LL Cool J as Grammy host: How did he do?

By: Lauren Moraski
Topics: Music

Host LL Cool J speaks onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards held at Staples Center on Feb. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles.

(Credit: Getty)

(CBS) LL Cool J did something no one has done in seven years on Sunday night. The rapper brought back the Grammy Awards host. And with Whitney Houston's death on the eve of the Grammys, LL Cool J already had a tough task ahead of him going into the night.

Pictures: 2012 Grammys Show Highlights
Pictures: 2012 Grammys Red-Carpet Arrivals
Pictures: 2012 Grammys Press Room
Special Section: The 54th Grammy Awards
Special Section: Whitney Houston, Death of a pop diva

"We've had a death in our family," he said after the opening number by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. "For me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman who we love, for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston."

LL Cool J, wearing his signature newsboy cap and a Giorgio Armani double-breasted velvet suit, then asked the audience members to bow their heads as he led them in a prayer for Houston. The night would "celebrate and remember" the fallen pop star, LL Cool J said before playing a clip of Houston singing "I Will Always Love You" at the 1994 Grammys.