The death of pop diva Whitney Houston has not shocked music critic Glenn A Baker, who says her shambolic tour of Australia in 2010 highlighted her personal struggles.
Baker described Houston as a performer with a "powerful, peerless voice" at her prime, but said she was a shadow of her former self on her last local tour, which attracted poor reviews and criticism of her voice and behaviour.
"This doesn't come as a great surprise to me, as tragic as it is," Mr Baker told ABC television.
"Forty-eight (years old) is a terribly early time to check out, but I suppose if you think of the last time she was in Australia, it wasn't an edifying spectacle.
"It was a situation of people quite literally asking for their money back at some of her shows. The voice was cracking and not in good form, she was plainly not in a good place.
"Maybe we became a bit inured to stories about problems in Whitney's life, with (husband) Bobby Brown it seems to me they were not finding married life all that easy on a lot of occasions."
"People admired her musically and professionally but I think a lot of people had their doubts about her as a person and an individual."
A publicist for Houston confirmed the singer had died aged 48 on Sunday (AEDT) but did not give the cause of her death.
Beverly Hills police said Houston died at 3.55pm local time on Saturday (1055 AEDT Sunday) in a fourth-floor room at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel.
A host of stars took to social media to pay their respects one of the world's biggest selling artists.
Pop star Mariah Carey said via Twitter that Houston's legacy as a performer would endure.
"Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable Ms Whitney Houston," she tweeted.
"She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth."
Fellow diva Christina Aguilera described her as a music great.
"We have lost another legend. Love and prayers to Whitney's family. She will be missed," her tweet read.
And the condolences spanned the genres, with hip-hop group Wu-Tang clan paying their respects via twitter.
"RIP Whitney Houston from the Wu Tang Brand."
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