Whitney Houston dead at 48

It’s 05:42 on a Sunday morning in South Africa. My body clock has just gone off. I pick up my phone to check the time and naturally I check my unread messages at the same time. I then look at my BBM contact updates *it has become a habit* and I see several pictures have been changed to that of Whitney Houston. This can only mean one thing… The star has fallen victim to the “OMG so and so died” via the Internet. Only this time the sentence reads “OMG Whitney Houston died” and there’s no lying about this.

The star was found dead in her Beverly Hills hotel room yesterday afternoon. According to TMZ.com, paramedics arrived on the scene and immediately started CPR, but Houston was unresponsive. Her time of death was noted at 15:55. No signs of foul play are expected in this sudden and tragic passing of one of the greatest artists of our time and a full investigation into the cause of death has been opened.She was 48.

We have Houston to thank for so many wonderful hits. From I Wanna Dance With Somebody, to I Will Always Love You, to I’m Your Baby Tonight and Run To You, the star’s vocal ability is one thing you could and can never argue. In 2009, the star made her big comeback with her album I Look To You. Houston battled with a drug addiction over the years, but in 2009 she told Oprah in a sit down one-on-one that she had cleaned up her act and that she was back on track. She was a multiple Grammy winner, who was noted by Guinness World Record books as one of the most successful female artists of all time. She has sold in excess of 170 million albums worldwide.

Tonight the 54th annual Grammy Awards takes place in Los Angelas. It’s music’s biggest night and it seems like the eve of the awards will notoriously go down as one of the most fragile of days. Three years ago Chris Brown and Rihanna got into an argument. The result of that was a battered and bruised Rihanna. The picture of her very bruised face sent shock waves around the world. Now three years on we face yet another tragedy, that being the news of Whitney Houston’s untimely death. The President/ CEO of the Grammys Neil Portnow released the following statement earlier:

Six-time GRAMMY® winner Whitney Houston was one of the world’s greatest pop singers of all time who leaves behind a robust musical soundtrack spanning the past three decades. 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.

There will no doubt be a tribute to Houston this evening, along with some of her fellow soul legends Etta James and Amy Winehouse and others. It’s terribly sad to know that she will no longer give us music like this, but may her soul find the peace it so longingly desired.