Attendees at the 2012 Grammys honored Whitney Houston this evening through prayer, song and words of tribute. Whitney Houston’s death was fresh on the minds of music makers around the world and some of the brightest and biggest stars paid their respects to her during the 3-1/2 hour live telecast that aired tonight on CBS.
LL Cool J opened the 2012 Grammy Awards by paying tribute to Whitney and offering up a prayer for her family during their hour of need. The emcee said this evening…
Tonight we ask ourselves how do we speak to this time, to this day? There is no way around this. We had a death in our family and so at least for me, for me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman we loved, for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for sharing our sister Whitney with us. Today our thoughts are with her mother, her daughter and all of her loved ones. Although she is gone too soon, we remain truly blessed to have been touched by her beautiful spirit and to have her lasting legacy of music to cherish and share forever. Amen.
A video of Whitney singing her signature song, “I Will Always Love You” played on a big screen immediately following the opening prayer. The crowd of movers and shakers rose to their feet for the night's first standing ovation. When six-time nominated Bruno Mars took the stage to perform, he opened with, “Let’s celebrate Whitney Houston.” Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keyes performed “Sunday Kind of Love” and dedicated it to the deceased Etta James and Whitney Houston. Legend and 22-time Grammy winner Stevie Wonder said, “I just want to say to Whitney up in heaven, we all love you Whitney Houston."
The most touching and emotional tribute to Whitney Houston came right after the annual “In Memoriam” segment. Because her death was so recent, Houston's face was the last one to be displayed on the screen. Jennifer Hudson quietly stepped onto the stage and began singing “I Will Always Love You.” She sang with no musical accompaniment and the TV moment was one of the most powerful in the history of the Grammy Awards. Hudson has stated in the past that Whitney Houston is her idol, so she wanted to make her tribute perfect. A single piano began playing halfway through the song and Hudson brilliantly hit the high notes, despite being visibly distraught at her overwhelming task. When it came time to sing the words, “So goodbye, please don’t cry,” Hudson chocked up, but managed to finish the song. Her performance was followed by a lasting and emotional standing ovation.
At her peak, Whitney Houston was the golden girl of Hollywood and the recording industry. Her voice was close to musical perfection and it entranced millions of fans worldwide. To this day, Houston is the most awarded female act of all time and her list of achievements include 6 Grammy Awards, 2 Emmy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards. She was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide.
There is no doubt that Whitney Houston’s influence on music will last for generations to come. Although absent tonight, she certainly left her mark on the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.
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