LL Cool J prays for Whitney Houston at Grammy Awards

LL Cool J has called for a prayer for Whitney Houston at the 54th Grammy Awards.

After an opening performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, host LL Cool J took the stage, paying tribute to the late singer by reading a prayer.

"Tonight we ask ourselves, how do we speak to this time, to this day?," he said. "There is no way around this, we have had a death in our family."

He then pulled out a written prayer for Houston.

"Heavenly father, we thank you for sharing our sister with us," he read. "Although she is gone too soon, we remain truly blessed to have been touched by her beautiful spirit."

LL Cool J then welcomed the audience to the awards show.

"That said, welcome to the 54th Grammy Awards."

A video commemorating Houston's performance of 'I Will Always Love You' then played on screen.

"Whitney, we will always love you," LL Cool J concluded.

Jennifer Hudson later sung a rendition of 'I Will Always Love You' at Sunday night's (February 12) awards show in memory of the late Houston.

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