In the wake of Whitney Houston's death, the general public has heard varied responses from those who knew the legend well (Ray J) to grasp those speculating wildly so as to extend ratings (Nancy Grace).

But few were nearer to Houston than Aretha Franklin, the artist's godmother. She spoke to The these days Show this morning concerning truly hearing the tragic news.

"I had simply finished watching George Clooney within the Descendants and that i flipped back to the regular TV and perhaps 2 minutes when I did that, it stumbled on the screen. I simply jumped off the aspect of the bed [and said] 'What?' this might not be. what's this? I simply said, 'Oh my, God.'"

Franklin said she had seen previews for Sparkle, a movie Houston had recently completed shooting, and was assured the movie would cause a comeback.

"She looked contemporary, she looked healthy and she or he looked beautiful," the enduring singer said. "I thought, 'Yes, she has conquered her challenges and she's on the manner.'"

Aretha can sing at Houston's funeral tomorrow and hopes the general public does not specialise in "the challenges" her goddaughter faced, but, instead, on all the positive aspects of her life.

She even penned the subsequent lyrics to memorialize Houston:


Twinkle twinkle superstar/We do not marvel where you are/Up on top of the globe thus bright/Like a diamond within the night/Twinkle twinkle she stood alone/I cannot believe that she's gone.