The Untold Truth Of David Foster

David Foster is one of the most successful music producers to ever tinkle with a tune. The New York Times calls him "the godfather of schmaltz," while Vanity Fair notes that he's "nothing less than a music-industry institution." As for Variety, they point out that Foster "is the kind of one-man blockbuster machine who gets a ton of respect from the corporate music establishment." Indeed, if you've ever listened to Céline Dion's "The Power of Love," Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart," or Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," then you've heard a song that Foster had a hand in, per the NYT.

"A lifelong passion began for me as a child sitting at the piano. Never could I have imagined that a kid's passion of playing melodies at the piano, would lead me to where I am today," Foster explained on his website. He added that when he "[creates] ... melodies," that's him in his "truest form."

However, there's more to Foster than just the music. He also happens to be a former reality TV star (yes, that was him on that Bravo hit) and is someone who has a complicated personal life (to put it mildly). Although Foster is among the most notable figures in the entertainment industry, we can guarantee that the following facts about the star will shock and intrigue you.

David Foster has teamed up with plenty of impressive A-list stars over the years, such as Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Seal, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, 'N Sync, and many more. However, when he worked with Chuck Berry, Neil Young, and Céline Dion, things didn't go so smoothly.

Frankly, Foster bluntly said Berry was "just an a**hole" in the David Foster: Off the Record documentary, according to Rolling Stone. Foster noted that "there's no other way of putting it." When the younger musician was hired along with his band to back up Berry during a gig in the mid-'60s, the now-producer says that "it was just not a good fit."

The same could probably be said of Foster's working relationship with Neil Young. While American celebrities were inspiring music-lovers with "We are the World" in 1985, Foster was overseeing a similar project with popular Canadian musicians titled "Tears are Not Enough." Along with Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and Bryan Adams, the "Heart of Gold" singer was lending his signature sound to the song. However, Foster felt the need to tell Young that he was "a little flat." Young smirked and shot back by telling Foster, "That's my sound, man." 

While Young didn't seem to take the situation too seriously, Dion was apparently totally riled by Foster's less-than-pleasant producing style during their "All By Myself" collab years later that by the end, he claimed that she "really hated" him.

"I believe that everyone gets three rounds in their life," David Foster once explained (via his website bio), and he wasn't talking about dodging punches in a boxing ring. Instead, he was referring to professional pursuits. He noted that when it comes to your focus, "you have to change it up every round" and "attack in another direction."

Foster also claims he's "completed" two rounds and is on his third. The first included the years he spent establishing himself as a studio musician and song arranger, as well as a recording artist. His second round was when he "[became] one of the most successful songwriters and record producers in history — shepherding albums that have collectively sold in the hundreds of millions." At the same time, he was "becoming a household name ... throughout Asia where he tours annually," and was "creating The David Foster Foundation and volunteering his time and talent to over 400 charities."

Round three is when Foster will "take on Broadway" with multiple projects, including a musical about Betty Boop that's been in the works for years. In November 2019, he released a song from the show, "Something to Shout About," which was tackled by his wife, former Americal Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee. We have to assume she's singing as the iconic animated character when she belts out, "I want something to make me someone I never was," which this show would certainly do for Boop.

David Foster has five daughters: Erin, Amy, Sara, Jordan, and Allison, according to People. Then there are his (former) step-children, Brody and Brandon Jenner, as well as Gigi, Bella, and Anwar Hadid. With so many kids, you might think that David has a lot of experience with being a stellar dad, however, according to his Off the Record documentary (via Rolling Stone), he's admitted that his children have "scar tissue." His kids probably wouldn't disagree with that. Frankly, Amy addressed the issue, saying, "I have 10 siblings and I'm an only child. That's really f**ked up" (we count nine, but maybe we're missing one ... there are a lot, after all).

Sara Foster also opened up about her relationship with her father in 2019, explaining to Oliver and Kate Hudson on their Sibling Revelry podcast that she dealt with "emotional turmoil" that "kept [her] up at night" as a kid because "[her] dad was raising other children." She clarified, "He wasn't raising us. He was raising Brandon and Brody." He happened to be raising the boys with all of the luxuries that came along with his wealth — however, Erin noted that both she and her sister were "not really a part of that world."

These days, David is trying to make up for lost time with Sara and Erin by spending family Sundays together. "I missed a lot," he admitted to People in 2020. "That was my own doing and a regret that I have."

On top of having 16 Grammy Awards (with a total of 45 nominations!), as of this writing, not to mention two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award, according to David Foster's website, he also has a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in the United States, and has been inducted into the U.S. Songwriters Hall Of Fame, per his biography. And that's just in America!

The star has also racked up plenty of honors in his home country, including being added to the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2002, The Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. Want to keep going? That's easy to do because, beyond that, he was given an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Victoria during the mid-'90s and was awarded the Order of Canada (giving him the official post-nominal letters OC) in 1988, before receiving the Order of British Columbia (which added OBC) in 1995. These are among the highest honors up in the Great White North.

While not everyone sees the value of such accolades, Foster appreciates them, opening up on his website bio about his star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. "One hundred years from now, my great-grandchildren will go, 'Hey, there's my great-grandpa,'" he explained. "And having a star next to The Beatles ... outside the building where I first got signed ... that's perfect." That's very cool, indeed.

When David Foster split from his fourth wife, Yolanda Hadid, the former couple sold their Malibu, Calif. Mediterranean-inspired mansion in November 2015 for a whopping $19 million. Reality TV viewers who watched the duo on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills may recognize the sprawling residence, which was also the home of Gigi, Bella, and Anwar Hadid when they were living with their mother and step-father.

"The three-story ... home sits on just over three acres of land and includes marvelous views of the Santa Monica Mountains and Pacific Ocean," according to Architectural Digest. With 11,620 square feet inside of the impressive abode, it features six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. There's also a "floor-to-ceiling glass refrigerator" that's famous with RHOBH fans, as well as "a screening room, a recording studio, a game room, a wet bar, and an exercise suite with a lounge, sauna, and massage room," not to mention "an infinity pool and a built-in fire pit."

These days, Foster lives with wife number five, Katharine McPhee, who was aiming to rent out her Toluca Lake, Los Angeles home in 2018 for just under $7,000 a month, per Page Six. While she snatched the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home for herself in 2015 for $1.4 million, she tried to sell it in 2017 for $1.549 million, which is obviously a mere fraction of the price that Foster asked for his own former home.