The February 14 outing has long been planned to feature Amber Riley performing 'I Will Always Love You', and now producers mull over whether to make the episode an official tribute to the late singer.
- Feb 13, 2012
AceShowbiz - "Glee" producers may re-edit the upcoming Valentine's Day episode of the show in the wake of Whitney Houston's sudden passing. The February 14 outing has already been set to feature a cover of "I Will Always Love You" performed by Amber Riley's Mercedes before the "Saving All My Love for You" hitmaker was pronounced dead on Saturday, and now the producers are considering to add a tribute to the late singer.
While no final decision has yet to be made, The Hollywood Reporter said that a title card acknowledging Houston's death might be added to make the episode an official tribute to the Grammy Award-winning singer.
"Obviously we could not predict the unfortunately circumstances that happened this weekend but at the same time instead of focusing on the dark stuff, it's nice to have an opportunity to hear her in this way and celebrate the magic that Whitney brought to this industry," said "Glee" music supervisor P.J. Bloom on the coincidence. "I hope where ever Whitney is she's excited to see it happen."
On whether the musical show will do a Houston-themed episode, Bloom said, "We'll see. As soon as the news hit, I texted Ryan and said, 'We should do something'." He added, "Whether he chooses to want to take that celebration past our show Tuesday when we do 'I Will Always Love You,' I couldn't say. If we don't celebrate her in one complete episode, I'm sure we'll continue to acknowledge her music in the show."
While "Glee" will be among the first to inadvertently honor the late songstress, some networks have planned special programs to look back to her works. Lifetime will air her 1992 film "The Bodyguard" on Monday, February 13 at 8 P.M., while Showtime's FLIX channel is set to air "The Preacher's Wife" at the same time.
Several music channels such as MTV Hits, MTV Jams and VH1 Soul have aired non-stop Houston's videos on Sunday, while VH1 will present a special celebrating Houston's legacy on Thursday, February 16. Also on the same day at 9 P.M., OWN will air "Remembering Whitney: The Oprah Interview" which will feature the late pop icon's last in-depth TV interview from "The Oprah Winfrey Show".
In contrary, E! has pulled a rebroadcast of "Fashion Police" that bashed Houston's wardrobe from the schedule. Set to air on Sunday at 8:30 P.M., the encore has been replaced by a rerun of "Khloe & Lamar".
"Glee" cover of "I Will Always Love You" (audio)
