Singer Whitney Houston, who launched the second season of entertainment at the on Aug. 25, 1993, died today in a room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The famed pop vocalist was pronounced dead at about 3:55 p.m. Saturday, according to Beverly Hills Police Department spokesman Lt. Mark Rosen.
During a news conference at the hotel, Rosen said that emergency personnel responded at 3:43 p.m. to an emergency call to Houston's fourth-floor room and began resuscitation efforts, but they were unable to revive her.
Houston's body remained in the room while investigators sought details about a cause of death, adding that there were no immediate indications of criminal intent, he said.
Various media outlets said the 48-year-old Houston was in the Los Angeles area to attend Sunday night's Grammy Awards at the Staples Center and was expected to be a guest tonight at a Beverly Hilton tribute for music executive Clive Davis, the man who discovered her in the 1980s.
Her death has sent shockwaves throughout the music world.
"It's a tragedy,'' singer Tony Bennett wrote on his Twitter page. "Whitney Houston was the greatest singer I've ever heard and she will be truly missed.''
Recording Academy President Neil Portnow called Houston, a six-time Grammy winner, "one of the world's greatest pop singers of all time.''
"A light has been dimmed in out music community today, and we extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, fans and all who have been touched by her beautiful voice,'' Portnow said in a statement.
USA Today had this lengthy obituary.
What is your favorite Whitney Houston song? Tell us in comments.
