DAVID FOSTER: PERSON OF THE YEAR.

He has worked with legendary figures and has always moved with the times. David Balfour looks at Foster's impressive track record

WHEN DAVID Foster receives the prestigious Nesuhi Ertegun Person of the Year trophy at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes on Tuesday, January 23, he will be honoured not only as the executive who founded 143 Records and helped to break the world-beating Corrs, but also as a producer, musician, songwriter and arranger of legendary stature.

The impact that Foster has had in shaping the world of pop music is simply enormous. Those unfamiliar with his track record need only to look at the list of artists he has worked with to understand where he fits in.

As a session musician he has played with such musical titans as John Lennon, Diana Ross, George Harrison and Rod Stewart. He has won 14 Grammy Awards for his production skills, being named Producer Of The Year no less than three times.

A true chameleon, he has always moved with the times and embraced new musical movements. His trademark sweeping power-ballad production has helped artists such as Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and Toni Braxton to worldwide success with tracks including I Will Always Love You, Falling Into You and Unbreak My Heart respectively, and his recent and ongoing production credits include 'N Sync, Dru Hill, Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson.

Apart from being a ...