The deaths of Whitney Houston, the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch aka MCA, Donna Summer and over the weekend the Bee Gees' Robin Gibb left a noticeable pall over the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, but in the spirit of that old show biz adage, the show went on. An absent Adele doubled her Grammy take by sweeping up an impressive 12 wins including Top Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist  and Top Billboard  200 Album for 21. LMFAO trailed with six wins including Top Hot 100 song for the ubiquitous "Party Rock Anthem."

Following a moment of silence for Gibb, Natasha Bedingfield performed Summer's seminal "Last Dance" before being abruptly interrupted by a commercial break. Cee Lo Green and Goodie Mob performed a tribute to MCA with a little  "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)"  while Whitney was honored with the posthumous Millennium Award.

Accepting the award on her behalf was daughter Bobbi Kristina, who was brought to tears and to her feet by John Legend 's rendition of "The Greatest Love of All" and Houston's Sparkle co-star Jordin Sparks' beautiful take on "I Will Always Love You. "

Check out Whit's tribute below and click here for the full list of winners.