Despite the sudden death of his ex-wife, Bobby Brown performed to a packed house in Southaven, Miss. Saturday night, referencing his late former partner as he took the stage.

"First of all, I want to tell you that I love you all," he told the crowd. "Second, I would like to say, I love you Whitney. The hardest thing for me to do is to come on this stage."

Brown proceeded to perform with his decades-old group, New Edition. During an intermission, the venue played one of  Houston's early hits, "You Give Good Love."

Brown and Houston had a daughter together during their tumultuous 1992 to 2007 marriage, Bobbi Kristina.