This would have been a historically dynamic duo. Whitney Houston’s estate has axed a planned duet between a hologram of the late singer and Christina Aguilera that was set to air on the season 10 finale of The Voice next week.
Hours after footage from the performance leaked on Facebook on Thursday, May 19, Whitney’s sister-in-law Pat Houston, the executor of the estate, announced that they will not allow it to air. Back in September, Pat teamed up with tech company Hologram USA to create the hologram, which would then go on tour and sing a selection of Whitney’s greatest hits.
“We are so appreciative of the opportunity for the Whitney Houston hologram to appear on NBC’s The Voice with a talent pairing as extraordinary as Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston,” Pat said in the statement, according to Entertainment Tonight. “We were looking to deliver a groundbreaking duet performance for the fans of both artists. Holograms are new technology that take time to perfect, and we believe with artists of this iconic caliber, it must be perfect. Whitney’s legacy and her devoted fans deserve perfection. After closely viewing the performance, we decided the hologram was not ready to air. We have much respect and appreciation for Christina, and she was absolutely flawless.”
Executives at NBC were also up in the air about whether the performance would make the final cut for the finale. “They didn’t like the quality of the hologram in HD,” the source tells Us.
In the leaked clip, The Voice coach, 35, belted out a rendition of “I Have Nothing” before introducing the hologram of a young Whitney. Then, the two stars sang “I’m Every Woman” together, and Whitney even made a costume change from a long white gown to a pink dress.
The two-part season finale of The Voice airs on NBC May 23 and 24 at 8 p.m. ET.