In the wake of Whitney Houston's death, the public has heard numerous responses from those that knew the legend well (Ray J) to know those speculating wildly in order to increase ratings (Nancy Grace).
But few were closer to Houston than Aretha Franklin, the artist's godmother. She spoke to The Today Show this morning about actually hearing the tragic news.
"I had just finished watching George Clooney in The Descendants and I flipped back to the regular TV and maybe two minutes after I did that, it came across the screen. I just jumped off the side of the bed [and said] 'What?' This could not be. What is this? I just said, 'Oh my, God.'"
Franklin said she had seen previews for Sparkle, a film Houston had recently completed shooting, and was confident the movie would lead to a comeback.
"She looked fresh, she looked healthy and she looked gorgeous," the iconic singer said. "I thought, 'Yes, she has conquered her challenges and she's on the way.'"
Aretha will sing at Houston's funeral tomorrow and hopes the public doesn't focus on "the challenges" her goddaughter faced, but, instead, on all the positive aspects of her life.
She even penned the following lyrics to memorialize Houston:
Twinkle twinkle superstar/We don't wonder where you are/Up above the world so bright/Like a diamond in the night/Twinkle twinkle she stood alone/I can't believe that she's gone.