After word of Whitney Houston's tragic death broke in Los Angeles Saturday, many were waiting to hear how her ex-husband, Bobby Brown, reacted to the news.

Brown, who was on the road with his New Edition bandmates for a show in Mississippi on their reunion tour, broke down onstage, according to the Associated Press.

In northern Mississippi at the packed 7,500-seat venue, Brown told fans, "First of all, I want to tell you that I love you all. Second, I would like to say, 'I love you, Whitney.' The hardest thing for me to do is to come on this stage."

Brown went on to perform 10 songs and said he took to the stage because of the support New Edition has received over the last two decades. He cried during the concert, and his voice cracked on numerous occasions.

During an intermission, one of Whitney's classics, "You Give Good Love," played over the stereo sound system, and the crowd sang along and danced.

The couple's rocky 15-year marriage ended in 2007. In the last decade, the couple had been alleged to have been using drugs, and Brown was arrested on a domestic-violence charge in 2003 when police responded to a call from Houston, who had a cut lip. They had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, now a teenager.

Read more at the Associated Press.

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