Whitney Houston’s death at the age of 48 was shocking to many fans, critics and anyone who had ever heard of the singing legend.

Even if you are not a fan you may have heard a Whitney Houston song, witnessed an imitation performance during a karaoke night or seen the recent deluge of memorandum tweets about the late singer. Perhaps you saw the hashtag “#R.I.P.WhitneyHouston” trending worldwide on Saturday, or maybe you saw coverage of Houston’s death on CNN or another news network.

Either way Houston’s death dominated media coverage this weekend and took center stage at the GRAMMYs — next to startling and entertaining performances.

The host of the GRAMMYs, LL Cool J, started the show with a prayer for Houston. After expressing his respect for what he called “a death in our family,” referring to the music industry, he started the show.

In addition to LL Cool J’s prayer, Jennifer Hudson sang a tribute to Whitney Houston in honor of her contribution to music. However, for some, Hudson’s American Idol-winning chords were not enough to properly remember Whitney.

Trending Twitter topics and hashtags like “#WhitneyHoustonstributewasshorterthan” consumed timelines after Hudson’s emotional performance of “I Will Always Love You.”

Apparently some viewers were prepared for an epic lip sync to Whitney’s famous note toward the end of the song, but were let down when Hudson ended the song prematurely.

Her death came as a shock to most who will always remember her unforgettable vocals.

Houston’s 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was affected by her mother’s untimely death. She was angry at officers who would not let her see her mother at the Beverly Hilton where Houston was discovered.

Bobbi Kristina was rushed to the hospital because she experienced major anxiety over the loss of her mother. It is difficult to lose a parent and probably even more difficult to lose a parent in front of the world — especially in the world of Twitter and other social media.

Tweets were fired in every direction ranging from respect and support of Houston and her family to the critical judgment of her hard years as an addict. Some people argued that Houston should be remembered for her flaws while others wanted to remember her as a Grammy-award winning singer.

People who wish to remember Houston as an addict should respect Houston’s family, friends and fans that are hurt by her sudden death.

Mean tweets and comments have the potential to push people over the edge. Bobbi Kristina Brown should be able to mourn her mother privately, away from mean tweets.

“It was kind of unexpected because there were a lot of rumors that she was going to do the comeback and that she had some albums coming out,” freshman strategic communication major Adriana Sanchez said. “So, it was very disappointing, and it’s sad. It’s really, really sad.

Personally it’s really sad for me because I’m a singer, and I sing every one of her songs, and it was sudden. ”

Some people may have gotten used to Houston’s absence because she had not been present in the industry recently, but she will be missed nevertheless as a great artist, Sanchez said.

“Right now [her music] is a huge absence because she was a great voice. She was a great performer and she will be missed,” Sanchez said. “For the people who know how she performs and the value that her songs brought, it will be missed.”

LyTer Green is a senior strategic communication major from Fort Worth.