It was a fitting celebration of the life of Whitney Houston last night in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theater.
The taped-for-TV tribute We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston featured live performances from many, like Jennifer Hudson who opened the show with a medley of “I’m Every Woman,” “How Will I Know,” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Usher, who sang “I Believe In You and Me,” and CeCe Winans and Yolanda Adams, who closed the show with a moving rendition of “Count on Me” from the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack.
Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina and her fiancé Nick Gordon looked on from the audience to watch the tribute in honor of their mother.
The tribute also featured many throwback clips and rare footage of Houston, like her debut television performance on the Merv Griffin Show in 1983. Clive Davis, Taraji P. Henson, and LL Cool J were also present to give spoken tributes to the fallen icon, who died in February this year of an accidental drowning.
Britney Spears and Halle Berry made appearances to speak on how Houston affected their lives. Spears mentioned how it was Houston’s I Have Nothing which she covered that granted her a record deal. Berry said “She inspired a generation of little girls and women to believe in their own dreams and to know that they had within themselves the greatest gift of all,” the actress said. “I was one of those little girls who then became a woman who never ever, ever, stopped loving Whitney Houston.”
We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston will air on Nov. 16 at 10 PM on CBS. Check out event photos below.
