Gladys Knight is set to be the headliner for this year’s BYU Spectacular!.
McKay Christensen, a producer for BYU Spectacular!, said one of the reasons they chose Knight to perform was that she would bring a different genre of music than that of previous years.
“She’s got that nice soul vibe, and we thought it’d be appealing to a lot of our alumni,” Christensen said.
Knight, a mormon convert, has had a hit in about every decade and is one of the foremost R&B artists in the industry, according to Christensen.
“They’ll recognize Gladys’s music when they hear it,” Christensen said.
BYU Vocal Point is also excited to sing with Knight. The group posted on Instagram that the performance is going to fulfill its dreams of performing with Knight.
“I just want at least one song where she’s just destroying it. I just want soul. That’s it, and I just want to be there to sing back-up to her,” Kyle Lemperle, a Vocal Point tenor, said.
Vocal Point’s new percussionist, Matt Newman said he didn’t know much about Knight before they were asked to perform with her, but when he learned about all she’s done, he was excited to work with someone so talented.
“When I joined Vocal Point, it was my first exposure to working with people that I felt were talented and then to now be working with her just, it just feels like that amplified,” Newman said.
Carl Prince, Vocal Point’s bass said Vocal Point has some ideas as to songs they’ll sing at BYU Spectacular!, but he’s not going to reveal their possible line-up.
“There will be back-up dancing,” Prince said.
BYU Spectacular! will take place on Oct. 15, 2016, with shows at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Youtube star Peter Hollins and singer Lexi Walker will also be performing at BYU Spectacular!. Lower-priced tickets will be made available for student purchase, from $10–$38.
