Whitney on the mind as stars pour out tributes
Source: Agencies |
February 14, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH an opening prayer and a moving tribute from Jennifer Hudson, the Grammy Awards played the part of impromptu memorial for Whitney Houston just a day after the six-time Grammy winner was found dead in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel room.
"We've had a death in our family," said host LL Cool J shortly after Bruce Springsteen opened the show by singing, with obvious poignancy, his new single, "We Take Care of Our Own."
Cool J led the crowd in a prayer for music's "fallen sister," as the Staples Center crowd in Los Angeles bowed their heads. He declared the night one to "celebrate and remember," and played a clip of Houston performing "I Will Always Love You" from the 1994 Grammys.
Much later in the show, following the "in memoriam" segment, Hudson, the actress and former "American Idol" finalist, performed a tribute to the 48-year-old Houston by singing her hit ballad "I Will Always Love You." It was a tender, simple performance that encapsulated the glamour and vocal power Houston embodied. She sang the last words of the song as: "Whitney, we love you."
Bathed in a solemn spotlight, Hudson performed in a black gown, accompanied only by piano. She received a standing ovation while portraits of music luminaries who died in the past year were lit above her.
That Houston's death came so soon before the CBS broadcast meant "a full-blown tribute" wasn't possible, said Grammy show producer Ken Ehrlich. He turned to Hudson on Saturday evening to hurriedly assemble a performance that Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, said was pulled together in hours of frantic phone calls.
But the Grammys didn't just honor Houston. It also took time to pay tribute to soul and blues icon Etta James, singer Amy Winehouse, rap godfather Gil Scott-Heron and "Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius.
"We've had a death in our family," said host LL Cool J shortly after Bruce Springsteen opened the show by singing, with obvious poignancy, his new single, "We Take Care of Our Own."
Cool J led the crowd in a prayer for music's "fallen sister," as the Staples Center crowd in Los Angeles bowed their heads. He declared the night one to "celebrate and remember," and played a clip of Houston performing "I Will Always Love You" from the 1994 Grammys.
Much later in the show, following the "in memoriam" segment, Hudson, the actress and former "American Idol" finalist, performed a tribute to the 48-year-old Houston by singing her hit ballad "I Will Always Love You." It was a tender, simple performance that encapsulated the glamour and vocal power Houston embodied. She sang the last words of the song as: "Whitney, we love you."
Bathed in a solemn spotlight, Hudson performed in a black gown, accompanied only by piano. She received a standing ovation while portraits of music luminaries who died in the past year were lit above her.
That Houston's death came so soon before the CBS broadcast meant "a full-blown tribute" wasn't possible, said Grammy show producer Ken Ehrlich. He turned to Hudson on Saturday evening to hurriedly assemble a performance that Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, said was pulled together in hours of frantic phone calls.
But the Grammys didn't just honor Houston. It also took time to pay tribute to soul and blues icon Etta James, singer Amy Winehouse, rap godfather Gil Scott-Heron and "Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius.
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