Professional opera singer and vocal coach Elizabeth Zharoff, who also hosts the YouTube channel, The Charismatic Voice, continues to explore the world of rock and metal. Join her as she listens to and gives a vocal analysis of the Toto classic, "Africa", performed live in Amsterdam.
Elizabeth: "Yes, I am familiar with Toto's 'Africa', but I've never heard the song in a great pair of headphones, and done a deep dive analysis. That changes today. I decided to use this live performance Live in Amsterdam to see just how amped the crowd gets on this song. It was totally worth it!"
Elizabeth has previously shared vocal analyses of Metallica, Dream Theater, Rush, Heart, Tenacious D, Sabaton, Motörhead, Ayreon, Faith No More, Black Sabbath, Arch Enemy, Epica, Deep Purple, Myles Kennedy, Scorpions, Heart, Blind Guardian, Devin Townsend, AC/DC, Triumph, Whitesnake, Queen, KISS, Guns N' Roses, Opeth, ZZ Top, The Cult and Powerwolf.
Toto - aka The Dogz Of Oz - recently presented the band’s planned itinerary for February, 2025. Toto will stage four appearances in the United Kingdom, alongside performing in an additional ten counties across Europe. Tickets for the majority of the appearances will be available via a general on-sale this Friday, here. The band’s performance on February 8 at Amsterdam’s Arnhem - Gelredome will have a general on-sale on September 20.
Joining Steve Lukather (guitar/vocals) and Joseph Williams (vocals) are Greg Phillinganes (keyboards / vocals), Shannon Forrest (drums), John Pierce (bass), Warren Ham (horns / percussion / vocals), and Dennis Atlas (keyboards / vocals).
Toto could not be more proud to share the milestone accomplishment that “Africa” has been certified Diamond for sales of ten million copies by the RIAA in The United States. Current cumulative sales for the song now exceed 10.5M. Additionally, “Hold The Line” has been certified triple platinum for sales of three million copies. Current sales exceed 3.5M. Lastly, “Rosanna” has been certified double platinum with sales of two million copies. Cumulative album sales now exceed 50 million.
In the world of streaming, the band’s repertoire is played more than three million times daily on Spotify alone by an audience that continues to get younger month to month. Over the course of July, 52% of all streams were from those 34 years or younger. There is a level of discovery on a global basis that continues to significantly grow year after year. Cumulative streaming at Spotify now exceeds 4 billion plays, with cumulative plays across all platforms approaching 6 billion plays.
The band has unequivocally had a major renaissance in popularity like few artists at this point in their career. The Dogz of Oz continue to broaden their geographical activity, with plans this November to return to Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Puerto Rico and a very special appearance in Mexico City as one of the headliners of Corona Capital. That plan will continue well in to the future with on-going activity across the globe.
Individually and collectively, the band’s family tree can be heard on an astonishing 5000 albums that together amass a sales history of a half a billion albums. Amongst these recordings, NARAS applauded the performances with hundreds of Grammy nominations. They are pop culture, and are one of the few 70’s bands that have endured the changing trends and styles while continuing to remain relevant.
Special guest Christopher Cross and the members of Toto have been friends and collaborators for more than four decades. On September 1, they appeared with one another in front of a capacity crowd at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl.
Christopher Cross burst onto the music scene with his 1980 self-titled debut album winning five Grammy Awards, including – for the first time in Grammy history – the “Big Four” most prestigious awards: Record Of The Year (for the single “Sailing”), Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year (“Sailing”), and Best New Artist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Cross has sold more than 12 million albums. His music has garnered five Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, an Emmy nomination and five Top 10 singles.
Tour dates:
February
1 - Glasgow, UK - Glasgow OVO Hydro
2 - Birmingham, UK - BP Pulse LIVE (Formerly RWA)
4 - Manchester, UK - Manchester AO Arena
5 - London, UK - OVO Arena Wembley
7 - Brussels, Belgium - Forest National
8 - Arnhem, Netherlands - Arnhem - GelreDome
10 - Esch Alzette, Luxembourg - Rockhal
11 - Lille, France - Zénith - Lille
12 - Paris, France - Zénith Paris - La Villette
14 - Lyon-Décines, France - LDLC Arena
15 - Geneva, Switzerland - Geneva Arena
16 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
18 - Stuttgart, Germany - Porsche Arena
19 - Dusseldorf, Germany - Mitsubishi Electric Halle
21 - Horsens, Denmark - Forum Horsens
22 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena
25 - Oslo, Norway - Oslo Spektrum
26 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Scandinavium
28 - Helsinki, Finland - Espoo Metro Arena
March
2 - Tampere, Finland - Nokia Arena
