Sad news to report, We are all in shock today as we mourn the sudden loss of music icon Whitney Houston.
According to TMZ, Whitney passed away today at The Beverly Hilton Hotel and there were no obvious signs of foul play. Of course she was in town to celebrate the Grammy’s and attend Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy concert tonight.
Her last public appearance was Thursday night as she attended Kelly Price’s pre-Grammy concert. Whitney surprised everyone with an impromptu performance of ‘Jesus Loves Me.’
We all first met Whitney when she burst on the scene in 1985 as Davis’ latest protege. At 19 years old, the model turned pop singer quickly became the ‘it’ girl, eventually selling over 170 millions records worldwide. But her career high was the Grammy and Academy Award winning remake of the Dolly Parton classic ‘I Will Always Love You,’ from her acting debut, ‘The Bodyguard’ co-starring Kevin Costner.
Whitney is survived by her daughter Bobbi Kristina (with ex husband Bobby Brown) and her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston.
We will update the story as more details become available. In the meantime, let’s honor Whitney by taking a listen to some of her greatest hits.
May she rest in peace.
The Grammy Awards will no doubt be a somber eventtonight as everyone will be mourning the sudden loss of Whitney Houston. Meanwhile, more details have emerged surrounding the events leading upto her death:
- Whitney was found just before 4pm PST by a bodyguard in the bathtub of her suite at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. There was no obvious sign of foul play and criminal intent was not suspected, however police found bottles of prescription pills in her room, including Xanax. Accordingto reports, Whitney alwaystook Xanax for anxiety before big showsto relax. (If taken with alcohol it can cause sedation). At the time, her stylist, hairdresser and two bodyguardswere in her room and became worried after she was in the bathroom for over an hour. Her hairdresserwentto check on her and found her face submerged under water and legs up as if she had slide down the back of the tub. Her bodyguard pulled her out of the tub. Since her body was out of the tub when EMT showed up, an autopsy will haveto be conductedto find out if the official cause of death was an overdose or a drowning.
- Whitney’s mother Cissy Houston said she spoketo her daughter 20-30 minutes before she died and, at that time, nothing sounded unusual about Whitney’s state of being. She talked about attending Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party that night. She also spoketo her cousin Dionne Warwick hours before making sure theywere seated at the same table during the event.
- Whitney’s body was still in the fourth floor hotel suite until around 11pm, which coincidentally was the site of Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy concert. The body was carried out on a gurney while the party was still going on in the hotel. (If youare wondering why ittook so longto remove the body, the police hadto request and obtaina search warrantto enter the room and investigate). Although the Pre-Grammy party was originally saidto have been cancelled, itwent on as planned with Clive Davis saying, “Whitney would have wanted the musicto go on and her family asked thatwe carry on”
- Whitney’s ex-husband Bobby Brown hadto be consoled on stage by his bandmates during a New Edition performance in Mississippitonight. “I will always love you Whitney! The hardest thing for meto do isto come on this stage,” he said. Later in the show, his voice startedto crack as he became overwhelmed with emotions and he walked off stage abruptly.
- Meanwhile Whitney’s daughter is in Los Angeles, and was reportedly denied accessto her mothers bodytonight. An eye witness recounts seeing her in the hotel lobby, minutes before police drove up and pulled body bags out of their trunks. She was saidto have stormed in the lobby followed by a man and seemed extremely pissed off. Accordingto reports, she had gotten into a shouting match with police outside of Whitney’s room when they wouldn’t let her inside of the room. (Again, this was because they hadto obtain a search warrantto enter and investigate.)
- Whitney was supposedto have performedtonight at Clive Davis’ party, and had been seen coaching Brandy and Monica on their joint performance. (Sidenote: It was Brandy’s birthday). Brandy and Monica showed upto the event butwere saidto betoo distraughtto perform. In the video below, Whitney can be seen coaching and talkingto Monica during rehearsals for the Pre-Grammy party.
Eyewitness who saw Bobbi Kristina
Producers for the Grammys have snagged Jennifer Hudson and Chaka Khanto perform a Whitney Houston tribute duringtonight’s broadcast.
View a few of Whitney Houston’s classic hits below:
Watch Whitney Houston On Stage with Kelly Price (Thursday Night)
