Houston to be honored at Grammys tonight

LOS ANGELES — Whitney Houston will be remembered with a tribute by Jennifer Hudson tonight at the Grammy Awards, a day after she was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel.

Whitney Houston will be honored at the Grammy Awards ceremony Sunday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Photo by Wendi Kaminski/NBAE/Getty Images)

(Credit: Wendi Kaminski)

Special section: Whitney Houston: Death of a pop diva
Special section: 54th Annual Grammy awards

60 Photos

Whitney Houston 1963-2012

View the Full Gallery »

The 48-year-old singer was pronounced dead just hours before she was expected to attend a pre-Grammy gala. Beverly Hills police say "there were no obvious signs of any criminal intent."

The coroner's office says an autopsy will be performed.

Houston had been at rehearsals for the Grammy show on Thursday, coaching singers Brandy and Monica, according to someone who was there but wasn't authorized to speak publicly about it. The person said Houston looked disheveled, was sweating profusely and liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on her breath.

Houston was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone. Her 1992 hit "I Will Always Love You" won her Grammys for record of the year and best female pop vocal.

But with her success came drug use, erratic behavior and a rocky marriage to singer Bobby Brown that ended in 2007. All of it took a toll on her once-stunning voice, leaving it sounding frayed and hoarse in recent years.

A surreal scene at Beverly Hilton hotel

Music's biggest night was rocked on the eve of the event with news that the 48-year-old pop legend died at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was preparing to attend a pre-Grammy party.

The horse race over this year's Grammys seemed secondary in the wake of her death. Still, the show will go on, with a musical tribute to Houston by one of her biggest fans, Jennifer Hudson. Chaka Khan, who also shared a hit song with Houston ("I'm Every Woman"> is also reported to perform.

Kanye West is the top Grammy nominee with seven nods. But Adele - who along with the Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars is up for six - was expected to sweep her categories on the momentum of her top-selling "21" album.

Coverage of the Grammys begins 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photos

View the Full Gallery »

[tx-wheels]

So here is a woman that had a God given talent and with that talent, made millions of dollars. Typically, for those elite in Hollywood and the music industry, she becomes an alcoholic and drug addict and pretty well flushed her own life down the commode.

No the entertainment industry wants to honor her. Pure BS. She doesn't deserve being honored!

[JamesNasir00]

CBS junped to quickly to report drugs as the demise for Whitney's death. Mr. Dahler implied this on the Early Sunday News. He gave good advice to parents about the negative affect of drugs when they speak to their children. But the ME's report was not even on the fire and Whitney could have died from an accident or natural causes. Yes she abused drugs and alcohol, but it has not been determined that either of these caused her death. Next time wait until the report comes out and not be presumptious with your own opinions or assumptions. Whitney was a wonderful person and a prolific performer, she deserves the benefit of the doubt and especially the truth.

[cbsblogger]

While she might deserve privacy and honesty, her promoters don't want that. They want her promoted in the best possible light possible, because the only thing they worship is money from the use her fame and talent.

[cbsblogger]

This isn't about tribute. The Hollywood entertainment media will use this as an opportunity to do what they do best, profit enormously on the backs of others - dead or alive. They will play her death and her fans for all they are worth, just as they always do.

What do they call those big ugly birds that will swoop in and pick carcasses clean? Turkey Vultures one and all.