Madonna was struck by a "shocking sense of disbelief" after learning of Whitney Houston's death because she had just watched an old TV interview with the "innocent, young and cute" singer.
Madonna was stunned when the I Will Always Love You hitmaker was found dead on 11 February (12) because they were so close in age, and the Material Girl admits she was jealous of Houston when they launched their careers around the same time.
She tells Britain's The Sun, "I, probably like everybody else, was hit by this shocking sense of disbelief - especially with Whitney Houston... One thing I was struck by with Whitney Houston is I remember she sort of came out as a singer around the same time I did. I remember looking at her singing and hearing people talk about her, and just thinking, 'Oh my God. She's such a beautiful woman and my God, what an incredible voice. I wish I could sing like that.' I just remember being extremely envious of her and also touched by her innocence.
"I was watching a documentary about Serge Gainsbourg, the French songwriter, and there's a famous talk show he did that happened a while back when Whitney was just starting. It was funny, because I'd just watched it the week before she died, where he was making a kind of play for her on national television and he was basically saying in French that he wanted to 'f' her - and the look of shock on her face... I mean, she was so innocent and so young, and so cute, and really she blushed.
"And I was thinking, 'We are all innocent at one stage in our life. It's just interesting, the paths our lives take.' I was struck by that - how well she started and where she ended up and the tragedy of it."