Jennifer Hudson honored legendary singer and actress Whitney Houston at Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party at the Beverly Hilton hotel. She performed Houston’s hit song Greatest Love of All at the hotel’s ballroom.
The event was organized on Saturday night, just a week before the singer’s 11th death anniversary. Actor Kevin Costner also paid tribute to her with an emotional speech. Houston died of an overdose at the Beverly Hilton hotel in 2012.
Jennifer Hudson Pays Tribute to Whitney Houston at Pre-Grammy Party
Hudson was applauded for her rendition of Houston’s 1985 hit Greatest Love of All. The full performance has now made it to social media. The night was hosted by record producer Clive Davis with the Recording Academy. Additionally, Kevin Costner took the stage to honor his The Bodyguard co-star.
“We were both (him and Davis) struck by Whitney the first time we first met her. Whitney would be our common ground, and from that moment we all worked as one collective… so powerful that for one moment in time the entire world seemed focused on this one country song,” Costner said.
“Whitney had become the most celebrated singer of her generation, but she was an untrained actress and it was unclear if this was something she should aspire to or even something that was good for her career. All three of us would take a huge leap,” the 68 year old actor added. The event also saw performances by Lizzo, Lil Wayne, and Latto.
Houston Died at The Beverly Hilton in 2012
The singer was at the hotel to rehearse for her performance at Davis’s pre-Grammy Awards party at the hotel in 2012. On February 11, she was found submerged in her bathtub. She was declared dead a few minutes later, with the cause of death being revealed as ‘effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.’
Costner also addressed the sentimental issue in his speech and said, “Maybe this isn’t the room for it, but I don’t want to miss the moment. And it’s, uh, from the heart. Neither one of us, in the end, could protect your beloved Whitney. But your fingerprints on her life are clean, my friend.”
“You were a miracle in her life. Thank you for being her bodyguard, Clive…. Everyone in this business has a mom, but not everyone has a Clive,” he continued. Davis, 90, also responded by saying, “That was just a ‘wow’ from me, Kevin. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Costner further talked about his experience of working with Whitney in The Bodyguard, on which he also served as a producer. “I needed to make the movie I was imagining. Whitney saw it as a chance to reinvent herself.”
“But for Clive it was a career move that had ‘recipe for disaster’ written all over it. I needed Clive. I needed his trust and his blessing and I needed the one thing that he wasn’t used to giving up: control,” he concluded.
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