Whitney Houston Movie -- First Audio: Replacement Sings 'Bodyguard' Classic

The highlight of the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic is obviously her singing "I Will Always Love You," and TMZ got hold of the re-created new version of the song and it's, well ... different.

Whitney's family is at war with Lifetime, trying to block the movie because they don't think it properly honors her. Obviously the family has blocked the network's ability to use authentic Whitney tracks.

So they hired a chick named Deborah Cox to voice Whitney's hits, and we got audio from the set, recorded this week, where Deborah belts out "The Bodyguard" hit.

There's a huge division in our newsroom. Some people think Deborah -- who's famous for "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" -- has a voice that's indistinguishable from Whitney's. Others say it's a travesty to pretend Deborah and Whitney are in the same league.

So, we gotta ask ...