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Glee’s Amber Riley Covers Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”

Glee's Amber Riley performed a touching tribute to Whitney Houston during this week's episode

By Liz Knelson /

Not planned or reshot, Glee found a way to pay tribute to Whitney Houston

Glee pays tribute to Whitney Houston

Glee has a way of seeming of the moment even though it’s taped weeks and sometimes even months before its airdate. That’s what made it seem all the more strange – and somehow perfect – when Tuesday (Feb. 14) night’s episode featured Mercedes (Amber Riley) singing Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

This just three days after Houston died in her Beverly Hills hotel room and was memorialized at Sunday’s Grammy Awards with the same song sung by Jennifer Hudson.

And, no, “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy didn’t scramble to add the song – it had been part of the episode and a story arc that involved Mercedes trying to sort out her love life. Producers did, however, update the episode with a dedication to Houston at the end of the episode. The title card read simply, “Whitney Houston 1963-2012. We will always love you.”