Whitney Houston Sings Gospel On Set Of ‘Sparkle’

Becky Bain | February 24, 2012 12:20 pm

Whitney Houston has been laid to rest, but her voice will echo for some time to come: at least two of Houston’s final recordings will likely see the light of day when her long-planned movie project, Sparkle, is released in theaters this August. Before her untimely death, Entertainment Tonight stopped by the set of the movie musical and caught footage of Houston performing a gospel classic in a church not unlike the one where she first showcased her talent. Watch Whitney on set of her new movie below.

ET host Mark Steins, who interviewed Houston alongside the film’s director Salim Akil and her co-star Jordin Sparks, describes Whitney as looking “heavier and she looked healthier” than ever before.

In the on-set video, we see Houston — wearing a beautiful purple outfit as her character Emma — perform a gospel song during a church service. (We believe its the hymn “Eyes On The Sparrow”, one of two songs she contributed to the movie. The other is a duet with Sparks on a new R. Kelly track called “Celebrate”.)

During her interview with Entertainment Tonight, the star discusses the coincidental connection between the church in the film and the one she performed in growing up — the New Hope Baptist Church, where her memorial service took place last Saturday. She and Sparks also laugh about Houston’s conservative view on abstaining from foul language.

Houston’s Sparkle co-star Jordin Sparks recently sat down with Essence to discuss working with the pop icon on the movie. “I grew up listening to her music and admiring her and wanting to be like her… when you sing something, Whitney is the first voice any female is compared to. It went from her being this untouchable amazing superstar that I could only in my dreams imagine passing in the street to her being part of the film, being my co-worker, [and] turning into this awesomely mother-daughter relationship, and become a mentor and friend.”

“She was amazing and she was so kind to me,” Jordin continues. “I got really lucky to see her on something she was so passionate about.”

Sparkle is scheduled to hit theatres August 17.