Jennifer Hudson pays tribute to Mariah Carey at TheGrio Awards
At the second annual TheGrio Awards, which aired on Saturday (Nov. 25), Mariah Carey was honored with the Music Icon Award. A stellar cast of singers paid tribute to the queen, including Jennifer Hudson, Coco Jones, Boyz II Men, and Mariah’s godmother, Patti LaBelle.
On the heels of appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show last week, Mariah was honored by the American Idol season 3 alum with a churchy cover of Mariah’s hit “Vision of Love.”
Introduced as an “Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner” and “in fact, the youngest female EGOT winner in history.” Jennifer took the stage saying, “This is for you, MC.” Jennifer then proceeded to perform an over-the-top version of the song, as Mariah watched approvingly from the audience. The only thing missing was the gospel choir. But instead, Jennifer was ably backed up by four background singers, including her fellow season 3 alum, George Huff, who sang a little solo as Jennifer wailed away.
“We love you!” Jennifer shared from the stage, as the former American Idol judge blew her a kiss in response. At the end of the showstopping performance, Mariah and the rest of the room jumped to their feet, to deliver Jennifer a standing ovation.
Watch Mariah’s acceptance speech
During her acceptance speech, Carey reflected on the moment she first met Eddie Murphy, who received with the Icon Award that evening. It was on the heels of her debut single’s release and he recognized her at an airport.
“Somehow I snuck away from my first ex-husband [Tommy Mottola], and wound up in an airport store when suddenly I looked up and Eddie Murphy, my favorite star of all time, said to me, the unknown girl who had one song… ‘Hey, aren’t you Mariah Carey?’ Maybe I was in shock or something but I just looked right at him and said, ‘And aren’t you Eddie Murphy?’ like so obnoxious,” she joked.
