Say it isn't so... the once amazing Whitney Houston has died at age 48 of causes that are not yet being reported, as publicist Kristen Foster has confirmed to the AP. Sadly, because her career and public image have not been so enviable in the last decade, the obituary the AP already had ready to roll for her begins like this:

"Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died."

Where she was, or what happened, is still not known.

Access Hollywood just today was reporting that Whitney was being considered for a judge slot on The X Factor.

So. Sad.

[AP]

Update: Details have emerged about Whitney's last days, in which she was staying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and participating in pre-Grammy events, including an annual party thrown by Clive Davis which she was to attend Saturday night, and which took the shape of a tribute to her. Whitney died just before 4 p.m. Saturday in a fourth-floor suite at the hotel, and fire department personnel were unable to revive her. It's unclear who in her entourage was present at the time, or what the exact cause of death was.

At the Grammy Awards Sunday evening, Jennifer Hudson is now scheduled to sing one of Whitney's songs in tribute.

The LA Times is reporting that daughter Bobbi Kristina, 18, was with Whitney Thursday during a junket in which she was giving vocal tips to singers Monica and Brandy, and had to haul her mother off after she was behaving erratically and dancing around the room. There was another report of the singer doing handstands by the pool. That night, Whitney appeared at a party at Tru nightclub in L.A. billed as Kelly Price & Friends Unplugged: For the Love of R&B. Whitney was billed as one of the evening's special guests, and after Price acknowledged her in the audience Whitney got up and sang a shaky duet with Price of "Jesus Loves Me." See the video of Whitney's final performance below. [Live From Front Row]

Also, Gothamist spoke with former MTV VJ John Norris about Whitney's death. MTV got criticism last night for not interrupting their normal airings of Teen Mom to do a Whitney tribute.