NEW YORK, NY (NBA) - Worldwide superstar
Andrea Bocelli will highlight NBA Cares, the league's global community outreach initiative, before a worldwide audience with his special performance of "Because We Believe," from his new CD, Amore, during NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by AOL at the Toyota Center in
Houston on Feb. 18 (8:00 p.m. ET, TNT).
Prior to Bocelli taking the stage, two 2006 NBA All-Star players will introduce the world-renown singer. NBA Cares-themed video and imagery featuring NBA players working in communities around the world will be thread into the international superstar's performance.
Bocelli's latest album Amore produced by David Foster and Humberto Gatica, and co-produced by Tony Renis, was released in the United States on Jan. 31, 2006. The CD has resulted in Bocelli's highest chart debut ever, garnering the number three position on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart, and the number one position on the Classical Crossover Chart. The collection boasts an extraordinary lineup of international love songs and pop standards performed in French, Italian, Spanish and English, with guest artists Christina Aguilera, Stevie Wonder and Kenny G.
NBA All-Star 2006 brings together the top NBA players and performers for a week of competition, community service and world-class entertainment. The NBA All Star Saturday Night festivities are among the many events that reach a global audience in 215 countries during the celebration that will take place in Houston.
The NBA All-Star Saturday Night events include the RadioShack Shooting Stars, the PlayStation Skills Challenge, the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout and the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competition. The NBA Cares Caravan will roll into the city of Houston with a lengthy schedule of events beginning on Feb. 13 and culminating with the 55th NBA All-Star Game, which features the top players from the Eastern and Western conferences going head-to-head.
During NBA All-Star 2006, the NBA Cares Caravan will feature a full schedule of events beginning on Feb. 13, 2006, including Reading Rallies, fitness clinics, hospital visits, the unveiling of one of the first 100 Learn & Play Centers and a newly refurbished basketball court. Additionally, the NBA, NBPA and Turner Sports will team up with Habitat for Humanity and build two homes for families in need. One of those homes will go to a family in Houston and the other will be delivered to the Gulf Coast Region.
NBA Cares is the league's global community outreach initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues. Over the next five years, the league, players and teams will raise and contribute $100 million for charity, donate more than one million hours of hands-on volunteer service to communities around the world, and build more than 100 places where kids can learn and play. NBA Cares will work with internationally-recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes including: UNICEF; Reading Is Fundamental; Boys and Girls Clubs of America; Charities
