(Reuters) – Whitney Houston will be remembered in a star-studded Grammy televised concert as well the release of a greatest hits album and a television reality series following the singer’s family as they cope with her sudden death.
Celine Dion, Usher and Jennifer Hudson were the first performers to be announced by The Recording Academy on Thursday for “We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute To Whitney Houston” on CBS on November 16.
The one-hour event will be taped in Los Angeles on October 11 and will also feature interviews and footage with the late singer, as well as artists sharing their memories of her.
Houston’s death at age 48 from accidental drowning in a bathtub at a Beverly Hills hotel on the eve of the Grammy awards in February shocked the music world. Authorities deemed her death was also a result of heart disease and cocaine use.
The televised special will coincide with the November 13 release of a compilation album, “I Will Always Love You – The Best of Whitney Houston,” featuring 16 of Houston’s best-known hits and two previously unreleased songs, including a new duet of “I Look To You” with R. Kelly, her RCA record label said.
Lifetime television network will also be airing a new series starting on October 17, “The Houstons: On Our Own.” It documents Houston’s 19-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, sister-in-law and former manager Pat Houston and mother Cissy, as they deal with life after the singer’s death.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy. Editing by Jill Serjeant and Andre Grenon)