東區學英語 | 菁英東區校天后殞落鐵肺惠妮驟逝歌聲傳世界R.I.P. Whitney Houston 1963-2012 @ TOEIC,TOEFL,IELTS,全民英檢,SAT,菁英英日語-東區分校

東區學英語 | 菁英東區校天后殞落鐵肺惠妮驟逝歌聲傳世界R.I.P. Whitney Houston 1963-2012

(CNN) -- Two loud booms jolted awake the music industry executive in her fifth-floor room of the Beverly Hilton hotel.

The time was 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The thuds seemed to be coming from the room below her, followed by the loud and urgent voice of a man.

It was only later that the executive and the world learned the news: Whitney Houston, who was a guest in the room below hers, died at the age of 48.

Like countless music fans, the executive was shocked by the loss of one of the world's most majestic voices.

Just days before, Houston and her daughter Bobbi Kristina looked joyous swimming in the hotel pool, said the executive, who did not want to be identified. Houston, she said, looked healthy and beautiful.

But on Saturday afternoon, Houston's bodyguard found her body, said Courtney Barnes, publicist for hip-hop artist Ray J, who was dating the pop diva.

Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent" and that the cause of her death is under investigation.

Famed music producer Clive Davis, a longtime mentor of Houston's, hosted his annual pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday night to a subdued crowd.

"My heart goes out to her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, and her mother, Cissy," Davis said. "Her family asked that we carry on. We dedicate this evening to her."

Guests at the party included Tony Bennett, Gladys Knight, Penny Marshall, Jimmy Jam, Paul Shaffer, David Foster, Adam Lambert and Britney Spears.

Houston was scheduled to attend the party, but was not scheduled to attend the Grammys on Sunday, her spokesperson said.

"I'm sure the whole show will be a tribute to her," Shaffer said about the Grammys. "Here is music's happiest night combined with such a sad note. You got to be some kind of philosopher to make some kind of sense out of this. I certainly can't."

According to her official website, Houston sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos in her career.Her string of Billboard No. 1 hits in the 1980s included "Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know," "The Greatest Love of All," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)."

Houston's commanding performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Super Bowl, just days into the first Persian Gulf War, electrified audiences and became the gold standard for performing the national anthem, according to many music critics.But her mesmerizing voice was pacified in recent years as she grappled with addiction problems.

Houston took a hiatus for several years before releasing her first album in seven years, "I Look to You," in 2009.

"I just took a break, which sometimes you have to," Houston said. "You have to know when to slow that train down and kind of just sit back and relax for a minute."

In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Houston recalled how her mother arrived one day at her doorstep with sheriff's officers and a court order in a drug intervention. She talked about doing cocaine and smoking marijuana.

"(My mother) says, 'I have a court (injunction) here,'" Houston said. "Either you do it my way, or we're just not going to do this at all. We are both going to go on TV, and you're going to retire.'"

Houston had a high-profile and tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown, a former "New Edition" star who has had multiple brushes with the law.

The couple appeared together in the mid-2000s on the reality show "Being Bobby Brown." They had one child together, Bobbi Kristina.In May 2011, Houston got help for her much-publicized struggle with drugs and alcohol, her representative said at the time.

But before her death, on the eve of the 54th annual Grammy Awards, Houston was making a comeback to the spotlight.She had performed as late as Thursday night at a pre-Grammy event in the area, singing a duet of "Jesus Loves Me" with singer Kelly Price.

Houston also recently returned to a movie set for "Sparkle," a remake of the 1976 hit that was loosely based on the story of The Supremes. It is scheduled be released nationwide in August, according to Sony Pictures. It was Houston's first movie role since 1996's "The Preacher's Wife."

News of Houston's death elicited waves of shock and grief among fellow music legends.

"I just can't talk about it now. It's so stunning and unbelievable," singer Aretha Franklin said. "I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen. My heart goes out to Cissy (Houston's mother), her daughter Bobbi Kris, her family and Bobby (Brown)."

Dolly Parton, who wrote "I Will Always Love You," said, "mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'"

And Simon Cowell, the music mogul known for his blunt critiques of performers, said he was "absolutely devastated by this news."

"You're going to remember where you were when you heard the news. It's that significant," he said. "I'm so sad for her. She was undoubtedly one of the greatest superstars of all time, one of the greatest voices in our lifetime we're likely ever to hear."