LL Cool J Recalls His Emotional Grammy Moment
LL Cool J opens up about the emotional struggle he faced after learning that Whitney Houston had died while he was preparing to host this year's Grammy Awards.
ET caught up with the rapper/actor last night along with the executive producer and director of the Grammy Awards who were premiering the new documentary A Death In The Family: The Show Must Go On, which chronicles frantic last-minute changes to the Grammy show following the news of Whitney's death. The premiere took place at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles.
VIDEO: LL Cool J Calls Whitney 'Voice of a Generation'
LL Cool J reveals that it was his idea to start the Grammy Awards show with a prayer in honor of the pop superstar's passing and the producers eventually agreed, although it was a historic moment for a live televised awards show. "I thought I should say a prayer," he said. "Because that's the only way that I, as a human being, am going to feel comfortable being able to move forward and introduce these artists and celebrate their success in music, without feeling guilty."
Grammy Awards Executive Producer Ken Ehrlich said when he heard the news he was literally standing onstage near the spot where Jennifer Hudson had performed three years earlier and he knew she was the right person to do a musical tribute to Whitney. "I thought that we really needed someone who wasn't going to perform. I needed someone who was going to sing a song to Whitney, and that's really what she did."
LL Cool J Opens Grammys with a Prayer for Whitney
Watch the video to also hear LL Cool J expound on Whitney's lasting legacy.