the fire department and hotel security were already attempting resuscitation measures. but at 3:55 p.m. this afternoon whitney houston was pronounced dead at the beverly hilton hotel. she has been positively identified by friends, family and co-workers that were with her at the hotel. and the next of kin have already been notified. there were no obvious signs of any criminal intent at this time, and it's currently being investigated by the beverly hills police detectives. that's all i have right now for a prepared state. >> was she a guest here at the hotel or was she here for the party? >> she was a guest here at the hotel. >> was she alone? >> she had an entourage with her. >> was she in the room? >> yes. >> was there any signs of drug

use or drug overdose? >> it's still under investigation. our detectives are upstairs right now. >> hotel security was trying to recess tate her? >> they did initially begin ree resuscitation efforts but they were not successful. >> who made the call? >> somebody in her entourage. >> was she staying with rayjay? >> i do not know that. >> what happens at this point? >> it is currently under investigation. our detectives are going to follow up. the first thing to determine is whether or not it was natural causes or some other cause of death. eventually it will be turned over to the coroner's office for investigation. >> first name is mark, mark, last name rosen and i'm a lieutenant with the beverly hills police department. >> will you give us an update later? >> i'll be happy to give you an update, give you more

information as it becomes available. >> she was on the fourth floor in her room? >> yes. >> and there are investigators up there right now investigating the scene? >> yes. we brought in detectives from home on saturday, they are currently investigating and we'll give you more information as it becomes available. >> her body is still in the hotel? >> yes. >> will this affect the night's events? >> i couldn't comment on that. >> any other questions? thank you. >> all right. you were just looking at a live briefing there from the beverly hills police department, lieutenant mark rosen with the beverly hills police department. he said at 3:23 the beverly hills police got a 911 emergency call that came in and from the beverly hilton hotel. they said they arrived within just two minutes and there were already people on the scene when they got to the fourth floor. there were members of the hotel

staff, emergency workers, fire department trying to revive someone in a hotel -- in a room on the fourth floor at the beverly hilton and that person turned out to be whitney houston, friends, family, co-workers have identified her as whitney houston. at 3:55 this evening l.a. time whitney houston pronounced dead at the age of 48. there you go. can you believe it? howard bragman, you still there? >> yeah, don. >> sad, huh? >> let me sort of tell you what's going on tonight now. >> yeah, go ahead. >> behind the scenes in hollywood. there's a lot of scrambling. clive davis, who discovered whitney, is having a big pre-grammy party tonight, which is one reason she was in town. so they're deciding to go ahead, and obviously tomorrow are the grammys and you can't just go on with the show.

you got to respect what happened. and i think there's a lot of people who are going to have an all nighter tonight pulling this together. >> howard, thank you. we appreciate your expertise. can you stand by? i want to bring in hln's james veldevelo -- jane velez mitchell. you and i talk all the time. we are very open and honest with each other. you heard the lieutenant there. but, jane, you are a recovering addict. you know the issues that whitney houston had. talk to us. >> well, i think we have to be very careful because the first rule of journalism is to never assume of course. but the fact that she's in a hotel and that she has this history of drug abuse is certainly something that is going to immediately come to people's mind as a possibility. alcohol and drugs are cunning, baffling and powerful and they

will wait and do pushups, your disease is doing pushups. she had said to oprah in 2010, i believe that, she had conquered her demons but you never conquer them. you are never cured of a drug addiction or alcoholism. all you have is one day. you have a daily reprieve and you have to work a program very, very hard, especially if you have the kind of drug abuse history that whitney houston has. she's confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana, pills. it's sad to say but her most infamous comment of course was "crack is whack." so that is something that is always a threat. there are people with 20, 30 years of sobriety who have gone out for whatever reason, sometimes it's a crisis, sometimes it's just they're not working their program of

sobriety and this is a disease of amnesia and we forget what we were like. that's why we have to constantly talk to other addicts and alcoholics and remind ourselves of what we were like so that we don't forget because it's almost like you have an angel on one side and a devil on the other shoulder and that devil is constantly beckoning to you. and drug addiction is the only real problem that presents itself as the solution. and that's why it is so cunning because there are many times when you have a crisis or you're nervous or you're facing a stressful time and it's grammy time that maybe that presents itself in one's mind as a solution when it really is of course the problem. and this is a woman of incredible -- this was a woman of incredible talent we all know. >> incredible talent. >> a lot of addicts are

incredibly talented. >> when you look throughout history and look back at any time throughout history, the most incredible artistss are painters, writers, singers, what have you, have been people who have had issues, people who aren't manageable, hard to get along. it's those talented people who face those demons. you know, they say sometimes there's a fine line honestly between being someone who's a genius and going over the line and being something else. i think it all goes together, jane. sometimes. >> it certainly does. it is tough when somebody tries to get sober. she had been in rehab numerous times, and it doesn't take. sometimes there are those who we call chronic slippers and they just can't seem to get it or they get it for a little while and they lose it dpen and go out given. it's almost like a blow to your confidence and your ability to remain sober. the more times you go out, the

more you doubt you can do it and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. she sort of fit that criteria at least in the sense she had tried numerous times. again, in 2010 she said to oprah my understanding is that she had conquered her demons but it's not something that you ever conquer. >> hey, jane, stand by. we want to say this as when anyone of note or prominence dies, whitney houston has died. we have learned that from the beverly hills police department. we don't know the cause of death. the lieutenant said there's no sign of criminal intent, which still doesn't say what the cause of death was. we don't know what happened. we're not saying it was drug related but when you look at the totality or entirety of whitney houston's death that, is part of it. just like when michael jackson died, we had to talk about the

wild molestation charges. stand by, please, jane. i'm going to get to our dr. drew in a second. i just want to get to what some of the stars are saying. we've been talking about some of the reaction on twitter. malcolm jamal warner saying "rest in peace, whitney." there is now more information coming in from people from stars all over the world. we're hearing from la toya jackson now as well. la toya says i can't fathom the fact that she has died. my heart goes taught to her mother, daughter and loved ones. whitney, you will be missed and we can all second that emotion as well. whitney grew up as a native of newark, new jersey. the mayor of newark, new jersey, cory booker, who is very famous for turning that around, turning that city around. here's what he a saying.

he said "a legend has died. as the world mourns the loss of one of the all-time greats, we in newark feel an especially desadness. she went from a newark church to the global stage but she's remained a deep part of our pride and collective heart. she will be missed. our prayers are with her family." that is from cory booker. i'm being told by producers i'm getting a statement from quincy jones. i'm doing all of this on my blackberry. quincy jones is saying, "i am absolutely heartbroken at the news of whit any houston's passing. ashford and simpson first made me aware of whitney when she was just 16 and i always regretted not having had the opportunity to work with her. she was a true original and a talent beyond compare. i will miss her terribly." that's coming in tonight from quincy jones. we're getting information from a

lot of stars. bret michaels tweeting "my deepest condolences to whitney houston's family and friends. i first met whitney when we were in rome" and then he had a link to something from that. again, coming in from all over the world. you know, when they told me that whitney houston had died and i ran up here right after the show, i was on my way down and they said do you have any information? i said i don't need any information, i don't need any wire copy, i don't need anything. i grew up with whitney houston, i know all about whitney houston and believe you me anyone from this age, 25 up to 55 years old, you are saddened and you don't need a dictionary to tell you about whitney houston. you know when you hear her voice on the radio. you know when you see her. you know when she's not doing well when you see her on television and you go, whitney,

you need to pull it together, what have you. i love whitney houston. she has one of the best voices of all times, one of the most talented singers of all times. she opened her mouth and music would come out and she did not need a band or anyone behind her. she had an amazing, amazing instrument and it will be missed. dr. drew, what can you tell us? >> well, i mean, obviously i was just thinking to myself that we've all lost something great that the people that really use in these situations are the people that just see her as mom or sister or wife or, you know, whatever. these are the folks that suffer and we have to keep that in mind tonight. you have to keep in mind that we are sit hearing having conversations where we speculate but we know nothing at this point. i love what jane was saying. just can't resist bringing up the topic, at least if those people are out there suffering, it is a reminder that this thing is cunning, it may have

contributed here. a couple things i want to say, though, as i was listening to the reports, we are learning a little something here. the fact that they aborted the resuscitation attempt in the hotel room after only about 20 minutes tells you that she was down for quite a while probably. she was not transported, they didn't continue cpr. that's kind of a tell that this is something that was already fruitless once they had started resuscitation attempts. there's something in the story there that needs to be understood. and then, number two, you and jane mentioned that she was in treatment several times and people that have chronic conditions like addiction like this that have been troubling and in danger for so many years, you said her last treatment was in may of 2011, if i were treating her, i would ask her to sit out a year or two and not work and focus on her treatment.

>> jane, you're still on, by the way. >> the fact that she's back at work making a movie say this spring or the winter or fall, that's not a good sign. that's a sign that that may have been what, you know, contributed to this unraveling. >> you know, it's interesting, dr. drew, because i knew that because i was just the other night i was telling larry -- it wasn't just the other night, it was last night as a matter of fact, i saw a promo for adele and i think as anderson is going to be interviewing adele on "60 minutes" and they mentioned somehow somewhere the surgery that adele had to have on her nodes on her throat. and a number of people, keith richards i think and a number of singers have had to have that same surgery. it just got me looking on the internet and whitney houston, what has happened to her voice, could she have nodes, could she have this surgery? just going on, rambling because

i was dealing with a cold and couldn't sleep. i just got all this information about whitney houston and i'm sitting on this anchor desk tonight reporting on information i just read last night as i was on the internet and talking about singers as they get older and how their range chases and their voice. all this led from a promo that anderson was interviewing adele. >> i tell you what it says to me, don, i say to myself, yes, a singer like adele would take the time nestor her voice to heal. but when people have addiction or substance problems, they don't take the time necessary to heal. they jump right back to work. as jane says, it's a condition that presents itself -- the problem as the solution. it's the only disease you have to convince people they have. >> the interesting thing is that i said adele immediately when she -- i think she was bleeding from her nodes or bleeding from her vocal cords or something and

she stopped, right, and sheep g -- she got the treatment that she needed. they were saying, adele, one of the greatest voices of all time and we think of whitney as one of the greatest voices of all time. i wonder if whitney had stopped and said i'm going to do this, where would she be today. but i don't know. i'm only speculating here. >> we're way out of school again. we know nothing. >> we know nothing. >> hopefully we'll know something in a few days. >> what we do know is that we love whitney houston. can you not take that voice from her, can you not take that talent from her. >> and you mentioned also what rich humans are afflicted -- even if she has died of natural causes, a hemorrhage or something, you did make the point that people that struggle with the kinds of things she struggled with are the richest sorts of human beings. they're deeply loved, not just by those that are enriched by

their talents, but the people around them. you'll see the outpouring of the family is just going to be -- it just breaks my heart. >> dr. drew, stand by. i want to read this statement from reverend al sharpton. he is saying" i am stunned at the passing of whitney houston whom i have known since the 1980s. i have known her another, sissy, and her cousin dionne warwick down threw the years the world is saddened by the great loss tomorrow morning i will call for a national prayer for her family and the memory of whitney houston. the morning of the grammys the world should pause and pray for the memory of a gifted song bird." we are going to let whitney houston sing us to break and we will be back in moments. ♪ nah, nah

♪ i get so emotional, baby, every time i think of you ♪ think of you, baby, ain't it shocking what love can do ♪ tell me, ain't it shocking what love can do ♪ i got to watch you walk in the room, i got to watch you walk out ♪ yes, i do ♪ i like the way you move and you when talk ♪ i just watch your mouth and i remember the way ♪ i get so emotional baby, every time i think of you baby ♪ i get so emotional, ain't it

shocking what love can do ♪ sing it again ♪ i get so emotional baby, yes, i do ♪ i get so emotional, ain't it shocking what love can do ♪ ain't it shocking what love can do ♪ ain't it shocking what love, love can do ♪ come on, boy. play the guitar. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there?

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department lieutenant, mark rosen, coming out and confirming that information in a live press conference on cnn moments ago. here's what they said. they said at 3:23 in the afternoon in los angeles, pacific time, west coast time, they got a call into the beverly hills police department that someone was unconscious. they arrived within two to three minutes at the beverly hilton hotel in the fourth floor. the person residing in that room was whitney houston. they tried to revive her. they could not. friends and co-workers confirmed it was whitney houston. they could not revive her. whitney houston at 3:55 pronounced dead. cn in entertainment producer alan duke with new information. alan, what do you have? >> i'm clarifying -- i've gotten to the bottom of the confusion over who found her, i do believe. i've just been told by a

publicist for rayjay earlier, i reported that a close friend of rayjay said that he was involved but it was another ray. it was the bodyguard for whitney houston whose first name happens to be ray who discovered her body. this is according to courtney barnes, the publicist for whitney houston. it was the bodyguard whose name coincidentally is ray who discovered her. >> okay, thank you, alan. i appreciate you coming on and doing that. i don't think we need to go over that again. when we have these situations in the initial reporting there's always things coming in. as when michael jackson died, as when any big star dies, there is always conflicting information that comes in. what's important here is we are mourning the passing of a

legendary singer and entertainer whitney houston and we are sell bra -- celebrating the talent and love and all the goodness that she brought to us because she was so amazing with her singing. she did have her issues but right now we want to honor her memory and tell you about at last what we know surrounding her death. and let me just read this. we're getting feedback from all over and from entertainers as well. kim kardashian is tweeting, she said just heard the tragic news that whitney houston passed away. i pray for her daughter and loved ones who will always love whitney. rei ricky gervais saying rest in peace, whitney. and one of the most beautiful voices this world has heard.

wendy williams, wendy and whitney had their moments. that's all i'll say. but wendy is saying my family and i are saddened of the loss of a true icon and legend. our thoughts and prayers are with the entire houston family. sad day for music lovers. whitney houston should be celebrated for blessing us with her gifts, icon, mother, beautiful. of course i read the statement from the reverend al sharpton. he is tweeting but also said he'll ask for a special prayer service tomorrow morning in los angeles, which is the morning of the grammys. on the -- let's go now to kareen wynter, who is standing by in los angeles -- or in hollywood i should say. you cover whitney houston. we've been doing a lot of talking about the circumstances surrounding but what an amazing talent. i just got a text from a friend

and co-worker, holly hughes, saying heaven just got another beautiful voice added to the choir there. what a fitting way to talk about whitney houston. >> such a sad day. you've been mentioning all the entertainers tweeting. the great tony bennett tweeted saying whitney houston was the greatest singer i've ever heard. she will be missed. it's interesting, don. i just got a tweet from an artist in the music industry, a close friend of whitney houston who asked to remain anonymous but they mentioned that they were also that the kelly price event a couple days ago here in los angeles, the kelly price friends and jam session event and that person summed it up this way, that they watched this great, great entertainer perform, whitney houston. they say she looked healthy. also that she didn't look like she was abusing any sort of drugs and really summed up her performance as just that, a great, a great performance. up know, this is a singer. she's accomplished so much, you know, in her life time, in her

career but over the last several years, don, i'm sure you'll agree she was just battered in the press, one negative story after another, alleging more addiction to drugs, her physical condition. but she was set to appear in the remake of "sparkle," that was supposed to take place this year. this was supposed to be a big deal. her last movie role was back in 1996, "the preacher's wife." we've heard dr. drew talk a lot about the condition of her voice, her battle with drug, the fact that this want the whitney houston that we knew from years ago where she just reigned in the 1990s. just from covering this side of the business, there were so many people really rooting for her, looking for a whitney houston comeback, just waiting for her to do incredible and remarkable things given. this is truly a sad chapter, a final chapter in her life that everyone's just trying to make sense of, to come to terms with. i'll be at the grammys tomorrow.

you can just imagine what the reaction will be there. so many people will still be numb from this breaking news happening the day before the grammys. >> you were talking about "sparkle" and her other movie roles. do you remember when she did the "bodyguard" back in '92? it was one of those movies people thought were kind of hokie but it was a hit. and after that "waiting to exhale" and then "the preacher's wife." >> but do you remember how she blew everyone away? everyone knows her as this talent talented, phenomenal singer that blew everyone out of the office. and people thought not only is she a talented singer be bu this woman can act. we were talking kevin costner and she really stole the show and stole the spotlight. it was just a glimmer, a glimpse of what she could accomplish in

life. >> stand by. if you were a singer and you had to perform with whitney houston, much like if you have to get on a stage and sing next to patti labelle, you better bring it. a number of singers. reverend al sharpton, you there? >> yes, i'm here. >> what a voice. what a loss. >> she was a great voice, don. and she -- i knew her over 20 years. i don't know anyone that had the voice she had and the sense of humanity. and i think that all of us were rooting for her to rebound and i believe she was on the rebound. i saw her last year and she looked healthy. i would talk to her mother all the time. she comes from a great family. dionne, her aunt.

i'm in los angeles ironically and we're doing at church tomorrow morning a prayer for her family, her daughter. i'm still numb and shocked. i'm here in beverly hills. i know a lot of the pre-grammy festivities going on and people are just walking around in a stupor. but i would hope that we remember the gifts she had and what she shared with so many and that we all pause in prayer for her daughter and her family, her mom and so many because god gave whitney a voice that she shared with the world. and i would hope that all the negative press and the battering would take a pause and remember this great talent that really brought music to another level. >> hey, reverend, you know what i have to say, it's just it's odd -- do you remember you and i back in 2009 during michael jackson when you became the representative of the jackson family and you texted -- you called me and you said, don, i know it all, what do you need,

what information do you need? and then now we are here almost three years later talking about whitney houston, another death, another celebrity that -- who you knew personally as you knew michael jackson and his family. >> yeah. and i -- you're right. i was there, i knew michael very well but whitney i think -- i mean, whitney was the diva that brought music to a whole other level. and then she transitioned and did acting. she was a beautiful person. she was one of the most beautiful women you would see. she was one that didn't need make-up to look beautiful. and her talent is what we ought to remember and her sense of real, real excellence in music. she could sing with the best and o outsing them. she was just an excellent person in her artistry. yes, she had struggled and i

hope we remember not what the scandal writers would write. i hope we remember this beautiful person that came out of a stable, gospel background and was able to become the queen of pop and did it like no one else. there will never be another whitney houston, not like whitney was. >> here's the thing, reverend. we all have issues. it just that most people's don't end up being front page news. >> all of us have had battles in life. all of us have had issues to overcome. because of who she was they were front page. and i think that we should look at the ups and downs in her life and think of the ups and downs in our life and realize that she never gave up and she would always try to turn a tragedy into triumph. as we face this hour numb, we ought to seek the best. i remember one of her last hits that she sang was "i look to you." all i could think of tonight is

whitney singing that song "i look to you" and i believe at this point that's what we'll be doing here tomorrow and tonight, looking to god to make sense out of the loss of this great so songtress, a song bird if there ever was. >> as i said to you, every time i get to speak to the family, when michael died i think about the mother, katherine, who happens to be my mother's name. now that whitney has passed, i'm thinking about her mother sissy. can you imagine sissy houston? i doubt you've had a moment to reach out to her but our thoughts and prayers are with sissy houston. >> our prayers must be with sissy. i'm reaching out to her now. and through it all sissy houston had communities praying for whitney and she saw her daughter struggle like a lot of children that face challenges in life.

and at this hour my heart goes out to her and her daughter and her family and dionne warwick. she was a person who had our heart and i hope she would be remembered by the whole industry as one who did so much and did so much in such a great way. >> and since we have the reverend on and let the church say as they say amen, reverend. thank you reverend al sharpton. we appreciate it. more celebrity reaction pouring in on the death of whitney houston at the age of 48. while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these,

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this is cnn breaking news. whitney houston passed away. >> she did? >> what? >> you're kidding me? >> no. just happened. >> oh, that, is extraordinarily sad. >> news just broke. it's not such good news. whitney houston has died. >> oh, my god. are you serious? >> any reactions or remembrances of her work? >> that's ridiculous. >> oh, yeah. she's made her mark on music. that's really discerning. wow. >> what a shame. whitney houston passed away. >> what a shock. >> any particular remembrances or favorite songs or anything that you --

>> when she was in the movie with kevin costner, that was great. >> that's what people seem to be remembering the most "the bodyguard." >> what a same. >> i will always remember the performance of the national anthem after 9/11. it made the radio it was so good. >> if anyone could turn the national anthem into a hit as you heard there, it was whitney houston. we have gotten word from the beverly hills police department that whitney houston is dead at the age of 48. of course she is a native of newark, new jersey. celebrity reaction are pouring in. whitney houston was a song bird. she was the first black person

on the cover of "17 magazine." imagine that. she did movies, she sang. shaka kahn -- stand by. i'm getting the information from my producers. sorry to change thoughts like that. i'm going to go to nischelle turner. you have information on the grabbi grammys tomorrow night i'm hearing? when you get her, let me know. i'll continue on. >> don, can you hear me? >> go ahead. >> i'm sorry about that. >> you're getting information about the grammys tomorrow night. what do you know? >> i just spoke with jimmy jam, chairman emeritus of the recording academy. he told me that he believes the show will change drastically

tonight. he was waiting to hear from the producer of the show. but he said that will will be whitney tributes, there will be major changes to the show. he said if he could think like ken, what he probably believes will happen is that there will be a tribute possibly involving jennifer hudson. jennifer is here. she was doing some this evening was doing things for the academy. she said her biggest thrill was receiving her grammy in whitney. we could see jennifer hudson doing some sort of tribute to whitney houston. >> beverly hills police came on live, press conference here on cnn a short while ago and sad whitney houston was found on the fourth floor of the beverly

hilton hotel, 3:55 pacific time found dead. you're at the hotel now. paint scene for us. >> it a little bit of a mad house here now. there's such a heavy media presence. there's a heavy event presence. but then you can tell, don, that there are just a lot of fans here. it seems that there are people that are just coming who are interested to see what exactly is going on, what happened and to kind of see what they can see for lack of better word. the event hasn't yet officially kicked off but there are a lot of people milling around. i've been here about 15 minutes trying to get a feel of what's going on. the security is very tight, i will say that. they're being really stringent with who they let inside the hotel, when they they let you in, where you can go. so it's pretty locked down here. but the event will be going on as planned.

now, will they change the -- will clive davis change his event at any time as they go forward remains to be seen but it is going on tonight. >> and this is a clive davis event held annually before the grammy, right? >> yes, and brandy was scheduled to perform. every year clive has a lot of performances. they were talking about how excited they were for this event. it's kind of the big event right before the grammys. the clive davis party is the who's who of the music industry before the grammys. so it will be very interesting to see who comes tonight, what their reaction is and, you know, what they have to say about this just immense tragedy that we've

heard with whitney houston passing. >> nischelle, stand by. there's some reaction coming in and i'm going to get to jackie who is getting celebrity reaction. these are coming into my mailbox. this is interest christina aguilera. she says we have lost another legend. loves and prayers to her family. she will be missed. dolly parton of course, i will always love you. dolly says 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, signed dolly parton. one more, mariah carey tweeting

in tonight, responding and she says "i am so sad." i have the wrong one up. mariah carey says "heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable miss whitney houston. my heart felt condolences to whitney's family and to all of her millions of fans throughout the world. she will never be forgotten and is one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth." this is just coming in. some of it i'm reading very small type off my blackberry. this is from the recording academy. the recording academy is saying here "six time grammy winner whitney houston was one of the word's greatest pop singers of all time who leaves behind a robust musical library.

we extend our deepest condolences to her family, fans, friends and all who have been touched by her beautiful voice. that is the president and ceo of the recording academy. jackie, more celebrity reaction streaming in. my twitter stream is going crazy and whitney houston is trends on twitter world wide now. >> i think several of the top trend hash tags are related to whitney houston. the number one is tag r.i.p. whitney houston. gloria estefan tweeting that whitney houston always so sweet to me, was rooting for her through her struggles. such a shame, i'll truly saddened by this news. reich martin tweets "rip wnz, sending my love and deepest

condolences to her family and friends, fly, whitney, fly." ciara -- with her forever. my prayers and condolences to her family at this time. chilli, i can't believe this news about whitney houston. i'm so upset. i will never forget her. another angel gone too soon. l.a. reid, a music producer. i am completely devastated by the loss of the greatest voice of all time. and ton,braxton, she's paved the way for every single in the music industry, iconic, legendary, innovating, amazing, humble. one of the best in the world. mariah carey had several tweets tonight. she will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to grace the earth.

you might have grown up on whitney houston. i'd crank up the music to her in my car and sing of course when nobody else was around because nobody could touch that voice. >> talent. talent is always appreciated, jackie. as i was saying to larry king, it's interesting when, you know, people now you need auto tune and a whole host of computers. anybody can, if you have the right people behind you, have a music career. but not everybody has talent like whitney houston. i want to say, jacky, as you've been reading the responses from twitter there, out of the ten trending topics on twitter right now, whitney houston eight of them. we have responses coming in, bruno mars, melanie griffith.

chilli says i am a mess right now. this takes me back to a sad place with lisa. so sad. the death of whitney houston, we're going to be back in a moment. do we have the music queued up for for whitney. "i will always love you." ♪ and i will always love you i will always love you ♪ [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation,

so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

don lemon here in atlanta. cnn has confirmed that entertainer whitney houston has died at the age of 48. police confirmed that a short time ago in a press conference. whitney houston was found unresponsive at the beverly hilton hotel, pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. according to beverly hills police lieutenant mark rosen. she was identified by friends, family and co-workers as being whitney houston. that police lieutenant said he got a call, they got an emergency call, a 911 call around 3:23 into the police

department. when they arrived two to three minutes later, there were members of the fire department, hotel staff, emergency workers working on the person in that fourth floor room. that person never regained consciousness. they said there was no sign of any criminal intent, and at this point, there is no word on the cause of death of whitney houston. cnn's piers morgan is live for us now live in los angeles. piers, what a sad evening. what a sad story to have to report to our viewers. >> it's shocking, don. the great mentor who discovered whitney houston, i talked to him and we were talking about him having the greatest voice of them all. i know he was excited about whitney being at the party. apparently she went to an event last night and was singing

there. i'm told the party is going ahead tonight. it will obviously be now sort of a memorial to whitney. but i think on the phone now i have simon cowell, who has worked with whitney houston in recent years on "american idol." simon, are you there? >> yes, i'm here, piers. how are you? >> simon, obviously i know you're back in britain. this is a tragic turn of events. >> this is going to be one of these times, piers, where you're going to remember where you were when you heard the news, it's that significant. i must have had 100 text messages already. i am absolutely devastated by this news. i'm so sad for her. she was undoubtedly one of the greatest superstars of all time. one of the greatest voices, you know, in our lifetime we're likely to ever hear. and to hear this news, it's

really, really upset me. it really has. >> simon, where do you think whitney houston will rank? tony bennett came out and tweeted that for him, she was the greatest singer that he ever heard. what do you think? >> i always looked at whitney and mariah, they had this fantastic rivalry, but massive respect for each other. but for me, whitney, mariah -- whitney, ever since i've been doing this job, particularly talent shows over the last ten years, the number one singer anyone wanted to emulate, if they really wanted to be a superstar, it was always whitney. we would hear whitney songs over and over again. and she was the benchmark, she truly was. >> when you know about her stories, simon, and you've known the stories of many pop singers

over the years, but whitney's descent into drugs and self-abuse and so on was particularly sharp. i know that you knew her well. what did you make of what happened to her? that's the real tragedy here, isn't it? >> the last time i met her was about three years ago when she came on the "x factor" in london to sing a track from her new album. there was more excitement about whitney performing than any other artist we've had before. she was charming. she was fun. you know, you could tell even on that night that there was certain issues. but she was professional. the crowd went crazy. i spoke to her before and after and like i said, there were always reports of her behavior, but that's what we loved about her, the fact that she was a diva. but that night she was gracious

and charming. she delivered the performance and, you know, you heard at times during that performance just what a brilliant, brilliant singer she is. but she was more than that. she is, was a legend. and these people don't come along very often, piers. >> they don't. we lost michael jackson recently. he was the king of pop. many are saying whitney houston was the queen of pop. she's been taken at 48 years old. it's a desperately young age. it seems wrong to say it was a waste of her life, but at 48 is just no age of a woman of this incredible ability to die. >> absolutely not. i always got the impression, i know she went through some really hard times, and i think she came out publicly and spoke about them. but you always had the