Watch Glee's Amber Riley Perform I Will Always Love You

In what could have been perceived as awkward timing, or especially fitting, last night’s episode of Glee happened to include a cover of “I Will Always Love You,” a song that was originally performed by Dolly Parton but was made especially famous by Whitney Houston for the Bodyguard soundtrack. Check out Amber Riley’s version ahead and see what you think!


During last night’s episode of Glee, Riley’s character Mercedes sang “I Will Always Love You” as part of a tie-in to her story Shane and Sam. While the song is a considered a vocal challenge for any singer, the spotlight was especially bright on Riley in the wake of Houston’s recent and unfortunate death. She also follows Jennifer Hudson’s outstanding live performance of the song at the Grammy’s last Sunday.

For those of you who didn’t catch the episode, here it is...



Like most covers on Glee, Riley did it justice and it certainly felt like a better, unintentional tribute to Houston than the well-meaning but somewhat awkward post-episode text, which simply said “Whitney Houston 1963-2012 We Will Always Love You.” The message was fine and a kind acknowledgement to the music icon, but seemed a bit out of place as it showed up immediately following the loud and energetic episode-closing performance of the B-52’s “Love Shack.”

Read our full breakdown of last night's episode here.