Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, has died. She was 48.  When Whitney was last seen publicly this past Thursday evening at a pre-Grammy event, she was in good spirits and took to the stage to perform a song but pictures taken at the end of the night paint a very different picture of a disheveled and disoriented Whitney.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, as paramedics rushed to the Beverly Hilton Hotel where she was staying to find her unresponsive but the cause of her death was unclear.  In the last few years, Whitney has battled drug and substance abuse and has been in and out of rehab but in May of 2011, on her own accord, she entered a recovery program to try and get and stay clean.

Ironically, news of Houston’s death comes on the eve of the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.  She herself was a six-time Grammy winner, the last time receiving the award in 2000 for best female R&B performance and a month later, she was named female artist of the decade at the ‘Soul Train’ Music Awards.  In addition, she won 2 Emmys, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 American Music Awards .  Her album ‘Whitney’ was the first album by a woman to ever debut at #1 on the Billboard charts.  At her peak in the 1980s and `90s, Houston the golden girl of the music industry and one of the world’s best-selling artists with over 170 million albums sold worldwide.

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.  In 2010, Houston launched a new world tour, ‘Nothing But Love’, however, the reviews were not favorable by fans and critics alike.  But by the end of her career, drug use took its toll as her record sales plummeted and her voice became raspy and hoarse.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies like The Bodyguard.  Although her career significantly slowed down, she was getting ready to make a movie comeback starring in the remake of “Sparkle” loosely based on the story of the Supremes and also starring Jordin Sparks.

Houston’s marriage to singer Bobby Brown was nothing short of tumultuous and high-profile over the years.  They did have one child together, Bobbi Kristina.  Whitney was also the cousin of the famed Dionne Warwick.

Many of Whitney Houston’s friends and fans are speechless and saddened by the news of her death as she was deeply loved by all.  Word has it that the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards will pay tribute to the singer in honor of her life.