Whitney Houston mysteriously died at the young age of 48. Houston is recognized as being one of the greatest if not the greatest singers of all time. Her death casts a shadow on the Grammy Awards - (Mark Kettenhofen - photo ) Whitney Houston died at the Beverly Hilton Hotel just hours before a pre Grammy party hosted by her mentor Clive Davis (pictured above) at the same site.

Video Beat - SHADOWS ARE CAST OVER the GRAMMY AWARDS due to WHITNEY HOUSTON'S DEATH

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

The 48-year-old singer mysteriously dies in a Beverly Hills hotel a day before the Grammy Awards - American Idol's Steven Tyler's dirty old man persona is on the bubble of going over the top - One of the best TV hosts Diego Brunel and his Don't Tell My Mother program begins new season on the National Geographic channel - Recommended TV Listings

Sunday February 12, 2012

THE GREAT SINGER WHITNEY HOUSTON DEAD @ 48

How strange that on the day before the Grammy Awards the world was stunned when the death of Whitney Houston mysteriously died at the young age of 48. The cause of her death has yet to be disclosed. Houston is recognized as being one of the greatest if not the greatest singers of all time.

Houston was found dead in her room on the 4th story of the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday February 11th at 3:55 in the afternoon USA Pacific time in Beverly Hills, California USA. The hotel was to be the venue of a pre Grammy Awards party that evening hosted by Houston's mentor Clive Davis who signed her to her first record deal with his Arista Records.

The most recent reports within three hours of discovering her body indicated that foul play was ruled out but Houston has a history of drug abuse and personal problems with her former husband Bobby Brown who she divorced in 2007. She is the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of the renowned vocalist Dione Warwick giving her some insight of to the obstacles in the entertainment business.

CNN was our source of the bad news with their extensive coverage of the tragedy almost duplicating their delivery of the news of Michael Jackson's tragic death. Houston's passing is almost a facsimile of shocking emotional impact from the fans and members of the entertainment industry as did Jackson and Elvis Presley.

Singer Lionel Richie a friend of Houston's said in essence on CNN following her death that for a talent with the voice the quality of Houston's that it was difficult for her or any star of her magnitude who is always in the media limelight that it is difficult to deal with the pressures of being famous and dealing with her personal life.

The Grammy's will now take on a different focus as Houston's death must and will be recognized. The tragedy will cast a shadow on the 54th Awards. The question now is how they will deal with it. Will they celebrate Houston's singing legacy and life or will they mourn her death? It's a very fine line to balance and walk on. Given the situation this is one Grammy Awards show that is a DO NOT TO MISS.

Simon Cowell said on an interview with Piers Morgan's and CNN's coverage of her death, "She fell into the wrong crowd, there's no doubt about that."

Morgan said that given the course of events that publications around the world will be rushing to change their coverage to adjust from whatever they planned t report to now include Houston's death.

Morgan was spot on as our intention was to lead with a Grammy story focusing on Lady Ga Ga. That plan was immediately changed with Houston's death.

Ga Ga is nominated for album of the year to compliment her short but productive career. The point now being Houston has a history which includes selling over 170 million albums and videos and is the only artist to be credited for seven straight # 1 hits on the Billboard Top 100 Music charts. Her list of awards includes 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010.

The Grammy Award will be telecast at 9 AM live in the Singapore/Hong Kong time zones and 8 AM in the Bangkok/Indonesia time zones. In the USA it will be telecast on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET.

AMERICAN IDOL IN HOLLYWEIRD

Yes it's that time again when American Idol puts their yellow ticket winners to the test in their Hollywood auditions. The first part aired this past week but more remain.

This season the contestants are not as strong as last season's. There are some good voices but none as spectacular as last season winner Scott McCreery or runner-up Lauren Alaina.

Jane Carrey the 24-year-old daughter of comedian/actor Jim Carrey failed to make it past her Hollywood audition in was sent home. She called her father who consoled her and related that he was told NO many times in his now successful career.

What has jumped out is the dirty old man behavior of AI judge Steven Tyler which to some can be interpreted as humor and to others offensive. Shannon Magrane the 16-year-old daughter of former Major League Baseball (MLB) Joe Magrane who pitched in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987 auditioned for the show. He is now a color commentator for the MLB Network. Shannon is quite tall with a mature body and is a stunner. Most importantly she has one of the best voices during the audition stage.

When she informed the judges that her father was previously a professional baseball player they asked her to invite her family into the audition room. When they arrived an excited Tyler blurted out to Magrane how HOT his daughter was. The reaction was so quiet that you could almost hear a pin drop. It wasn't something that the family wanted to hear and judges Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson appeared startled.

Magrane remains in the competition and the final verdict if she will continue will air on this weeks show. Stay tuned or TUNE IN after observing the schedule below.

DON'T TELL MY MOTHER

One of the most interesting shows on television is National Geographic's Don't Tell My Mother hosted by Diego Brunel. Brunel has one of the most engaging personalities on television. He possesses the ability to speak several languages and the skill to interact with humor and substance to open up the most hardened subject.

The show travels around the world covering controversial topics. One of the most memorable was his trip to Venezuela and focusing on the bootlegging and sale of gasoline. Brunel goes into ghetto neighborhoods where people in armored cars and a bullet proof vest won't enter. In Venezuela he went into a ghetto and reluctantly accepted an invitation by the local youth's to join them in a basketball game. He did so after admitting that was not his sport. His background in the military helps as well as being educated in the USA helps him in being street wise and the ability to think on his feet.

The new season of the program airs tomorrow Monday February 13th at 10 PM in the Bangkok/Indonesia area and 11 PM in the Singapore/Hong Kong time zones on the National Geographic network. Check your listing or the Nat Geo web site for the air times in your area.

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