Grammy Awards 2012: Jennifer Hudson Leads Tributes To 'Sister' Whitney Houston (VIDEO)

Jennifer's Emotional 'Whitney' Tribute (WATCH)

The main Grammys ceremony, which opened at LA's Staples Centre last night, was transformed into an emotion-fuelled memorial to soul diva Whitney Houston, whose body was found dead only 24 hours before.

The night opened with a prayer and standing ovation to the singer, who herself won a clutch of six prestigious Recording Academy gongs over a turbulent career marred by spells of drug addiction.

Host LL Cool J said: "There is no way around this. We've had a death in our family so at least for me, the only thing that seems right is to start with a prayer for our fallen sister Whitney Houston."

He declared the night one to "celebrate and remember," and played a clip of Houston performing I Will Always Love You from the 1994 Grammys.

Later in the show, actress and singer Jennifer Hudson performed an emotional tribute to Houston singing a rendition of the late star's biggest hit.

Tributes were also paid by the parents of Amy Winehouse, who were called on stage during the ceremony to accept a posthumous award for the late British singer, who died following a lengthy battle with drink and drugs last year at the age of 27.

Referencing the recently deceased Etta James, Mitch Winehouse said: "Long live Whitney Houston, long live Amy Winehouse, Long live Etta James. There's a beautiful girl band up in heaven."

SLIDESHOW: Some of the best bits of the 2012 Grammys in photos:

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