On the eve of the 54th Grammy Awards ceremony, music’s biggest night, the world was shocked and saddened by the sudden death of yet another pop icon. Whitney Houston was found dead in the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton Hotel room. Her aunt and daughter were said to be in the hotel room with her as she prepared to attend a Pre-Grammy Gala. The “I Will Always Love You” singer was only 48 years old. Her last performance ever was on the 9th of February with Kelly Price. Houston was attending a celebration in honor of Price’s Grammy nominations when she spontaneously joined Price on stage and did a rendition of “Yes, Jesus Loves Me.”
The announcement of her death spread quickly on social networking sites including Twitter, which had people thinking it was a hoax, until news stations confirmed her death after it was reported by her representative. Although an official police report on the cause of her death has not been released, speculations that she drowned in her bathtub were ruled out by police claiming there was not enough water in her lungs to drown. Assumptions now are that the cause of death was an overdose on prescription drugs mixed with alcohol, which resulted in a heart attack.
“I still can’t process that she’s gone. I feel for her daughter, and we should keep her in our prayers,” said Tracy-Ann Wallace third-year fashion major. Although most college students were born after Houston’s career was already in full swing, her music continues to reach younger generations of listeners. “Whitney’s always been there since the time I was born,” said Alecka Edwards third-year visual effects major. “And now she’s not there, just like Michael Jackson. Why can’t it be a joke?” Edwards went on to say.
Despite her absence from center stage for a couple of years, Houston’s vocals were still one of the biggest and most recognized in the industry. Popularly known as The Voice she was said to have a five octave vocal range, which undoubtedly helped her gain mainstream success in the music industry. She sold over 200 million albums, and received over 400 awards worldwide including 6 Grammy Awards, 22 American Music Awards and 24 Billboard Music Awards. Houston’s singing roots began at Newark’s Hope Baptist Church, and she was continually influenced by her mother Cissy Houston, who was a Grammy-award-winning gospel singer, and her cousin Dionne Warwick, also a famous singer.
Amidst the media attention on the death of Houston, the show did go on. The Grammy Awards took place, with the usual red carpet entries of dazzling celebrities dressed to impress or shock. But they did manage to pay special tribute to Houston with an opening prayer and a standing ovation rendition of the song I Will Always Love You, this time sung by an overwhelmed Jennifer Hudson. The past couple of years have seen several celebrities, including Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Heath Ledger, die in connection to prescription drugs overdose. Is Hollywood & the music industry going to start doing anything to stop its beloved icons from falling prey to the same tragedies?