LOS ANGELES - Toronto singer Melanie Fiona joined a chorus of disbelief Saturday night as word of Whitney Houston's death stunned the music world on the eve of the Grammy Awards.
"You are the reason I fell in love with singing. My heart is broken," tweeted the Grammy nominee.
"I'm really not okay," continued the singer, who is nominated for best traditional R&B performance for her Cee Lo Green duet "Fool for You," which also earned a nomination for best song.
She then simply summed it up this way: "Devastation."
Houston's publicist announced the singer's death but did not reveal the cause and location.
The "I Will Always Love You" superstar had battled drug problems in recent years.
Word of Houston's death broke as Rihanna was rehearsing at the Staples Center, where the 54th Grammy Awards are to be handed out Sunday night.
Fans in the streets around the arena were grief-stricken.
Nancy Turpin of Chicago heard the news while browsing the Grammy museum.
"It's shocking. So shocking. She finally seemed to be turning it around."
Andy Bigelow, 44, of Chicago, said he had been a Houston fan since the 1980s and loved that she supported the gay community.
"The Grammys should end with her performance of the national anthem at the Super Bowl," said 37-year-old Karim Azeez of Los Angeles.
