Foster’s secrets on display

His songs always seem to sprout wings and not only fly too close to the sun, but swallow it whole.

He favors singers with voices so big, it's as if they were trying to smuggle a gospel choir in their lungs.

For David Foster, more is always more, and why nibble when you can gorge? If the guy was a chef, he'd weigh 500 pounds.

Instead, Foster's a well-decorated songwriter and producer who has seemingly notched that number of hits over his 35-year career.

On Friday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Foster revisited his extensive canon with more than a dozen singers whose careers he has helped shape, from neo-classical pop superstar Josh Groban to honey-voiced R&B crooner Brian McKnight to former Chicago frontman Peter Cetera.

At nearly four hours long, with a 15-minute intermission, the show was every bit as outsized and extravagant as Foster's works have long proved themselves to be. The $2 million production was taped for a TV special to air on PBS this winter, as well as a corresponding CD/DVD release.

The evening underscored the secret to Foster's success: He's a penultimate craftsman, a guy who seldom seems to pay much heed to genre distinctions because the basis for a hit is largely the same in all of them.

He traces the shared genealogy of seemingly disparate forms of music -- say, country and R&B -- by applying the same principles of songwriting to each one: a meticulous production done with the precision of a surgeon wielding a scalpel, an emphasis on melodrama and a love for the kind of soaring voices that aren't satisfied until they're resting on a bed of clouds.

As such, his works have been dismissed as maudlin by some, and Foster is well-aware of this.

"Most people that know me know that I haven't been in an elevator for 30 years," he wrote in the program for the show. "Some people would say that's because I don't want to hear my own music!"

Sure, it's some indulgent stuff at times, but then again, a glass of chardonnay is indulgent compared to a can of Coors Light and Foster's musical decadence is tailored for pop epicureans. It's the audio equivalent of eating prime rib for breakfast.

And there was plenty to feast on during this night.

Backed by a mammoth band that included members of the Las Vegas Symphony, Foster occupied center stage at his piano while a rotating cast of singers joined him to belt out a jukebox worth of songs you know by heart.

They ranged from his first hit (stirring ballad "Wildflower," sung by country singer Blake Shelton) to foot stompin' funk (Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real") to neo-jazz swing (a dapper Michael Buble purring through "Save The Last Dance For Me" like a kitten getting its belly rubbed).

The show was highlighted by a series of dramatic duets, such as former "American Idol" contender Katharine McPhee joining operatic Italian crooner Andrea Bocelli for a heart-in-the-throat version of torch song "The Prayer;" Shelton and Buble trading lines on the wistful "Home" and Groban and McKnight teaming up on Simon and Garfunkel standard "Bridge Over Troubled Waters."

Speaking of which, Groban was the night's main attraction, especially for the many in attendance with silver hair.

When Groban tore into his signature "You Raise Me Up," audience members leapt to their feet like they had just won at bingo.

If Groban is one of Foster's most renowned discoveries, this night truly belonged to a newer one, doe-eyed 16-year-old Filipino belter Charice, whose voice is like a jetliner taking off from her sternum.

She turned in a stunning rendition of Whitney Houston-by-way-of-Dolly Parton hit "I Will Always Love You," singing with such power and poise, it was hard to believe that she wasn't even yet alive when the song originally became a hit on "The Bodyguard" soundtrack in 1992.

"Tonight, a star is born," Foster gushed after her brief set, another grand sentiment from a man defined by them.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.