Whitney Houston news UPDATE. The star partied heavily the night before her death.

Whitney Houston tragically died Saturday afternoon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles at the age of 48 after partied the night before.

While the star’s cause of death is as yet unknown, it has been reported that Whitney Houston “partied heavily” the night before.

Whitney Houston died at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was staying in order to attend at perform at a pre-Grammys party hosted by Clive Davis.

According to TMZ, Whitney Houston was seen with a large group of friends at the hotel bar on the eve of her death.

Sources told TMZ that the group were drinking and being loud.

TMZ went on to allege that Whitney Houston and her friends stood out because of all the noise they were making, despite the fact that the hotel was abuzz with guests getting ready for the pre-Grammy festivities.

A spokesman for the local police department said that emergency services had been called to the hotel at 3:43 Saturday afternoon, arriving minutes later.

Officials rushed to the room on the fourth floor where Whitney Houston was staying as a guest, where they found security staff attempting to revive her.

Life-saving attempts were unsuccessful, and the singer was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.

According to TMZ, police have sealed off the hotel room where Whitney Houston died and will not be searching it until they have obtained a search warrant.

TMZ reports that their primary interest is to establish whether or not drugs were present in the room.

Whitney Houston was spotted looking worse for wear on a night out with friends just two days before her death.

The singer had been a guest at the Kelly Price & Friends Unplugged: For The Love Of R&B Grammy Party at Tru Hollywood and had even performed during the night.

A witness told Us Weekly at the time that Whitney Houston had appeared “wasted” and “moody” as she exited the night club.

The source said: “She reacted angrily to the security guards trying to get her into her car…and started cussing them out.”

The observer went on to say that even though Whitney Houston was stopping and signing autographs for fans, “she would get moody again in a split second”.

The source added: “It was sad because her fans noticed that she was really shaky as she left the venue. She definitely was not in control of herself.”

Dressed all in black, Whitney Houston appeared angry and agitated as she left the venue and looked like she had partied a little hard.

Wearing a short black dress the star emerged with her hair messed up and gestured aggressively to the waiting photographers.

The release of the photos showing the star’s erratic behavior and disheveled look sparked concern over the singer’s health.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Whitney Houston had a run-in with former X Factor contestant Stacy Francis that evening, after the star failed to remember the aspiring singer after she once pulled her onstage during one of her concerts.

A source told the website that Whitney Houston was “cordial at first” but the scene soon changed after Whitney’s friend, R&B star Ray J, stepped in.

An eyewitness said: “Whitney just got belligerent. Ray was trying to defend Stacy, telling Whitney, <<Stacy’s family!>>, but Whitney was feeling crowded out and hands were raised.”

The source added: “You didn’t know which way it could go there for a minute.”

When contacted by The Hollywood Reporter following the alleged incident, Stacy Francis said: “I have the utmost respect for Whitney Houston and her talent.”

However, Us Weekly reports that Whitney Houston “was fine” the following day as she conducted a sound-check to gear up for her performance at the pre-Grammys party.

A source told the magazine: “She was present and ready…She had water to keep her vocals clear, and was trying to not smoke.”

Whitney Houston has previously battled an addiction to crack cocaine and admitted to taking drugs with Bobby Brown during their turbulent 14 years of marriage.