Whitney Houston’s estate canceled the late singer’s holographic debut after viewing the inadequate leaked video. The Houston hologram was scheduled to perform a duet with The Voice coach Christina Aguilera on the May 23rd finals episode. “We concluded the hologram was not ready to air after attentively analyzing the performance,” Pat Houston, administrator of Whitney’s estate, told ET Online. “We have a lot of love and gratitude for Christina, and she was flawless.”
The leaked video shows Houston and Aguilera performing two songs together, “I Have Nothing” and “I’m Every Woman,” sharing vocal lines, singing in synchrony, and harmonizing behind a stage full of supporting vocalists.
“We are extremely grateful for the chance for the Whitney Houston hologram to appear on NBC’s The Voice with a talent pairing as outstanding as Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston,” stated the statement. “We wanted to give a revolutionary duet performance for both artists’ fans… Holograms are a new technology that takes time to master, and we feel it must be flawless with artists of this quality. Whitney’s legacy and loyal admirers deserve nothing less.
According to a source at The Voice, the performance was canceled because the film did not fulfill the show’s production standards. NBC refused to comment.
Pat Houston collaborated with Hologram USA in September to create a hologram tour with special guests that would be distributed across digital and TV channels. Alki David, the company’s CEO, pledged “total authenticity” for the trip, which would “record portions of her life, her triumphs, and honor” the singer, who died in 2012. “The event will not be about Whitney coming on, singing, and leaving,” he told Billboard.