Whitney’s end shocks music world

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The body of Whitney Houston is removed from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, early Sunday. — AP

Whitney Houston, whose soaring voice lifted her to the top of the pop music world but whose personal decline was fuelled by years of drug use, died on Saturday afternoon in a Beverly Hills hotel room. She was 48. The pop superstar died on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles at the same hotel where her mentor, record mogul Clive Davis, was holding an annual pre-event party featuring scores of music industry celebrities.
A dramatic scene unfolded at the Beverly Hilton hotel as guests arriving for the party expressed shock at her death, while reporters swarmed the hotel, fans gathered outside to light candles in her memory and helicopters hovered overhead. The Beverly Hills police said they were called to the Beverly Hilton at around 3.43 pm (local time), and fire department personnel who were already at the location responded immediately. Houston was in her fourth-floor room but was unresponsive to CPR, and she was pronounced dead at 3.55 pm.
“She has been positively identified by friends and family (who) were with her at the hotel, and next of kin have already been notified,” Lieutenant Mark Rosen told reporters. The police said there were no obvious signs of criminal intent.
Los Angeles County coroners removed Houston’s body from the hotel after midnight through a backdoor to avoid the crush of media set up to cover her shocking death. Typically, coroners conduct an autopsy within a day or two, at which point they might release some preliminary information about the death. If drugs or alcohol are involved, however, an official cause of death would not be released until after toxicology tests, which could take six to eight weeks.
Tributes poured in from around the world for a singer whose remarkable vocal power and range produced some of the most memorable music of her generation, including her signature hit, I Will Always Love You.
“I don’t have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends,” Davis told a sombre crowd at his gala dinner and party just hours after Houston’s death. “I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years.”
Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys, told the audience at Davis’ party that Jennifer Hudson would sing a tribute to Houston at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards.
“We will do something appropriate tomorrow, and nothing could be more appropriate than having Jennifer Hudson sing on stage for Whitney,” Portnow said. “In our community, we celebrate things... Let’s celebrate Whitney Houston.” Outside the hotel in the wealthy enclave of Beverly Hills, a phalanx of hotel security personnel guarded the perimeter to prevent reporters and fans from entering.