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Primary Wave Music And The Estate Of Whitney E. Houston Cap Off Grammy Week Celebration Of Whitney Houston’s 60th Birthday Year With Star-Studded Carpet, Rooftop Party, Memorabilia, Live Music And More

Celebration In Partnership With Sony, M·A·C Cosmetics, Proflowers®, And City National Bank

 

(February 7th, 2023) Primary Wave Music and the Estate of Whitney E. Houston celebrates her 60th birthday year, iconic music and career presented by Sony during the 65th Grammy week. It was a major success this past week thanks to star-studded programming, activations, performances and more.

 

The week of festivities included Sony’s 360 Reality Audio Immersive Listening Lounge, an exhibit of rare gowns, and two nights of live music honoring the legendary Houston songbook from Grammy-winner Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, acclaimed actress and Grammy-nominated singer Amber Riley, Warner Records artist Baby Tate, Def Jam Recordings’ Coco Jones and many mor All performers were supported by the trailblazing musical director and guitarist, Freaky Rob Gueringer (Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Cardi B) and were accompanied by an all-star band. There was also a special guest performance by Gary Houston. Gorgeous floral arrangements by Proflowers® decorated the W Hotel featuring lavender roses, (Whitney’s favorite) that captured the spirit and beauty of Whitney Houston. A Limited edition Whitney Houston Bouquet is now available for Valentine’s Day on Proflowers.com/whitneyhouston where a portion of proceeds will go to The Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation.

 

The event also honored Houston with a gallery filled with rare photos as well as several of her iconic red gowns worn throughout her career all leading up to the annual Pre-Grammy carpet and party Saturday night. 

 

Below is a rundown of the week’s festivities:

 

Wednesday, February 1

  • Official unveiling of the WH-Whitney Houston Hotel where the The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, Primary Wave Music and Sony executives came together to celebrate the opening.

(From left to right: Sony executive Jordy Freed, Estate of Whitney E Houston executive Donna Houston, Primary Wave Music CEO Larry Mestel, Executor of Estate of Whitney E. Houston Pat Houston, and Sony executive Jun Makino)

 

  • Wednesday also marked the week’s opening of Sony’s 360 Reality Audio Immersive Listening Lounge which continued through the weekend and allowed listeners to experience Whitney Houston’s music like never before.
  • This lounge marked the second activity in a multi-faceted collaboration between The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, Primary Wave Music and Sony to honor Whitney’s legacy of impeccable sound, which allowed listeners to experience her music like never before.
  • Opening of the Whitney Houston Pop-Up Retail Shop which featured fan favorite t-shirts and a MAC Cosmetics makeup station, You can see more here.
  • Opening of the Whitney Houston Gallery featuring rare and iconic photos, as well as gowns worn throughout her career.
  • Hear more from Whitney’s longtime stylist Timothy Snell where he talks about Whitney’s first Grammy win and why she was dressed in Oscar De La Renta via CBS/KCAL here
  • See more photos from the kick-off event here

 

Thursday, February 2 



  • Artist Showcase with performances from Georgia Ku (Martin Garrix, Dua Lipa, Zedd), 8AE, Kareen Lomax, Tone Stith, Absolutely, Sevyn Streeter, Skylar Stecker, and Baby Tate.
  • Skylar Stecker performed her powerful rendition of “Saving All My Love”. You can watch it here.

 Friday, February 3



  • Panel hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier, Whitney's Brother Gary Houston, Pat Houston Executor of Whitney E. Houston Estate, Music Producer Rickey Minor, Award winning Producer Narada Michael Walden; and award-winning songwriter Gordon Chambers.
  • Brunch curated by Award-winning Chef Deborah VanTrece of “VanTrece Hospitality Group” 
  • Read more from LA Weekly here 
  • See photos from the brunch and panel here

(Chef Deborah VanTrece)



  • Artist Showcase with tearful performances from Natalie Jane, Amber Riley, Kiana Ledé, Coco Jones, and Michelle Williams.
  • Kiana Ledé performed her mother’s favorite song of all time, “The Greatest Love of All” in honor of Whitney. See photos here

 

Saturday, February 4

 

  • Primary Wave 16th Annual Pre-Grammy Carpet & Party 
whiteny image

(Primary Wave Music staff)

 

  • See more photos from the night at Getty images here.

 

About Primary Wave Music:

The Home of Legends.

 

Primary Wave Music is the leading independent publisher of iconic and legendary music in the world. The company is home to some of the most iconic songwriters, artists, and record labels across the history of recorded music including Sun Records, Bob Marley, Prince, Stevie Nicks, James Brown, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Smokey Robinson, Whitney Houston, Burt Bacharach, Bing Crosby, Luther Vandross, Olivia Newton-John, Ray Charles, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, America, War, Gerry Goffin, Traveling Wilburys (Bob Dylan), Joey Ramone, Robbie Robertson, Teddy Pendergrass, Count Basie, Sly & The Family Stone, Boston, Alice Cooper, Paul Anka, Boy George and Culture Club, Allee Willis, Leon Russell, Paul Rodgers, Free, Toots & The Maytals, Steve Cropper, Martina McBride, Glenn Gould, Air Supply, Huey Lewis and the News, Jeff Porcaro (TOTO), Holly Knight, Jim Peterik, Alice In Chains, Godsmack, Disturbed, Devo, Donny Hathaway, George Merrill & Shannon Rubicam, Nicky Chinn, David Malloy, Even Stevens, Julian Casablancas (The Strokes), Noel Hogan (Cranberries), Dan Wilson, Mike Scott (Waterboys), Chris Isaak, KT Tunstall, Patrick Leonard, Sturken & Rogers, Gin Blossoms, Tom Whitlock, Steve Kipner, Matt Redman, and many more. The songs represented by Primary Wave include over 800 Top 10 singles, and over 400 #1 hits. Throughout the company's 16-year existence, Primary Wave Music has embraced an entrepreneurial spirit, offering, and executing proactive one-of-a-kind ideas, unique services, and marketing campaigns for its artists. Primary Wave has earned a stellar reputation for being forward thinking and re-introducing classic artists and their music into the modern marketplace as well as nurturing young talent to become legends themselves. This success is based upon our team of seasoned and creative executives collaboratively working together closely with our artists as partners. As a company, we strive for excellence in the pursuit of iconic artists and catalogs that not only reflect great artistry, but impact and influence culture. 

 

Primary Wave Music On The Web:

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About Sony:

Sony Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation and is responsible for the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) business. With the vision of "continuing to deliver Kando and Anshin(*) to people and society across the world through the pursuit of technology and new challenges," Sony will create products and services in areas such as home entertainment & sound, imaging, and mobile communications. For more information, visit: http://www.sony.net/

 

* Both Japanese words, Kando means emotion and Anshin has various meanings such as peace of mind, reassurance, reliability, and trust.