LOS ANGELES — Whitney Houston, a pop singer with a magnificent voice and incredible range has died at the age of 48.
Houston was found at the upscale Beverly Hilton Hotel. Firefighters and hotel workers attempted CPR but were unsuccessful. The singer battled drug addiction for many years. Her publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the cause of death was still undetermined.
In the 1980s and ’90s, Houston was one of the world’s best-selling artists. Among her hits were “How Will I Know,” “Saving All My Love for You” and “I Will Always Love You.” She won multiple Grammys including album and record of the year.
Her music stardom led to roles in movies, most notably, “The Bodyguard” and “Waiting to Exhale.”
Her career spiraled downward with her increasing drug abuse that caused record sales to decline and left her voice and her appearance nearly unrecognizable.
“The biggest devil is me. I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy,” Houston told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in an interview in 2002 with then-husband and singer Bobby Brown by her side. She also admitted in that interview that she and Brown used drugs and they seemed unashamed of it. The interview turned into a rant that further contributed to the demise of her career and reputation.
“First of all, let’s get one thing straight,” she told Sawyer. “Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let’s get that straight. Okay? We don’t do crack. We don’t do that. Crack is wack,” she said.
Houston appeared to be making a comeback in 2009 with her album “I Look to You.” It debuted on the top of the charts and would eventually go platinum. Her success was short-lived, though. Her “Nothing but Love” 2010 concert tour was disappointing with missed tour dates and missed high notes, causing some overseas fans to walk out on her performance. Houston denied a relapse and said she was ill.
The cause of death is still under investigation. The singer leaves behind a daughter, Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown.
