Wow... it shouldn't be surprising but it still catches you off guard.

If you're playing the odds, it would be drug related so your assumption is probably a good one.

Her voice was so beautiful. So sad.

(AP) BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The annual pre-Grammy Clive Davis gala is so hot this year that even Diddy is getting calls from celebrities who are trying to get on the bill -- and in the seats.

Diddy will introduce Davis at the event Saturday, held one day before the Grammy Awards.

Davis said Diddy called his cellphone Friday, saying, "Everybody is trying to get me to call you."

"The demand is so overwhelming," said Davis, who has hosted the event for 37 years. "How do you tell people who've been coming for 10, 20 years, that it's not a lifetime pass?"

The pre-Grammy party is always white-hot and has featured performances from top acts like Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Carlos Santana. This year, The Kinks will take the stage to play a medley of their hits, with the help of Jackson Browne and Elvis Costello. Mumford & Sons are hoping to arrive in time to get in on the performance, Davis said.

"It remains to be seen if their flight lands early enough, if we'll go on without a rehearsal. But Mumford & Sons (said), '(They're) our biggest influence. We love Ray Davies, we love The Kinks.'"

At the Beverly Hilton on Friday, Alicia Keys was getting ready to rehearse. Monica and Brandy will also hit the stage. Vintage clips of the annual event played on the big screen, showing performances from Houston, Lou Reed, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin and Usher.

Houston isn't on the performance list, but that could change.

"It's her favorite night of the year ... (so) who knows by the end of the evening," said Davis, who founded Arista Records and is now the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment.

Too sad.

Her mom is Cissy Houston, her cousin is Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin is something like a cousin or an aunt...can't remember. Point being, she did not just show up from obscurity. Granted, she made it in music on her incredible talent, but she wasn't "discovered" after paying her dues in some smoky club. She came from a well known musical family.

Very sad. Such a talent. My thoughts go to her mother and daughter.

It's the news media that is irking me. Do they think it makes the story sexier if they bend a few details? A rags-to-riches story makes a better angle? A girl discovered in anonymity makes for a better angle, I guess. it's just irking me that they are ignoring or using misleading words like that.

Such a voice. Her rendition of " l will always love you" from the movie the "Body Guard" is one of my all time favorites.

What a beautiful, beautiful voice she had. It's a shame she lived such a troubled life. Houston was criticized by some in the black community for selling out to pop music and not being black enough, and it reportedly bothered her a great deal. There was even speculation that she originally became involved with Bobby Brown to prove her "blackness."

:(

"Whitney Houston was a public figure her whole adult life. She battled her demons in the public eye. Today, everyone will praise her. Tonight at the Grammys, she will be paid tribute. In the next few days she will be eulogized. That's as it should be, she deserves it.

But wouldn't it be great if all of us could then leave it at that? Let's ignore the gossip press and scandal media that will try to exploit her memory now that she can't defend herself.

Whitney Houston touched millions of us, but she does not belong to us. She was someone's daughter. She was someone's mother. Her memory, like her love, belongs to them.

The rest of us will always have her music.

When the eulogies have ended, let's let Whitney Houston rest in peace."

Hamilton, I don't think its accurate to say she got her break because of her relation to Aretha or Dionne. That is more of an interesting factoid than a ticket to the big times. Sure she was from a singing tradition and undoubtedly benefited from their tutelage, but she worked her way up and made her own success by singing well, attracting fans, selling albums, and selling tickets. Her fans didn't fall in love with her voice because of some distant relation.

Not sure why people are misunderstanding what I said. YES, she made it in music because she had the talent and attracted her own fans.

But her break was not because she was "discovered" (which the news media kept saying last night) like she was an unknown or something. She had connections to the music industry already and they were introduced to her through her mother.

It's like saying Drew Barrymore or Nicholas Cage were "discovered".

This isn't to take away from her talent, but it takes more than that - be it connections, timing, luck, exceptional beauty, etc.

There have been many back up singers that do not make an impression. But I never was under the impression that because she had famous people in her life that it had anything to do with making it easier to get special attention.

I was always under the impression from her first album that her connections played a very little part if any part with her discovery. This was what I have read and it could not be true you never know for sure how things happen unless it happens to you.

True I have seen some famous people that their family connection get them an appointment to go directly to the studio and they get a album deal without a blink. That never seemed to be the case with Whitney.

Read the article below. Does it sound like the news is reporting her rise to the top sound like they are reporting her rise in a bias way? Every report I am hearing mention her family and their accomplishments. But it does not seem that they were the road to her having easy success. It has never been disputed so the reporters are only reporting what they can confirm.

Of course even with all her astounding connections in the music business, Houston would not have made it if she didn't have the voice to do so, and she also had exceptional looks too which enhanced her entire presentation.

For someone born with such gifts that were free to her to develop and refine, her life and how she lived it is a terrible shame and waste. I heard a clip of her last comeback that flopped and her voice was essentially gone - which was just terrible and unnecessary waste.

I am also making the assumption that her death is drug abuse related because how she lived her life for the past 15 years indicates it, but if it was not I do so hope that she was singing again and re-defining the voice. I always thought that Striesand and Houston's voices were *the* voices of the last half of the 20th century or even to date - though Adele and Christine Aguilera's powerhouse voice comes close, nobody really has matched the splendor of either of those two powerhouse voices, to me.

I suspect that her death was a result of related present or past drug abuse. Nobody can abuse their body with drugs and/or alcohol for years and not pay a real, visible physical price - even with all the money and connections in the world, it still ruins one's looks , one's health, one's innate gifts, their overall life and forever changes the lives of those around them to some irreversable degree.

Part of the addiction is that the person so often simply cannot see it despite the obviousness of it and will deny, deny, deny the addiction, and the fact that it has changed them and the relationships with those around them so much. That is the part of drug addiction I've never understood if they are still in denial.

The fact that they use so much of one or many drugs, that they can't function in life, that their ability to support themselves is gone, that they live isolated lives, especially that they have lost the exceptional looks they once had, has had problems with the law - even in the face of all of it they will find some reason to deny that it is a real addiction or that the blame is due to drug use - it's always something else.

If they even have a real recognition that their lives are actually terrible.

That is the part I don't understand, they can be so obviously bright and intelligent about everything when using their brain- but will have no self perception about the problem which has ruined their life.

Obviously I have someone important to me who lives a life of addiction.

The very act of denial of addiction in the face of the obvious facts is a hallmark of addiction.

I hope that in this decade we will make discoveries about addiction which will provide real and viable cures - even better yet, workable preventions.

I do love her very much, despite everything I think she has a loving heart. Of course I have never had to clean up after her throughout her life, so it's easy for me.

All of it has had a profound effect upon her parents.

The wold of celebrity is a tough one, more so for some than others, filled with temptations and stresses some of us may never encounter or understand... and we just don't know beyond what the media tells us.

Another sad loss for the world...

Bobby Brown didn't do anything she didn't let him--her death may or may not be her fault but I do not see how it can be his, unless we go to the victim mentality of no one has a choice in their decisions, who they spend time with, who the marry and or procreate with, what they do to their body, etc.

We all make choices and we sometimes pay dearly for them.

Look at what society is burdened with--the aftermath of lack of personal responsibility.

That distracts us from solving the problems of society that are NOT from lack of personal responsibility.

I read that Whitney Houston's daughter has made two trips to the hospital for "anxiety." I wonder what kind of life she's going to have.

Not really, just that the bathroom is where you go for privacy, and most abuse drugs in private. News today is that she didn't drown, but that Zanax and alcohol were in her system. Her daughter is on suicide watch.

Janis IAN'S STARS is in my head Barbara Cook's rendition is heartbreaking & she lived it the hard way!

[edit]
I was never one for singing
What I really feel
Except tonight, I'm I’m bringing
Everything I know that's real that’s real.
Stars they come and go
They come fast or slow
They go like the last light
of the sun, all in a blaze
and all you see is glory
But Hey but it gets lonely there
when there's there’s no one here to share .
We can shake it away
If you’ll hear a story story.

People lust for fame
Like athletes in a game
we break our collarbones
and come up swinging
Some of us are downed
Some of us are crowned
and some are lost and never found
But most have seen it all
They live their lives in sad cafes and
And music halls
They always have a story come up singing.

Some make it when they're they’re young
before the world has
done its dirty job
and later on, someone will say
"You've had your day
Now you must make way"
But they'll they’ll never know the pain
of living with a name you never owned
or the many years forgetting
what you know too well.

The That the ones who gave the crown
have been let down
You try to make amends
without defending
Perhaps pretending.
Perhaps pretending
You never saw the eyes
of grown men of twenty five
that followed as you walked
and asked for autographs
or kissed you on the cheek
and you never could can’t believe
they really loved you .

Some make it when they're old
(Perhaps they have a soul
they're not afraid to bare .
Or perhaps there's nothing there)

Stars they come and go
They come fast
They come slow
They go like the last light
Of the sun, all in a blaze
And all you see is glory
But most have seen it all.
They live their lives in sad cafes
And music halls
They always have a story.

Some women have a body
men will want to see,
so they put it on display
Some people play a fine guitar
I could listen to them play all day
Some ladies really
move across a stage
and gee, they sure can dance
I guess I could learn how
if I gave it half a chance.
but I always feel so funny
when my body tries to soar.
and I seem to always worry
about missing the next chord

I guess there isn't isn’t anything
to put up on display .
except the tune
and whatever else I say.
Anyway, But anyway, that isn't isn’t really
what I meant to say - -
I meant to tell a story
I live from day to day
Stars they come and go
They come in fast or
They come slow
TheyAnd they go like the last light
of the sun, all in a blaze
and all you see is glory
But most have seen it all
They live their lives in sad cafes and
And music halls
Andwe always have a story.

So if you don't don’t lose patience
with my fumbling around,
I’ll come up singing for you
even when I'm down I’m down.

I doubt I could have walked a block in Whitney's heels but she wouldn't be able to walk a block in my sneakers.
Lets all stay inside our own shoes be content it wasn't your life that went that way & try to enjoy the music.

This is not the same thing as genuine personal responsibility, in the conventional sense.

Very moving....sad and almost inspirational at the same time.

She will be missed by so many. I hope she found her peace.

Lily, I was going to start a post about Bobby Brown but it is probably fitting to incorporate his issue here. Your parents have such a big influence on your life and how you cope with "Life".

I wonder about her surviving parent and what effect he will have. Regardless if people think that he was/was not to blame for Whitney's problems it seems clear he was not a helpful influence in Whitney's life as a spouse. How will he influence his daughter?

One can hope that she sees how badly things went for her mother and she makes the choice to walk away forever from addictive substances. That is entirely possible, many children of addicts do make that choice for life. My husband is the child of a *lot* of alcoholism on his paternal side and he chose in his early 20's, after some normal early adult partying, to leave it all alone and he was completely successful and totally content with his choice. He has no problem at all being at parties, he just doesn't drink and finally people no longer push hard at him to do so.

It was odd, until his mid 40's, it got to the point of irritating how a few would always push HARD for him to drink too, the few close friends who drank too darn much themselves. One suddenly and completely quit in his late 40's, we lost touch of the other one. Both were going to be in trouble if they didn't leave it alone and I was so happy when the one finally wised up.

But I wondered why it woudl be such an issue with them to try to get him to drink, knowing his background and how he felt about it.

His father was a functioning alcoholic - not a great parent to have although my husband dearly loved him but he never knew who his father could have been when sober for any extended period of time - like say from one weekend to the next. Never happened in his memory. He can't remember his father going a single night without at least one martini, not in DH's entire lifetime of memory.

He is dead now, he was fighting cancer but was also an alcoholic to the end and I think the combined alcohol with all the cancer meds is what finally ended him.

Unless, of course, he's the designated driver.