R&B singer Vesta Williams was found dead in a hotel room in southern California Thursday night in what investigators suspect was a drug overdose.

Williams, 53, a soulful singer known for 1980s solo hits "Don't Blow A Good Thing" and "Congratulations," was found about 6:15 p.m. in her hotel room in El Segundo, authorities told The Associated Press. 

Capt. John Kades of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office told The Associated Press that an autopsy will determine how she died, but he added: "This could be a drug overdose."

Several bottles of prescription pills were found in her room, and some of them had been polished off, law enforcement sources told TMZ.com.

Williams was born in Ohio and came to Los Angeles during her childhood to appear on TV as part of a singing group, TheRoot.com reported.

She moved back to Ohio as an adult and sang in the group "Wild Honey," which was headed by her cousin, the late R&B crooner Ron Townsend, the website reported.

She sang parts on TV commercials and did stints as a back-up singer for Chaka Khan and Luther Vandross before she hit it big in 1986 with her song "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," the website reported.

That song was on her debut album "Vesta." Her album "Vesta-4-U," released two years later, included the popular songs "Sweet, Sweet Love" and "Congratulations," the website reported.

In "Congratulations," she sang an emotional goodbye to a former flame, about to marry someone else, on his wedding day, The Associated Press reported.

According to her website, she had also done some work in movies, including a part as a saloon singer in Mario Van Peebles' 1993 flick "Posse."

Williams also battled with her weight, previously dropping 100 pounds, her website says.

The site says she had recently been working on material for a new album. Her most recent release was entitled "Relationships," and included a number of her original songs plus a cover of one of her favorite Stevie Wonder tracks, "You and I."

"I wrote from the heart for this project," she is quoted on the site as saying. "It's all about me and the relationships I've been in and everything I have learned."