Whitney Houston is scheduled to join Christina Aguilera and Luther Vandross onstage in Las Vegas this month to honor the first artist ever to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award — and that artist just happens to be Houston herself.

Aguilera and Vandross will duet on a not-yet-chosen hit by Houston, who will ultimately come onstage to sing with them, a BET spokesperson said Friday. The trio will perform June 19 at the inaugural BET Awards, which will be broadcast live from Las Vegas. (MTVi's parent company, Viacom, also owns BET.)

Houston said she was thrilled to accept her award. "I see this prestigious award as another major milestone in my career," she said in a statement released by BET.

Other performers at the BET Awards include Destiny's Child, Lil' Bow Wow, Eve with Gwen Stefani, Missy Elliott and Outkast, as well as Sisqo, Usher and Patti LaBelle.

Vandross is set to release his new self-titled album on June 19.

—Brian Hiatt

NEWSFILE: 9 JUNE 2001