Jennifer Hudson Celebrates Whitney Houston With Love

Whitney Houston was celebrated and remembered by family, friends, and fans at The Whitney E. Houston Legacy of Love Gala, which marked the 40th Anniversary (February 14, 1985 – February 14, 2025) of her historic career in music and entertainment on Saturday, August 9th, 2025, on what would have been her 62nd birthday, at the St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hosted by Kevin Frazier, co-host of Entertainment Tonight and Pat Houston, president of The Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation and the executor of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, the four-hour gala celebration included a silent auction, video tributes, musical performances, a presentation of the grant award recipient and college scholarship presentations.

After the hour-long silent auction which featured 33 items including music box sets and collections, entertainment and concert events, lifestyle items and sporting memorabilia including Dolly Parton’s personalized autographed sheet music for “I Will Always Love You,” Whitney Houston’s 40th Anniversary Trunk, Julius “Dr. J” Erving signed basketball, Shaquille O’Neal autographed basketball and Jersey, Mike Tyson’s autographed boxing gloves, Scarlett Johansson’s croc-embossed luxury brand Aspinal London designer handbag.

Concert packages included Bob Marley Hope Road at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, The Queens Tour with Chaka Khan, Patti Labelle, and Stephanie Mills; Barry Manilow In Concert in Las Vegas, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Super Concert Package with twenty (20 tickets).

“The Whitney Houston Legacy of Love Gala was epic,” says Pat Houston. “I know that Whitney would have been pleased with the year-long celebration thus far. Whitney was the best and she deserved the best. There are millions of supporters and fans who celebrate her everyday worldwide and we do not take that for granted. We plan to continue to honor her legacy and support the various platforms that were close and dear to her heart: music, children, young adults, and the global community.”

“We would like to give a special thank you to Jennifer Hudson for giving her love, time, and passion in honor of Whitney and her legacy,” Pat Houston concludes. “We are very grateful to all the talent that was part of this celebration. It was an incredible evening.”

In addition to the in-house gala auction, Julien’s Auctions, now partners with The Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation and previewed the auction highlights at the gala. The exhibition featured a curated selection of rare and iconic memorabilia that encapsulate Whitney’s enduring artistry. From Grammy Award-winning gowns to significant pieces marking pivotal moments in music history, each item on display reflected the elegance and legacy of Whitney herself. Among the highlights were a stunning, sequin-embellished Casino Jacket designed by Bob Mackie; the personalized, stage-worn Marc Bouwer velour set from “Welcome Home Heroes” concert; a bead and crystal-embellished black catsuit, also designed by Marc Bouwer; and the elegant dress Whitney wore during her appearance on “Dancing with the Star.” These extraordinary items, along with several multi-platinum sales awards and exquisite jewels from her personal collection, rounded out a truly exceptional and memorable display at the gala.

Guests at the Legacy of Love Gala enjoyed an exclusive opportunity to view these remarkable items and place early bids, ahead of the auction’s official opening at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET. All proceeds from the auction will benefit The Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting scholarships, arts education, supportive services, and youth empowerment programs—particularly for underserved and underrepresented communities. By channeling Houston’s enduring legacy into meaningful action, the gala and auction will help inspired and empower the next generation of leaders, artists, and change-makers.

“It’s an incredible honor for Julien’s Auctions to play a part in preserving and celebrating the legacy of Whitney Houston—one of the greatest voices of all time, says Kody Frederick, Director, Head of Marketing at Julien’s Auctions. “The Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation’s work is deeply meaningful, and through this auction, we’re not only sharing iconic moments from Whitney’s life and career with the world but also helping support the next generation of talent and opportunity. We’re proud to stand alongside the Foundation to continue the memory and message of Whitney.”

During dinner, guests viewed a series of heartfelt video tributes by Clive Davis, this year’s honorary chairperson and chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment; along with Whoopi Goldberg, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, and Kevin Frazier, and music and entertainment executives Harvey Mason, jr, CEO of The Recording Academy and MusiCares; LA Reid, founder and co-chair of Hitco Entertainment; Larry Jackson, co-founder and CEO of gamma LLC; Debra Martin Chase, television, film and Broadway producer; and singer-songwriter Gordon Chambers.

The show opened with a throwback performance by R&B music legend Meli’sa Morgan, who performed two songs, which included Whitney Houston’s 1985 R&B classic, “Thinking About You,” created by the late producer Kashif and written by LaForrest “La La” Cope and Kashif, which Morgan sang background vocals on from Houston’s self-titled debut album that went on to achieve “Diamond Status” by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the album is now more than 14x platinum and counting. Morgan also performed her classic hit, “Fool’s Paradise,” released in 1986 around the same time as Whitney’s debut project.
As the big moment of the evening arrived, Hudson was introduced and everyone was looking for her to walk onto the stage and she entered the ballroom from the back of the house.

The 300-plus guests erupted to applause and nearly everyone stood up and pulled out their mobile device and started filming her performance. Hudson sang a five-song medley including “I’m Every Woman,” “How Will I Know,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), “Saving All My Love,” and then she moved into her Oscar winning performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”

Whitney’s brother, Gary Houston led the finale song, “Where You Are,” from Whitney’s sophomore album, Whitney (1987). The performance included family, friends and artists.