It has been revealed that Whitney Houston will be receiving the ‘Global Icon’ award at this year’s MTV European Music Awards which are to be held in Frankfurt, Germany.

The singer who tragically died earlier this year aged 48 will be awarded the honour posthumously at the ceremony which will be hosted by Heidi Klum.

When asked about the decision, Bruce Gilmer, executive producer of the 2012 EMAs said: “When we choose the Global Icons, we try to look at an artist that had a substantial career spanning a long period, at least a decade and we chose Whitney Houston for all the obvious reasons.

“She had one of the greatest voices of all time and [has had] a huge influence on music and other artists. We all know her music lives on.”

Houston is only the third artist to be awarded with the ‘Global Icon’ honour. Queen received the award last year and Bon Jovi was the first act to receive it back in 2010.

Rihanna has the most nominations for other awards this year with six including Best Female and Best Pop Performer. Taylor Swift follows hot on her heels with five nominations and then Justin Bieber and Katy Perry have four a piece.

The EMAs will be taking place tonight (11th November) and will include performances from No Doubt, Muse, Taylor Swift and YouTube sensation Psy.

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