LOS ANGELES, Feb 12, 2012 — The Grammy awards show opened Sunday with a prayer for legendary US singer Whitney Houston, with host LL Cool J proclaiming: “We’ve had a death in our family.”

The 48-year-old Houston’s death on Saturday in a Beverly Hills hotel cast a cloud over the three-hour star-studded evening, which was to include a tribute sung by US singer Jennifer Hudson.

“There is no way around this. We’ve had a death in our family,” said the rapper, adding: “The only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman who we loved — for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston.”

The audience, with stars including Paul McCartney in the front row, then watched a clip of Houston singing one of her greatest hits, “I Will Always Love You,” and gave her a standing ovation.

“Whitney, we will always love you,” said LL Cool J. “This night is about something truly universal and healing; this night is about music.”

Houston, a superstar in the 1980s and 1990s whose career went off the rails as she battled drug and alcohol abuse, was found dead in her hotel room Saturday, shortly before a pre-Grammys gala evening.