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Drake has been a long-standing Whitney Houston fan and has expressed his love for the late singer and actress multiple times. A recent instance of the same was the rapper ending the first night of headlining the Wireless Festival by performing Whitney's 1992 track I Will Always Love You, by hovering over the crowd on a UFO.
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Netizens quickly took to X to comment on Drake ending night 1 of the Wireless Festival with Whitney Houston's song, wherein an X user hinted at the rapper pulling off an exit like Lil Wayne, tweeting:
"He’s paying homage to Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne used to end all of his shows with this track."
"KDOT got him pulling all kind of gimmicks." an X user commented referring to Drizzy's feud with Kendrick Lamar.
"Lol thats some real RnB s*it. Chris Brown will be proud" another X user mentioned, addressing Chris Brown paying homage to Whitney at his shows.
On the other hand, the rapper's fans praised his Whitney Houston tribute:
"Send this ni**a to the cosmics” Drake responds by casually flying his UFO. Round 2 🔥" a netizen tweeted.
"This man truly IS the greatest of all time!" another netizen remarked.
In the past, Drizzy has used a Whitney Houston reference on his 2024 diss track against Kendrick Lamar called Push Ups. The song features a verse stating:
“I’ll be with some bodyguards like Whitney.”
On Push Ups, Drizzy's verse name-dropping Whitney was a double entendre wherein he referred to Whitney Houston's movie The Bodyguard while seemingly dissing Kendrick Lamar's fiancée Whitney Aflord. Additionally, in January 2024, the rapper sang Whitney's I Have Nothing on his mother's 76th birthday.
Performing with PARTYNEXTDOOR, bringing out Lauryn Hill, and other highlights from Drake's Wireless Festival headlining gig
Drake kicked off the Wireless Festival in London on July 11, 2025, as the headliner, setting the vibe for all three nights of the festival. Commenting on his experience with the same, Drizzy told the crowd:
“This is the first time in my life that I’ve done three different shows on three different days. You came to a very special night. It’s night one. It’s a celebration of all things R&B. All things melodies. All classics.”
Additionally, the rapper's headlining set featured the presence of one of his recent collaborators, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and they gave the audience a prelude to their upcoming tour.
Another surprise aspect of the first night of the Wireless Festival was Drake bringing out Lauryn Hill. Lauryn's performance of her 1998 track Ex-Factor transitioned into the One Dance rapper performing his 2018 song Nice For What. It is interesting to note that Nice For What features a sample from Lauryn's Ex-Factor.
The first night of the Wireless Festival also featured the presence of Mario and Bobby Valentino, who performed some of their iconic tracks with Drizzy, followed by Bryson Tiller and GIVEON's performances.
Drizzy's setlist on the first night of the Wireless Festival featured some of his hits like Jungle, Shot For Me, Passionfruit, Hours in Silence, and Feel No Ways, among other tracks.
Drake has made headlines recently not only by headlining the fest but also by dropping his latest single What Did I Miss? via a livestream on July 4, 2025.
