Famed Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera is dead

Fans of Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera are in mourning, after the plane Rivera was in went down in Northern Mexico. Rivera was killed, along with six other people. The small plane crashed early on Sunday morning, about an hour after taking off from Monterrey.

Jenni Rivera wasn't as well known in the U.S. but believe me, she was a huge star in Mexico. The 43-year-old Rivera, who grew up in Long Beach, California, was a mother of five and one of the biggest, most popular Mexican artists in the world.

News that Jenni Rivera's plane was missing broke on Sunday afternoon. As the hours ticked by, everyone waited and prayed, hoping that Rivera and the others on board would be found alive. Sadly, that's not what happened. On Sunday evening, Rivera's father and brother confirmed her death via Telemundo.

Jenni Rivera died within hours of giving what would be her final concert in Monterrey. Her loss is immense. Not only did Rivera sell tens of millions of albums worldwide, she also starred on a very popular Telemundo reality show, I Love Jenni. She also worked as a judge on The Voice, Mexico. To say she was a superstar would be an understatement.

From the time her first single was released in 1999, Rivera had legions of loyal fans. Today, those fans are understandably devastated. My heart goes out to Jenni Rivera's family, particularly her five children.

A full investigation into the cause of the plane crash that killed Jenni Rivera is underway, and at this point, there's no official word on exactly what happened.