but there's nothing we can do about that. but i want to remember her when she was at the very, very top, because we all love stars like this. >> simon, if you could hold on the line for one moment. we're going to go back to don lemon in atlanta. he's going to give a quick news update. >> piers and simon, thank you very much. stand by, everyone, who is watching around the world. i'm don lemon in atlanta. thank you for watching. breaking news tonight. one of the greatest voices of her generation, whitney houston has died. the grammy winning entertainer was just 48 years old. we've learned that from the beverly hills police department, and we have been honoring her all evening here, as soon as we got the information and mourning the loss to the world in general. i'm joined by piers morgan, my colleague here on cnn. if i could ask simon a question. i'm noticing on twitter and from the reaction i'm getting, a lot of young people looked up to whitney houston. she meant to much to so many young people, especially performers. >> you know, it was interesting, and i was thinking about this tonight, is that i started -- as i said, i've been doing this a long time and every singer who aspired to be great singer always looked up to whitney houston and what's been interesting recently is that this new generation of singer who has come along and a lot of them are quite cutting edge, and she will freely admit that her inspiration, one of her biggest inspirations was whitney houston. this wasn't somebody who was just popular in the '80s and '90s when she was at her peak. she still had this unbelievable influence and this coolness which, if anything, has been growing over the last few years. and that's what is so depressing to hear this news now. the fact that she had such -- she was an inspiration to so many of these singers. that's what everyone aspired to even be close to. >> simon, if i could jump in. i had clive davis on my show last night with jennifer hudson. i was having some fun about the fact that she didn't get through to win "american idol" and so on, and she was saying that for her, whitney houston was this great kind of standard bearer for all girls of her generation. and to think that i was talking to clive on her last night and whitney houston has died today, you know clive davis very well. he's been a mentor to so many great stars over the years. he's got his huge pregrammy party tonight. how do you think he'll be feeling tonight, clive? >> clive will be devastated. you know, clive was really the man behind whitney. he discovered her, he worked with her closely over the years, and he is, make no mistake, the man who helped whitney turn into a superstar. i have no idea how he's feeling, because he was like a father to her. but if i know clive well, i think he's going to use this night tonight to be what should be a tribute to her. like i said, not as somebody who we're going to remember as a troubled figure, but as a legendary superstar and she deserves, you know, that on this night. but he's going to find this very, very difficult because i've never known such a close relationship, piers, between a record executive and an artist. i've seen the two of them together, the way that he would sit in the audience and watch her every move. like i said, like a proud father. even when she was going through her troubled times, he masterminded her comeback album, which wasn't easy. he was very proud of it, and it's upsetting me talking about it now, because it's sinking in. to realization that she's not around anymore. it really is -- i'm very, very upset. >> it is just devastating. i think people can't really get their heads around this. it's exactly like it was with michael jackson. there were reports, simon, in the paper here in america that you were considering making an offer to whitney to be a host on "x factor in america." was that true? >> that's often what happens when people, you know, want to be on one of these shows, somebody tells someone to get the word out. it's normally a sign that they are interested. we were ironically going to meet on monday. of course, one of the names we were going to be talking about in that meeting, you know, as a possible mentor on the new series of "x factor" was going to be whitney houston. i have no idea genuinely whether she was that interested or whether given the choice, i would have like to have taken her under my wing, as well. because she would have been the ultimate, ultimate mentor to any contestant coming on the show. >> simon, do you think that -- was she in some ways her own worst enemy and was it a case that people couldn't get close enough to whitney to try and help her? did she lack somebody that could just put their arm around her? >> well, that's the sad thing, because with people like clive davis, and, you know, a lot of her close family members, you know how much they cared about her. i can only speculate what happened recently and what led to this. i'm more frustrated as to why it happened in the first place, because it just shouldn't have happened. the only thing you can take away from this is, is that what the pressures of show business can do to somebody, even as huge as whitney. and you hope that because of this, you know, it may prevent it happening to someone else. i don't know. >> i've got a clip actually from the interview from last night. we're going to play a bit of this. >> for me, i've been known to be involved with divas, aretha franklin and whitney. when i saw that audition for that movie part, i saw a depth and a range and af soulfulness that ranks at the top level. >> i always assumed, and correct me if i'm wrong, it would be part to beat whitney at her peak, hard, right? when i hear you sometimes, i do genuinely feel, i'm not an expert like clive is, but i feel she's nearly there, maybe as good now? >> listen, it's hard to make comparisons, for years, working with the queen of soul, aretha franklin and people saying can whitney compare? and jennifer. >> it has always been my goal and dream. it never gets old to me. it's always such an honor to be under clive davis. as a kid at 11, i would create duets between whitney and i. >> did you really? >> yes, i did. so to be sitting here right now with him is like -- i feel like i'm dreaming. >> simon, there will be people watching that, not wondering what on earth it was. this was an interview last night i did with clive davis and jennifer hudson. and jennifer talking about mimicking, doing duets with whitney when she was wrong, never imagining that one day she would be receiving awards from her and being compared to her. whitney as a diva, as a singer, entertainer, hard to beat i would imagine, even in recent modern musical history. >> yeah, people like that can't be manufactured, piers. they've either got it or they haven't. it's so interesting, because i was only talking about her music, her records don't sound old fashion now. they don't sound like they were made 20, 30 years ago. they still sound incredible. she still sounds incredible and they are going to sound incredible in 50, 100 years. there's something about a whitney record, it wasn't just the power of her voice, it was the way that she could sell a song, the way that she could sell a lyric, you know, and that's the reason she was so special and the whole diva thing came with that, because she was entitled to be a diva when she's got that much talent. >> you hinted earlier about the pressures of the kind of superstardom that someone like whitney houston had. after the "bodyguard" came out and "i will always love you" topped the charts around the world, it propelled her into this rare stratosphere of genuine megastar. what are the particular pressures that goes with the territory if you are a singer that reaches that kind of level, do you think? >> i think part of it, piers, is that when you have tasted the kind of height somebody like michael jackson or whitney houston have got -- in other words, the top of the top of the top, those kind of artists, they can't walk away from that kind of success, you know? every artist like that will always want to be at the top again. i think michael jackson, a lot of the pressure was the fact that he wanted to prove that he was still the king of pop. he was under enormous pressure to do what was 50, 52 mega concerts. that is unbelievable pressure. and i think the same must have applied to whitney, because, you know, she dwanted to prove that she was still as good as she was when she was at her peak. and i think that's part of the pressure. a lot of people are always blaming media intrusion or the paparazzi. i don't necessarily go along with that. if you're in the entertainment business, you've got to get used to the fact that you're going to get a lot of attention, and a lot of the time the media is what got you there in the first place and you have to accept the fact that when things aren't going quite so well, they're still going to show an interest to you. so it is down to you. but like i said, normally there are certain people, these people meet in their lives and they're the wrong people and they are the wrong influence. and we all wish we could probably reverse time, if we could, and stop her meeting a particular person and you know who that is. >> there's an image of the person i think you're talking about there on the left of the screen, no doubt that whitney houston's life spiraled downhill after she met and married bobby brown. i think don lemon in atlanta has a question for you, simon. >> i think you're touching on something that's very interesting here. i was speaking with larry king earlier about adele. anderson cooper is going to interview her for "60 minutes." when she found out she was having problems with her vocal chords, she took a rest and did the surgery. that's hard for any entertainer to do. one wonders if whitney houston had done that and taken the time off to get whatever rest she needs, that the last part of her career could have been different, the last couple of years may have been different. and that's a lesson for young singers coming up, as well. >> adele is a great example and i know her quite well. she's got this, you know, incredible attitude, which is i'm note going to be forced into anything. if i'm not well, i'm not going to do it. i do have choices over my life. the way she's succeeded, she's done it without hype and promotion. it's all word of mouth and she's got the confidence to do that. i think -- and i'm speaking for clive here, clive, when she was working with her three or four years ago, he took his time with her. he never tried to force her to rush something out. i know how many songs he went through to get to that album, and he took very, very special care of whitney. and i never, ever once in all the conversations i've had with clive, and i've had a lot, did i ever get a feeling that he was ever going to rush something on the market. he was so proud of what she did on that last record. and there are some records on that last record which, you know, are suddenly going to be heard more clearly, because there was some fantastic material on that last record. and you're going to be hearing more and more of those songs. >> simon cowell, piers morgan, please stand by. more on the death of whitney houston right here on cnn after this quick break. ♪ ♪ shocking what love can do sarah, will you marry me? 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[ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. okay... whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! whwheeee! ! whwheeee!! whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ahah h heaeadsds u up. whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! evevererytythihingng y youou l , nonow w momobibilele.. dodownwnloloadad t thehe n nep totodaday.y. imagine if you could always see life [music] in the best light. every time of day. outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it is meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. very sad news to report to you tonight. whitney houston, one of the greatest voices of her generation, of our generation, dead at the age of 48. a legendary singer. her talent matched by only some of the turmoil in her own life. an unbelievable career. dead at the age of 48 according to beverly hills police, she was found dead at the beverly hilton hotel. piers morgan is standing by in los angeles. piers, a big grammy party for clive davis going on. whitney was supposed to be there. things have changed now for the worse. >> this is a desperately sad event and night for anyone who likes music. whitney houston was the queen of pop. she was the female version of michael jackson. to lose both of them at this tragic age is really -- it's just awful and i got simon cowell on the line. simon, i know you're in scotland. there will be lots of speculation, and we touched on this, about the reasons why whitney's life may have ended in such a gruesome manner. but let's just focus on her talent for a moment. what do you think will be her legacy and inspiration to the next generation? >> well, look, there's so many things you can talk about, about why she was so incredible. i was thinking about it while we were taking that break, because right at the moment, pop music you can argue as being dominated by female pop singers, bike beyonce, like rihanna, katy perry, obviously adele. but whitney and mariah, they were the trailblazers. they were able to prove that a solo female artist could literally dominate pop music, which mariah did and whitney did for most of her career. and importantly, even though she was absolutely stunning when she was at the height of her career, you always remember whitney for one thing and one thing only, the voice. it was so distinct, so incredible. and that's what she's going to leave behind. like i said before, these records, these songs are timeless. i still have people every time i do mass auditions around the country for any of our shows, and we say to someone what is the big song you're going to be singing? seven or eight times out of ten it's going to be a whitney song. and like i said -- >> simon, let's just hear whitney singing here to give you an idea of what you're talking about. ♪ ♪ >> i mean -- >> you know what, piers? no one could sell a song like whitney. you always knew that she had that kind of church influence, background in her voice, as well. she understood gospel with the people around her. >> it gives you goose bumps listening to her singing. i've never heard a voice as good as this. >> no, no. >> and the power of the range -- >> "i will always love you" will always remain one of the money notes of all time. i don't think anyone has ever topped that. >> tomorrow night is the grammys. it's an event she dominated over the years. i'm sure it will turn into a huge tribute now to whitney houston. how do you think the industry as a whole is going to be reacting to this? obviously with great shocked a sadness. but what does whitney houston mean to the music industry? >> i think, look, they have every right to celebrate the grammys because whitney won a number, you know. i don't think she would want the whole thing to turn into a totally somber affair, because i didn't know her well but my guess is that most of the night, if not the entire night, has to turn into a tribute to her. i think people have to respect her and remember her when she was at the very top of her career. and the fact that a lot of people there on the night, in my opinion, owe parts of their career to her, because she was such a trail blazer and she proved that, you know, a solo female artist like her could be one of the biggest selling artist of all time, which is what she became. and i think people need to remember that. >> it must be, when you hear her at her peak there, "the bodyguard," i watched it rece recently and she hit those big notes, it was just spine tingling. when contestants tried to emulate whitney houston, it would normally end in disaster when they tried to hit those big notes. that's what made her so special is so few people could hit them. it seems incredible that we've lost whitney houston at 48 years old. i'm finding it hard to come to terms with. >> i'm feeling the same way. like i said before, piers, i was in scotland, i flew back to london and my phone is switched on. and there's over 100 text messages that have come in. i had no idea what's going on. i have friends, business associates from all over the world are all reacting in the same way. everyone is talking about it. they are completely and utterly shocked. but you know what? this is going to sink in even more over the next couple of days, because you're going to start hearing those songs again and the songs like "i will always love you," you're going to hear one moment in time and they're going to take on a whole different resonance. this is horrible, horrible news. >> yeah. it really is. simon, i'm grateful to you. i know it's late at night in scotland. >> i wish we were talking on happier circumstances. like i said before, you're going to hear a lot of not very nice stories over the next few weeks, if not months. but i think it's really important that she was a troubled lady. i don't want to go into too much detail why she got there. but let's remember her for what she was when she was at the top, that she was one of the greatest artists of all time. i don't know whether we're going to find another one like her again. and i'm just incredibly sad. i'm glad i got the chance to talk to you about her to tell you how much she meant to me. >> simon, i'm very grateful to you and i know you'll be extremely sad about this. and you've given us fantastic insight into the issues surrounding whitney houston. it is a seismic shock to the music industry and the world. you can just tell by all the social media tonight, twitter, i think the top ten trending subjects are all whitney houston related. this is a bombshell and it's right up there with the death of michael jackson and elvis and others before. there are very few people who have had the talent of whitney houston. simon, thank you very much. >> and let's just hope somebody learns something from this so these kind of things don't happen anymore. because you can't waste lives and talent like this. it's just so wrong. >> it's only a few months ago we were talking about the loss of amy winehouse, one of the great singer/songwriters of the last 25 years. if there's one message that comes through, this whole thing of drugs in the music business is just desperately sad when it takes such great talent so young. >> and have the right people around you. that's not to say she didn't with clive, because every artist should wish for a clive davis in their lives. but there were other people. >> simon, thank you very much. we're going to go to a break now. i appreciate you spending so much time with us. >> it was a pleasure talking to you. and i wish it was on a happier note. >> thank you, simon. we're going to leave with some music as we go to a break from whitney houston. we'll come back with commentary from dr. drew penske. just to repeat, whitney houston has died at 48 years old today. . lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. 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