Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48. Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.
Whitney Houston Honored on Twitter by Artists, Executives
At around 8:50 pm (EST), less than half an hour after the news broke, CNN reported that Whitney Houston's bodyguard, Ray, found Houston dead at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel prior to a party honoring music executive, Clive Davis. On the eve of the Grammy Awards, Recording Academy president Neil Portnoy released a statement calling Houston "one of the world's greatest pop singers of all time… Her powerful voice graced many memorable and award-winning songs. A light has been dimmed in our music community today, and we extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, fans and all who have been touched by her beautiful voice." At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.