Whitney Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hilton hotel on Saturday (February 11, 2012). Though authorities say it's too early to determine the cause of death, TMZ.com claim the singer had "partied heavily" at the hotel with a group of friends and could have drowned in the bathtub afterwards.

No illegal drugs were found in the hotel room, though prescription drugs were present and TMZ say it's possible the singer drowned in the bathtub. Sources say when medical staff arrived, "Whitney's body was already removed from the bathtub", therefore it will take an autopsy to determine the exact cause. Beverly Hills police were still searching the hotel room at the time of TMZ's story. The entertainment site claims Whitney and her close friends were in a bar "drinking" and being "very loud". Sources say the hotel was already teeming with celebrities and reporters ahead of the Grammy Awards tonight, though Whitney and her group "stood out because they were so boisterous". Beverly Hills spokesman Mark Rosen said Whitney's considerable entourage had taken over the majority of the hotel's fourth floor for the evening, telling BBC News, "There were a number of people on scene who were able to positively identify Ms Houston for us". Her cousin Dionne Warwick - who performed on the Jonathan Ross show in the UK this weekend - said Whitney seemed fine before her tragic death. Her mother Cissy spoke with her daughter around 30 minutes before she died, and the singer apparently spoke of attending the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party.

Her death marks the tragic decline of the music's industry's once-Golden Girl. She enjoyed remarkable success in the mid 80's to the late 90's, but her extraordinary voice was shattered by drug use in her later career.