Whitney Houston's ex-husband, singer Bobby Brown, broke down in tears onstage late Saturday after learning of the pop star's death.

Brown, 43, took the stage at a con-cert in Mississippi with his group New Edition just hours after news hit that Houston had died at age 48 in her hotel room in Beverly Hills.

At the end of one song, a teary-eyed Brown shouted "I love you, Whitney!" and blew a kiss to the sky.

During another song with the group, Brown broke down in tears.

One of pop music's biggest stars who has sold more than 170 mil-lion records worldwide, Houston was married to Brown from 1992 to 2007.

The legendary singer, who blamed her emotionally abusive and jealous ex-husband for many of her problems, admitted in news interviews that she had been addicted to marijuana and cocaine, and that she had spent time in rehab.

HOUSTON'S CAREER

Some facts about Whitney Houston:

? She won six Grammys, 30 Bill-board awards and 22 American Music Awards. According to the Guinness Book of Records, she was the most-honoured female singer with more than 400 awards.

? She released seven studio albums, the most recent in 2009. Her best-known hits include "I Will Always Love You," "Saving All My Love for You" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and she has sold more than 170 million albums.

? Her movies included The Body-guard in 1992 with Kevin Costner, The Preacher's Wife with Denzel Washington and Waiting to Exhale.

? She started singing in her church gospel choir in New Jersey at age 11 and released her first album in 1985. Houston was the cousin of Dionne Warwick.

? The last 10 years of her life were dominated by drug use, rumours of relapses and trips to rehab.