NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Sunday night Whitney's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, arrived in Nashville for a concert, but when his tour bus pulled into the Municipal Auditorium, he immediately left.
New Edition took the stage without him and addressed Brown's absence to the crowd of about 6,000. "As you can see there are five of us tonight. Bobby Brown is on his way to LA," said one member.
"It's a very tough situation. He loves his daughter and his family, and I'm sure whatever the right thing is, is what he will be doing," said tour manager, Mark Williams.
Williams was with Brown Saturday night when he learned of Whitney's sudden death at age 48. Brown decided to take the stage anyway at a show near Memphis, but he was visibly shaken and had to walk off stage.
"Mr. Brown is a very strong man, and he was hurt, but as a professional, you have to give the audience what they paid for, and as a professional, he went out there and tore the place up," said Williams.
Municipal auditorium announced Sunday evening via Twitter: "Bobby Brown will not be appearing tonight at the New Edition show."
The auditorium earlier announced that the group would be going ahead with its reunion tour performance but that Brown's status was uncertain.
Fans were disappointed by Brown's absence but understood why he couldn't perform.
"I am upset. I wanted to see Bobby, but I understand he had to go back home to be with Bobbi Kristina, and our prayers are with him and the Houston family," said one concert goer.
Fans aren't the only ones in Nashville thinking about the Houston Family. A former NFL referee remembers when he met Whitney and listened to one of her most famous performances in 1991.
Art Demass was refereeing the Super Bowl when Houston sang the National Anthem at the Super Bowl just days into the Gulf War. He still remembers 21 years later how her voice commanded a crowd of thousands.
"Chilling. It sent a chill down my spine. I was pumped up, and I was ready to work the game. She came by me after the performance, and she said, ‘Now it's your turn,'" Demass remembered.
Houston seemed to influence everyone from referees to bands like New Edition who dedicated their Nashville show and held a moment of silence in Houston's honor.
There was no word on when Brown will return to the tour with New Edition.
New Edition performs without Bobby Brown at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville.
