give a sense of dramatic intention".^[5] As always, Houston included gospel songs. She introduced her band while performing 'Revelation.' Houston spoke about the Lord before going into 'Jesus Loves Me' which was often accompanied with complete silence from the mesmerized crowd."^[8] During the last couple of years, since her marriage to Brown, the tabloids generated many stories about Houston and Brown. The New York Post created a rumor that the singer had overdosed on diet pills, leading to a lawsuit filed by Houston. During her shows, while performing her love medley, Houston often denied tabloid rumors. Houston often brought her husband and baby to the stage with her to prove that they are a happy family and that the tabloids are wrong.

Many critics felt that these tabloid stories helped her sing with more conviction and emotion. According to some critics, Brown's presence made "All the Man That I Need" a more stirring performance leading up the emotional high of "I Have Nothing",^[9] while others felt they were unnecessary, cheesy moments.^[10] Many critics praised her Aretha Franklin medley that she performed at certain shows. Houston performed "Ain't No Way", "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man". According to Jon Beam of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Aretha Franklin medley was a triumph of substance over style. He wrote that "She seemed a natural instead of a studied singer doing "A Natural Woman", and "Do Right Woman" was a right-on, soulful country-blues song, with a traditional call-and-response between Houston and her backup singers."^[11]

Houston's performance at the Pond in Anaheim, Chris William of the Los Angeles Times wrote that, "she approached sheer vocal perfection at virtually every turn". And noted that, "she got to apply that astonishing instrument to some material worthy of it. Watching her progress emotionally through a gospel standard or great ‘60s R&B; ballad made it all the more difficult to see Houston go back and end the show as she began it"^[12] Houston returned a year later at Radio City Music Hall, opening a seven-night sold-out engagement in September 1994. Jon Pareles of the New York Times reports, "Houston belted ballads, predictably bringing down the house with songs that moved from aching verses to surging choruses. A medley of hits from Dionne Warwick, Ms. Houston's cousin, lacked Ms. Warwick's lightness, but Ms. Houston made "Alfie" sound like the ethical wrangle it is".^[13] Ira Robbins of Newsday wrote, "Houston peaked in the Warwick segment with marvelous adaptions of "I Say a Little Prayer" and "Alfie", and "after the powerful one-two of "I Have Nothing" and a rendition of "Run to You" so compelling it would have been no shock to see Kevin Costner jog out".^[14]

Opening acts

• Smoothe Sylk (North America leg 3)^[15]
• Angie & Debbie (Miami, Vienna, Mansfield, New York City, Los Angeles, Cerritos)^[16]
• Jay Johnson (Atlantic City—July 1993)^[17]
• E.Y.C. (Heerenveen, Maastricht)

Set list

July 1993 – April 1994

1. "Greatest Love of All" (intro)
2. "Love Will Save the Day"
3. "Saving All My Love for You"
4. "You Give Good Love"
5. "How Will I Know"
6. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
7. "I Loves You, Porgy" / "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
8. "I Have Nothing"
9. "Queen of the Night"
10. "I'm Your Baby Tonight"
11. "All at Once" / "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" / "Didn't We Almost Have It All" / "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
12. "All the Man That I Need"
13. "Revelation" (contain elements of "The Love You Save")
14. "Jesus Loves Me" (contain elements of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")
15. "I Will Always Love You"
16. "I'm Every Woman"

Source:^[18]

June 1994 – September 1994

1. "Greatest Love of All" (intro)
2. "So Emotional"
3. "Saving All My Love for You"
4. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
5. "How Will I Know"
6. "All At Once" / "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" / "Didn't We Almost Have It All" / "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
7. "All the Man That I Need"
8. "I Have Nothing"
9. "Queen of the Night"
10. "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" / "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" / "Ain't No Way"
11. "Wonderful Counselor" (contain elements of "Freeway of Love")
12. "Jesus Loves Me" (contain elements of "He's All Right")
13. "I Will Always Love You"
14. "I'm Every Woman"
15. "Something in Common" (with Bobby Brown)

Source:^[19]

November 1994

South Africa

1. "Love's in Need of Love Today"
2. "So Emotional"
3. "Saving All My Love for You"
4. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
5. "How Will I Know"
6. "All at Once"/ "Where You Are" / "Lover for Life"
7. "My Name Is Not Susan"
8. "Queen of the Night"
9. "I Have Nothing"
10. "Touch the World" (performed with Cissy Houston and Tu Nokwe's Amajika Performing Arts choir)
11. "Love Is"
12. "Amazing Grace"
13. "Master Blaster (Jammin')"
14. "I Will Always Love You"
15. "I'm Every Woman"
16. "Greatest Love of All"
17. "Home"

Notes

• On select dates, from July 1993 to September 1994, Houston closed the show with a duet of "Something in Common" with Bobby Brown.
• In North America and Europe, "My Name Is Not Susan" was performed on select dates. "You Give Good Love" was performed on select dates in Europe and Japan.
• During the show on July 30, 1993, in Atlantic City, Houston performed "Stormy Weather" as a tribute to Lena Horne.
• On November 5 and 7, 1993, January 18, August 14, September 16, 27 and 28, 1994: Houston performed "Run to You".
• During two concerts in Brazil on January 18 and 23, Houston brought Bobby Brown onstage and sang "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" to him. Houston performed an encore of "Greatest Love of All".
• The New York City concerts in September 1994, Houston performed a medley of Walk On By", "A House Is Not a Home" and "Alfie", also select dates included a performance of "I'm Your Baby Tonight". On September 16, Houston closed the show with "Greatest Love of All".
• During the show on September 30, 1994, Houston performed "You Are So Beautiful", "Amazing Grace" and closed the show with "I Will Always Love You".
• The show in Cape Town on November 19, 1994, Houston performed "All the Man That I Need" and "Wonderful Counselor".

Shows

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue

Date	City	Country	Venue	Attendance	Revenue
North America leg 1[20]
July 5, 1993	Miami	United States	James L. Knight Center	14,200 / 14,200	$491,150
July 6, 1993
July 8, 1993
July 11, 1993	Vienna		Filene Center	14,170 / 14,170	$360,160
July 12, 1993
July 14, 1993	Mansfield		Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts	19,000 / 19,900	$995,000
July 15, 1993
July 20, 1993	New York City		Radio City Music Hall	28,720 / 28,720	$1,458,025
July 21, 1993
July 23, 1993
July 24, 1993
July 26, 1993
July 28, 1993	Atlantic City		Copa Room	12,000 / 12,000	$791,112
July 30, 1993
July 31, 1993
August 1, 1993
August 3, 1993
August 4, 1993
Europe
August 13, 1993	Copenhagen	Denmark	Parken Stadium	38,065 / 38,065	$3,806,500
August 15, 1993	Kolding		Kolding Stadion	10,000 / 10,000	$855,600
North America[21]
August 22, 1993	Los Angeles	United States	Hollywood Bowl	17,006 / 17,006	$625,030
August 23, 1993^[A]	San Diego		Embarcadero Marina Park South	4,567 / 4,700	$392,762
August 25, 1993	Cerritos		Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts	5,163 / 5,163	$473,275
August 27, 1993
August 28, 1993
Asia
September 1, 1993	Osaka	Japan	Osaka-jō Hall	31,897 / 32,000	$2,870,730
September 2, 1993
September 6, 1993	Tokyo		Nippon Budokan	114,056 / 115,768[a]	$8,188,381[a]
September 7, 1993
September 9, 1993
September 10, 1993
September 13, 1993
September 14, 1993
September 16, 1993	Nagoya		Nagoya Rainbow Hall	10,000 / 10,000	$2,500,000
September 17, 1993
September 19, 1993	Yokohama		Yokohama Arena	51,000 / 51,000[b]	$4,872,710[b]
September 20, 1993
September 22, 1993	Fukuoka		Fukuoka Dome	38,561 / 38,561	$5,784,150
September 24, 1993	Yokohama		Yokohama Arena	—[b]	—[b]
September 27, 1993	Tokyo		Nippon Budokan	—[a]	—[a]
September 28, 1993
Europe
October 7, 1993	Milan	Italy	Forum di Assago	—	—
October 8, 1993
October 10, 1993	Zürich	Switzerland	Hallenstadion
October 11, 1993
October 13, 1993	Berlin	Germany	Deutschlandhalle
October 14, 1993
October 16, 1993	Stockholm	Sweden	Stockholm Globe Arena
October 17, 1993	Gothenburg		Scandinavium
October 19, 1993	Oslo	Norway	Oslo Spektrum
October 22, 1993	Heerenveen	Netherlands	Thialf
October 23, 1993	Maastricht		MECC Maastricht
October 25, 1993	Frankfurt	Germany	Festhalle Frankfurt
October 27, 1993	Birmingham	United Kingdom	NEC Arena
October 28, 1993
October 30, 1993
October 31, 1993	Sheffield		Sheffield Arena
November 2, 1993
November 3, 1993
November 5, 1993	London		Earls Court Exhibition Centre
November 6, 1993
November 7, 1993
November 9, 1993	Dublin	Ireland	Point Theatre
November 10, 1993
November 12, 1993	Ghent	Belgium	Flanders Expo
November 15, 1993	Madrid	Spain	Palacio de los Deportes
November 18, 1993	Metz	France	Galaxie de Metz
November 19, 1993	Stuttgart	Germany	Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
November 21, 1993	Linz	Austria	Linzer Sporthalle
November 23, 1993	Munich	Germany	Olympiahalle
November 24, 1993	Dortmund		Westfalenhalle
November 26, 1993	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis
November 27, 1993
November 29, 1993	Paris	France	Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
November 30, 1993
South America
January 16, 1994^[B]	São Paulo	Brazil	Estádio do Morumbi	—	—
January 18, 1994
January 23, 1994^[B]	Rio de Janeiro		Praça da Apoteose
April 14, 1994	Santiago	Chile	Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo
April 16, 1994	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Estadio José Amalfitani
April 17, 1994
April 21, 1994	Caracas	Venezuela	Poliedro de Caracas
North America[22]
April 24, 1994	San Juan	Puerto Rico	Hiram Bithorn Stadium	14,323 / 20,651	$685,845
June 17, 1994	Hartford	United States	Hartford Civic Center	—	—
June 19, 1994	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
June 23, 1994	Philadelphia		The Spectrum
June 24, 1994	Providence		Providence Civic Center
June 26, 1994	Richfield		Richfield Coliseum
June 27, 1994	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills
June 29, 1994	Fairborn		Nutter Center
July 1, 1994	Minneapolis		Target Center	12,406 / 14,395	$486,645
July 2, 1994	Rosemont		Rosemont Horizon	—	—
July 5, 1994	Atlanta		Omni Coliseum
July 7, 1994	Lafayette		Cajundome
July 11, 1994	Denver		McNichols Sports Arena
July 13, 1994	Las Cruces		Pan American Center
August 12, 1994	Las Vegas		MGM Grand Garden Arena
August 14, 1994	San Jose		San Jose Arena
August 16, 1994	Portland		Memorial Coliseum
August 17, 1994	Tacoma		Tacoma Dome
August 19, 1994	Sacramento		ARCO Arena
August 21, 1994	Anaheim		Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
August 23, 1994	Phoenix		America West Arena
August 25, 1994	Houston		The Summit
September 1, 1994	Atlantic City		Copa Room
September 3, 1994
September 4, 1994
September 7, 1994
September 9, 1994
September 10, 1994
September 16, 1994	New York City		Radio City Music Hall	39,607 / 39,607	$2,668,940
September 17, 1994
September 20, 1994
September 21, 1994
September 27, 1994
September 28, 1994
September 30, 1994
Africa
November 8, 1994	Durban	South Africa	Kings Park Stadium	—	—
November 12, 1994	Johannesburg		Ellis Park Stadium
November 19, 1994	Cape Town		Green Point Stadium
Total				698,671 / 708,520	$50,000,000

Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

^A Summer Pops Series^[23]

^B Hollywood Rock^[24]

Cancellations and rescheduled shows

November 16, 1993	Barcelona, Spain	Palau Sant Jordi	Cancelled[25]
July 8, 1994	Houston, Texas	The Summit	Rescheduled for August 25, 1994[26]
July 15, 1994	San Diego, California	San Diego Sports Arena	Cancelled[3]
July 16, 1994	Anaheim, California	Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim	Rescheduled for August 21, 1994[27]
July 18, 1994	Phoenix, Arizona	America West Arena	Rescheduled for August 23, 1994[26]
July 19, 1994	Las Vegas, Nevada	MGM Grand Garden Arena	Rescheduled for August 12, 1994[28]
July 21, 1994	San Jose, California	San Jose Arena	Rescheduled for August 14, 1994[26]
July 25, 1994	Tacoma, Washington	Tacoma Dome	Rescheduled to August 17, 1994[27]
July 27, 1994	Sacramento, California	ARCO Arena	Rescheduled for August 19, 1994[26]
September 23, 1994	New York City, New York	Radio City Music Hall	Rescheduled to September 28, 1994[29]
September 24, 1994	New York City, New York	Radio City Music Hall	Rescheduled to September 30, 1994[29]

1.:^ Figures reported for the concerts held in New York City, July 1993.

Notes

1. The score data is combined from the shows held at the Tokyo Dome on September 9–14 and 27-28, respectively.
2. The score data is combined from the shows held at the Yokohama Arena on September 19–20 and 24, respectively.

Touring personnel

Band

• Musical director, bass guitar/synth bass – Rickey Minor
• Guitar – Carlos Rios
• Keyboards – Bette Sussman
• Keyboards – Wayne Linsey
• Saxophone/EWI – Kirk Whalum
• Percussion – Bashiri Johnson
• Drums – Michael Baker

Background vocalists

• Gary Houston
• Olivia McClurkin
• Pattie Howard
• Josie James

Tour management

• Tour manager – Tony Bulluck
• Tour accountant – Wade Perry
• Production manager – Vernon Wilson
• Stage manager – Dewan Mitchell
• Set/lighting designer – Andy Elias

Crew

• Front of house sound engineer – George Strakis
• Monitor engineer – Alan Vachon
• Lighting director – Charlie Unkeless
• Lighting crew chief – Roy Jennings
• Vari*Lite programmer/operator – Tom Celner

Source:^[16][30]

Broadcasting and recordings

• Houston's November 12, date in Johannesburg, South Africa, was broadcast live on HBO Cable TV, Whitney: The Concert for a New South Africa. The special was later released on home video. There are also televised recordings of her concerts in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.
• The concerts in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela were televised in select countries in South America.

External links

• The Bodyguard Tour | Whitney Houston Official Site

References

1. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
2. Cox, Dan (July 18, 1994). "MUSIC REVIEWS; Whitney Houston; Kenny G." Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
3. "Houston Had Miscarriage While On Tour Last Week". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. July 14, 1994. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
4. "List of world's richest entertainers". Reuters News. September 11, 1994.
5. Holden, Stephen. "For Whitney Houston, Showy Doesn't Count: The Show Is the Voice". New York Times. June 22, 1993. Page C11.
6. Carter, Kevin L. "Whitney Houston Sings With Passion, Her Voice Has Matured, and She's a Waif No More." Philadelphia Inquirer. June 30, 1993. Page 32.
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8. McCoy, Frank Milton. "Whitney Captivates Bowl Audience". The Sentinel. September 2, 1993. Page B4.
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10. Robbins, Ira. "Whitney's Story, And Some of Her Songs, Too". Newsday. July 22, 1993. Page 58.
11. Beam, Jon. "Whitney's musical personality shines through on stage". Minneapolis Star Tribune. July 2, 1994. Page B3.
12. Chris William (August 23, 1994). "POP MUSIC REVIEW: Houston Finds Voice by Getting Personal". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2006.
13. Pareles, Jon (September 19, 1994). "POP REVIEWS Part Divas, Part Goddesses: 2 Women of Glamour and Music; Whitney Houston At Radio City". New York Times. New York Times Company. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
14. Robbins, Ira. "Whitney's Family Affair". Newsday. September 19, 1994. Page B.02.
15. Hudson, Alexia (July 8, 1994). "Smoothe Sylk". Philadelphia Tribune.
16. "Review: 'Whitney Houston'". Variety. August 25, 1993. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
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19. "Whitney Houston concert Setlist at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, 1994". concertarchives.org. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
20. North American 1st Leg Boxcore Data:
    • "Boxscore: Top 10 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 30. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 24, 1993. p. 16. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top 10 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 31, 1993. p. 14. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top 10 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 33. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 14, 1993. p. 12. ISSN 0006-2510.
21. North American 2nd LeglBoxcore Data:
    • "Boxscore: Top 10 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 37. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 11, 1993. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510.
22. North American 3rd leg Boxscore Data:
    • "Boxscore: Top 10 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 21. May 21, 1994. p. 17. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top 10 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 29. July 16, 1994. p. 16. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top 10 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 43. October 22, 1994. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • In Hartford, Whitney Houston Is Trouble-Free. Hartford Courant, June 18, 1994
23. "Summer Splash : A Short-Form Guide to the Season's Events". Los Angeles Times. May 30, 1993. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
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25. Blowman, Michael (November 18, 1993). "Foxx stands up for substance". The Boston Globe. p. 70.
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30. Whitney Houston "The Bodyguard Summer-Fall Tour 1993" Itinerary (July 1993). Smart Art: Santa Monica, CA 1993.