Whitney Houston, the pop singer, has died on the eve of the Grammy awards.
Her death came on the eve of the annual music awards. Houston, 48, had a history of drug problems.
"At 3:55 p.m. Whitney Houston was pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton Hotel," said a spokesman for the Beverly Hills police.
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He said police were called to the hotel to the fourth floor to help Houston, but attempts to resuscitate the singer were unsuccessful. He said no cause of death was immediately available.
Houston was in Los Angeles for a party that producer Clive Davis holds every year on the eve of the Grammys. She was seen a couple of days ago stumbling from a nightclub in Hollywood, with blood trickling down her leg.
Houston, a prodigious talent with unique power, color and range in her voice at its height, was one of the most successful pop singers in modern music history. She was the most awarded female singer of all time, winning six Grammy Awards in her career, two Emmys and 22 American Music Awards.
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Neil Portnow, the CEO of the Recording Academy, which hosts the Grammys, issued 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."
In her career, Houston sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide, with many hit singles. Her lead single, “I Will Always Love You,” became the best-selling album by a female artist in music history.
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She was last in rehabilitation in May of last year, said Drew Pinsky on CNN.
Houston had just completed a role in a musical titled "Sparkle," in which she played the mother to Jordin Sparks, who played a singer. The Sony movie is slated for an August, 2012 release. The film is the story of three sisters who form a successful singing group and deal with the fallout of fame and drugs.
The studio issued a statement to TheWrap that said: "Like all those who knew and loved her, we are shocked and saddened and the world has lost an incomparable talent. Right now our thoughts are with her daughter, her family and her friends."
Houston was born to a middle-class family in Newark, New Jersy. Her father John Russell Houston, Jr. was an entertainment executive, while her mother Cissy Houston, was a gospel singer.
