Jennifer Hudson has led the celebrity tributes following the tragic death of music legend Whitney Houston.

The singer belted out a poised, powerful and heart-wrenching rendition of Houston's hit I Will Always Love You at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards before breaking into tears.

The former American idol contestant was unable to hold back her emotions as she sang on the stage, where Houston had performed on many times before. The tribute came only hours after the embattled star was found dead in a bathtub at Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Grammy host and rapper LL Cool J also offered a heartfelt prayer at the outset of the award ceremony, held at the Los Angeles's Staples Center, and the late R&B superstar was also saluted by Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Stevie Wonder.

During her career, Houston sold more than 170 million albums and won countless awards, including Emmys, Grammys and Billboard music awards.

Jennifer Hudson was not the first singer to honour the memory of a fallen star in song.

IBTimes UK has a look at a few of the best celebrity musical tributes and the celebrities that they honoured.

1.Chris Brown Live Bet Awards 2010 Michael Jackson Tribute

2. Beyoncé tribute To Etta James

3. Paul McCartney tribute to John Lennon

4.Puff Daddy/Faith Evans/112 tribute to Notorious B.I.G.

5. Queen, Elton John and Axl Rose tribute to Freddie Mercury