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SALT LAKE CITY -- A surprise at Sunday night's Grammy Awards when the event began with a prayer for singer Whitney Houston, who died the day before.
US Magazine reports the show's host, rapper LL Cool J, told the crowd, "There's no way around it. We've had a death in our family."
"For me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman who we love, for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston," he said.
Related:
Cause of Whitney Houston's death could take weeks
Whitney Houston's life of glorious song and unnerving self-destruction ended in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Grammy weekend, but it could be weeks before investigators know exactly why she died.Many in the audience bowed their heads as he began, "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."
The Hollywood Reporter says the prayer "wasn't scripted -- but it wasn't entirely spontaneous either."
After the show, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said the rapper told the show's organizers, "What I would do if it was in my house would be, I'd say a prayer."
Read more on the story in the Deseret News.
