Beyoncé channeled another pop diva over the weekend when she performed a dazzling rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." The singer surprised the audience at a benefit show for the Center for Early Education in Los Angeles, the elementary school that her daughter Blue Ivy is enrolled at. The performance was for the school's 75th anniversary Grand Gala.
The "Formation" singer first started singing the iconic song, and then invited the audience to join in with her. Some audience members that were lucky enough to record the special cover were kind enough to share the performance on social media. In the videos, fans can be heard screaming as Beyoncé belts out the song. For the performance, the singer wore a short, skintight black-and-gold tiger-striped dress with her hair in tight, flowing curls.
In addition to "I Will Always Love You" - which was written and originally performed by Dolly Parton - Beyoncé sang her hits "Crazy in Love" and "XO" for the audience at the Center for Early Education. The Center is a "socio-economically and culturally diverse independent school for children" from preschool until sixth grade.
This performance was not the first time the singer covered the iconic song. She has been known to sing "I Will Always Love You" during her concerts, including in Atlantic City, N.J., in 2012 a few months after Houston passed away and as a dedication in 2013 to the late "Fast and Furious" actor Paul Walker after his death.
Beyoncé is not the only singer to take on the task of singing the challenging song. Jennifer Hudson sang it during a musical tribute to Houston after her death and actress Amber Riley took it on during an episode of "Glee."
"I Will Always Love You" was originally written in 1973 by Parton, but was made famous by Houston thanks to her rendition that was featured in the 1992 film "The Bodyguard," which she also starred in. The song spent an incredible 14 weeks on top of the Billboard charts, which was then a record.
Parte III - Beyoncé performando "I Will Always Love You" da Whitney Houston na Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall em LA. pic.twitter.com/8Om8sawPeM
— Beyoncé Brasil (@BeyonceBrasil) March 6, 2016
Then this happened!!!! Beyoncé singing some Whitney!!!! #WTF #awesome #hollywoodstyle 3/5/16 #wow A video posted by Bruce Bozzi (@brucebozzi) on Mar 5, 2016 at 10:35pm PST
