There was not a dry eye in the room for the Whitney Houston tribute at the 2012 BET Awards Sunday night (July 1). Mariah Carey graced the stage in a glittering silver gown, prefacing the performance with special memories of her friendship with the late legend.

"The first time I heard Whitney's voice, I was mesmerized like the rest of the world," Carey said.

The musical tribute began with Monica, one of Houston's many mentees in the music industry. The R&B songstress appeared on the stage in a yellow printed dress, singing a gospel song from "The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack, "I Love the Lord."

Following up was Brandy, who did an upbeat performance of two of Houston's dance hits: "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

The tributes got more personal when Whitney Houston's brother, Gary Houston and her mother, Cissy Houston sang a moving and deeply stirring "Bridge Over Trouble Waters."

Bringing the tribute home was fellow soul veteran Chaka Khan, who appeared looking better than ever in a skin-tight gold dress, singing the women empowerment anthem "I'm Every Woman."



Watch Cissy Houston, Monica, Brandy, Gary Houston & Chaka Khan Perform a Whitney Houston Tribute at 2012 BET Awards
See Photos of Stars on the BET Awards 2012 Red Carpet

%VIRTUAL-MultiGallery-159566|152455|154873|150731|151454%

More From TheBoombox