Whitney Houston, who ruled 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.
Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen said Houston died in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton. Beverly Hills detectives were investigating.
Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the cause of her death was unknown.
Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to case a heavy pall on tonight's ceremony.
Houston had been at rehearsals Thursday for Clive Davis' annual concert, coaching singers Brandy and Monica, according to a person who was at the event. The person said Houston looked disheveled, was sweating profusely, and liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on her breath.
At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the mid-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.
Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits such as "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."
But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.
"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with Brown by her side.
It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.
"The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club … it was such a stunning impact," Davis told "Good Morning America." "To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine."
Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal.
Her moving 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl set a new standard and reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart.
In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with "The Bodyguard." It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You." It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the "Bodyguard" soundtrack was named album of the year.
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