Lady Gaga may be the diva of the moment, but she gave a big shout out to a classic diva during her acceptance speech during the 2011 Grammy Awards.
After thanking the regular slew of business and personal supporters — including emotional gratitude to her sister Natalie — Gaga tacked on one new piece of information to her speech, in thanking Whitney Houston.
“The Fame” singer said that she wrote her new single “Born This Way” with Houston in mind, “because I wasn’t secure enough in myself to imagine I was a superstar.”
“So Whitney, I imagined you were singing ‘Born This Way’ when I wrote it. Thank you.”
There was no sign that the 47-year-old singer was at the Staples Center in L.A. for the ceremony.
Gaga was picking up her award for Best Pop Album for “The Fame Monster.” She performed her new song earlier in the show; it bowed worldwide early on Friday morning.
Check out the other winners of major categories at the 53rd annual awards show.