It was a shocking news that hit the eve of the music industry’s biggest night, the Grammys.
Producers immediately made sudden changes in the programming to pave the way for a tribute to one of the greatest voices the world has ever known, Whitney Houston.
In the afternoon of February 11, 2012, Houston was found lying on the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California by a female hairdresser. A bodyguard came in and quickly pulled Houston out of the bathtub. It was reported that Houston’s face was underwater and her legs were up as if she had slid down the back of the bathtub. Her body was reported to be very cold as her bodyguard unsuccessfully attempted to perform CPR before alerting hotel security. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR.
Houston was pronounced dead at 4:00 p.m. PST.
How did Whitney Houston die?
Local police said there were “no obvious signs of criminal intent.”
Bottles of Lorazepam, Valium, Xanax and a sleeping medication were found in the hotel room, it has been claimed. The drugs were believed to have acted as sedatives, causing her to fall asleep in the bathtub once they had been mixed with alcohol from the previous evenings. The Los Angeles coroner would not confirm or deny any of the rumours.
Police look into the possibility that the star died from an accidental overdose.
Houston had battled ravaging addictions to crack cocaine over the years but the drug is not believed to have played a part in her death. Police searched the room for illegal substances after discovering the body.
For the most part, the star’s life had spiralled downhill since her early hits. She suffered a long battle with drugs, including cocaine, as well as alcohol and spent various spells in rehab. Her amazing voice became raspy and hoarse. She couldn’t hit the high notes anymore.
Her album sales plummeted. The hits stopped coming. Recent appearances had become increasingly erratic and the years of substance abuse had clearly taken a toll.
Recent reports suggested that the soul star was on the brink of bankruptcy, with her pop fortune said to have dwindled away, much of it going to her drug dealers.
She cancelled a string of concerts and talk shows as she struggled to cope. In a chat show with Oprah in 2003, the star admitted the scale of her addiction to smoking crack cocaine.
“It was every day, every. I didn’t think about the singing part of it any more.”
“The biggest devil is me,” Houston told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in a 2002 interview. “I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy.”
There was further concern for her health last week when she was pictured looking dishevelled and disorientated as she left a Hollywood nightclub with her daughter Bobbi Kristina after performing at a pre-Grammy party. The singer was sweating profusely, had blood on her leg and scratches on her wrists.
She also got into a loud argument at the party with “X Factor” finalist Stacy Francis in the club’s VIP section, shortly after they appeared on stage together.
Houston’s final public performance happened at the club that night. It lasted just under a minute, as she sang “Jesus Loves Me” with Price in an impromptu, ramshackle duet captured by any number of videographers in the crowd. Perhaps needless to say, she wasn’t in her very best voice for what turned out to be her swansong appearance.
Houston’s body is now at the Los Angeles morgue as her family and the public still await the toxicology and autopsy reports.
The details will not be released until the police investigation into the death is completed, which may take between one and two months.
Please read my related posts:
- Singer Whitney Houston Dead at 48 R.I.P. On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found dead in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, of causes not immediately known. Her untimely death happened on the eve of music’s biggest night – the...
- Jennifer Hudson’s Whitney Houston Tribute, 54th Grammy Awards Performance Singer Whitney Houston was found dead in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, of causes not immediately known in the afternoon of February 11, 2012. As her death happened in the eve of the...
- Whitney Houston’s U.S. National Anthem “The Star Spangled Banner” Super Bowl XXV Rendition [Video] On January 27, 1991 at the Super Bowl XXV, Whitney Houston performed the US National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Her rendition has garnered very positive response from almost of all music critics, being considered one of the best performances ever...
- Countdown to Strikeforce Houston: King Mo vs Feijao The best light-heavyweight MMA fighter in the Strikeforce organization is set to make his first title defense in the main event of Strikeforce: Houston. Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante hopes to win away the title from Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. These are...
- Strikeforce: Houston | King Mo vs Feijao In the main event of Strikeforce: Houston on August 21, 2010 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, USA, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal will make his first title defense of the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship. Looking to challenge him is Rafael...
- Final Destination 5, Death Has Never Been Closer That movie poster is scary enough with death directly looking at you. So, expect the fifth movie of the Final Destination series then to take cheating death (if you can) to new heights with the aptly-titled Final Destination 5. Or...
- Strikeforce Houston: King Mo vs Feijao It was one of the most shocking moments in mixed-martial arts history when Fabricio Werdum submitted Fedor Emelianenko at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Werdum last June 26, 2010. Hoping to follow-up on the success of that event, the organization is holding...
- Strikeforce Houston: King Mo vs Feijao Results Can King Mo make his first successful title defense? Will Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante be able to tarnish Lawal’s perfect record? After Jake Shields vacated the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship for the UFC, who among Ronaldo Souza and Tim Kennedy is the...
- Today’s Google Doodle: Scooby Doo and the Halloween Mystery As expected, Google has not just one but a series of five doodles at their home page today to celebrate the scariest day of the year, it’s Halloween! And for the first time ever, those five doodles form a story...
- 2010 NBA Finals Game 6 | Lakers Rout Celtics to Force Do-or-Die Game 7 With their backs against the wall, the Lakers played with a sense of urgency in blowing out the Celtics, 89-67. LA’s defense held Boston to shot a series-low 33.3% and only Utah’s infamous 54-point performance against Chicago in 1998 was...
Tags: whitney houston
