I was devastated to hear that Whitney Houston has passed away just one day before the Grammy’s. Although she was before my time, I grew up listening to her remarkable voice. I can easily say that she had one of the most beautiful and powerful voices of all time. She will definitely be missed. 

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub.The cause of death was not immediately known.It was later ruled by the coroner to have been “accidental drowning”.Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. Local police said there were “no obvious signs of criminal intent.” On March 22, 2012, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office reported the cause of Houston’s death was drowning and the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use”.The office stated the amount of cocaine found in Houston’s body indicates she used the substance shortly before her death.Toxicology results revealed additional drugs in her system: Benadryl, Xanax, marijuana and Flexiril.

Many blame Whitneys ex-husband, Bobby Brown as the main cause to Whitney’s addiction. Prior to her relationship with Bobby, Whitney had a phenomenal voice and career which slowly started to deteriorate when she entered in a relationship with the music producer.

The impact Whitney’s Death had on the Grammy’s 

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS. Kanye West received the most nominations with seven. Adele, Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars each received six nominations. Lil Wayne,Skrillex, and Radiohead all earned five nominations. The unexpected death ofWhitney Houston caused for a change in the schedule. Show producers quickly planned a tribute, with Jennifer Hudson performing a tribute to Whitney Houston’s  famous single, I Will Always Love You.The awards show began with a Bruce Springsteen performance followed by an LL Cool J prayer for Whitney Houston. 

Personally I think Jennifer did an amazing job singing “I Will Always Love You” which is definitely not an easy song to cover. You can watch the tribute by clicking on the link provided below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olTXylHpuJM 

Some controversy also surrounded the attendance of many artists at this years Grammy’s.
It is said that Lady Gaga, amongst other very prominent musicians had decided not to attend the Grammy awards mainly because of lack of attention focused on them,no nominations and no performances. 
However, after the announcement that Whitney Houston passed away, and upon word that Jennifer Hudson would be performing a tribute, it became apparent that viewership for the show on Sunday night would skyrocket. Within hours of the above, plenty, including Lady Gaga, of the stars who decided not to go as they weren’t being featured, turned around and rsvp-ed last minute. Personally, I think the Grammys is definitely an honour to attend therefore I do not understand why any artist would not want to attend regardless of their feature in the show. Whitney Houston was also a huge role model to many of these artists therefore it would look disrespectful to not attend the show especially because of the tribute and emphasis they were paying to Whitneys death. I would be very disappointed to hear that certain celebrities only came for the “publicity” the grammys is a time to honour great music & artists therefore all artist invited should attend.

The death of Whitney Houston is surely a tragedy and should be set as a warning and example to other young women of the effects of abuse and drugs.
 
Sources:  Nadeska, Alexis. Whitney Houston’s Death. Retrieved from: http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/03/24/whitney-houston-autopsy-cause-of-death-details/