Vanessa Williams performs in Sarasota

She's been nominated for multiple Emmys and Grammy awards. She's sold more than 25 million albums and she wrote an autobiography that made the New York Times best-seller list. She's acted in hit movie and TV shows and in acclaimed Broadway dramas.

She's also stunningly beautiful, and she always looks perfect on screen and in photographs.

So it's kind of surprising when Vanessa Williams explains why she had to postpone a phone interview.

"I had a pipe burst," she said. "I'm waiting for the plumber. My yard is full of sewage."

Even the most famous former Miss America of all time has to deal with mundane, yucky problems, just like us mere mortals.

The plumbing problems at her suburban New York home will no doubt be long solved when Williams comes to town for a Friday night concert at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota.

People may not know what to expect from Williams, because her career has been so varied.

"They're going to be able to hear the hits," she said. "I do my hits, I do a little bit of Broadway, I do songs that are special to me."

She's an artist who's difficult to define stylistically. She's recorded popular Christmas albums, an album of love songs from the '70s, dance hits and adult contemporary hits. Her latest album is a chart-topping jazz record, and she sang the familiar version of "Colors of the Wind," the Oscar-winning song from the film "Pocahontas."

She also has a slew of Broadway credits, from "Kiss of the Spider Woman" to her Tony-nominated role in "Into the Woods."

It seems diverse, but Williams sees all her works as connected.

"I like good songs," she said. "Good songs with strong melodies and good lyrics will always hold up. They're timeless."

She performs with a five-piece band and to backup singers. Almost all the members have been working with Williams since 1997.

Williams first came to national attention with her Miss America win more than 30 years ago and hasn't left it since.

So her concert audience covers a wide demographic, from youngsters on up. Some know her from movie and TV roles and they're surprised to find that she's the voice behind all those hits.

"A lot of people know me from 'Ugly Betty' or 'Desperate Housewives,' " she said. "Kids don't even know I'm a recording artist."

Details: 8 p.m. Jan. 2, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $35--$90. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

This story was originally published January 1, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Vanessa Williams performs in Sarasota ."