'That's what friends are for.”

It's a song that Dionne Warwick had a hit with alongside fellow musicians Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder in 1985 to raise money for an AIDS charity.

She was also quoted as saying this when asked to step in to cover for friend and mentor Burt Bacharach when he was unable to perform with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2007.

One of the most charted female vocalists of all time, Dionne will be performing at ASB Baypark Arena in Tauranga on Sunday, November 11.

Her career has spanned more than 50 years, and during that time she has earned 75 charted hit songs, sold more than 100 million records and received five Grammy awards.

She had her first hit in 1962 with Don't Make Me Over, and went on to enjoy success with Walk On By, I Say a Little Prayer, Do You Know the Way to San Jose? and I'll Never Fall in Love Again.

Dionne began singing gospel as a child in Newark, New Jersey and was a member of her family gospel group, the Drinkard Singers.

She is aunt to the late Whitney Houston, who died in 2012, mother to singer-songwriter David Elliott and music producer Damon Elliott, and grandmother to up-and-coming singer Cheyenne Elliott.

She appeared on New Zealand television screens in the 1980s as presenter of the weekly one-hour show Solid Gold, where she also performed duets with some of her co-hosts and sung the Solid Gold theme song.

New Zealand audiences saw her again in 1995 at the Mission Vineyard concert, and in 2006 she performed I Say a Little Prayer with Kiwi Lucy Lawless in the hit American TV show Celebrity Duets.

Dionne's last performance in New Zealand was with the NZSO in 2007. To catch her soulful blend of pop, gospel and R&B music on November 11, grab your tickets at: www.ticketek.co.nz