Houston's bodyguard discovered her unresponsive at the Beverly Hilton hotel this afternoon. She was pronounced dead at 3:55pm. So far sources have not reported the cause of death, although Dione Warwick and Cissy Houston have claimed that they had spoken with Whitney just half an hour before she died. They say that nothing seemed to be wrong with her; they were in fact making plans to attend the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party.
Whitney Houston was no stranger to the tabloid circuit, and in fact just recently popped up on gossip blogs a few days ago when paparazzi photographed her leaving a Hollywood club with her wig askew and blood dripping down her leg. The singer's battles with drugs in the late '90s, as well as her troubled relationship with her ex-husband Bobby Brown, made her a frequent topic of discussion across most celebrity news outlets.
Despite all the drama of her personal life, Houston had a long and prolific career as a singer and performer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she began performing as a soloist in her church's junior gospel choir at the age of 11. Her mother Cissy, a longtime gospel singer, started bringing Whitney up on stage with her at nightclubs when Whitney was in her early teens. After signing with Arista Records in 1983, Whitney Houston rose to fame when the singles off her self-titled debut album started to climb up the Billboard charts. She is perhaps best known for her rendition of "I Will Always Love You" off the soundtrack to The Bodyguard.
Houston remains the most-awarded female music artist of all time, with 2 Emmys and 6 Grammys to her name. During her lifetime, she sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide, rendering her as one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Her gospel-inspired singing style has influenced scores of successors; pop mavens such as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Beyonce have all incorporated aspects of Houston's style into their own vocal performances, while Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga have both directly cited Houston as an influence. She changed the way we think about how women perform pop music; her powerful performances and unique singing style will surely be missed.