Chaka Khan says Whitney Houston just wanted “to be loved and to sing”.
Whitney died in a Los Angeles hotel on February 11 aged just 48. The iconic singer’s passing sent shockwaves around the world, especially amongst her loved ones and those whose lives she had personally touched.
Whitney’s ex-husband Bobby Brown has been linked to the star’s downfall, as she battled drug addiction following her union with him.
Chaka – who has also dealt with her own substance demons - says Whitney’s death is especially tragic because it could have been avoided with the right help.
“I performed with her at the Prince concert last May and we had a lovely time backstage together. We sat in my dressing room for hours and hours and talked. We laughed a lot. It’s how I want to remember her. All she wanted was to be loved and to sing,” she told the UK edition of OK! magazine.
“She wanted to give love and to nurture and heal with her voice. We talked about addiction and music and Bobby Brown and everything.
“But Whitney knew that if she was going to talk to me, that we were going to talk about getting her life together. I told her: ‘I love you, and I am with you.’ That was the last time I saw her.”
Chaka says the music industry can be a destructive one, and isn’t surprised that people including Whitney and Amy Winehouse become victims.
The singer says many stars lead very lonely lives.
“Young artists who are emotionally incomplete are thrown into this insanity. It’s a very lonely existence. You are stuck in hotel rooms. They keep you insulated from the outside world so you will perform like a dancing bear,” she said.
“This is an ugly ass business. All we want to do is sing, we are highly sensitive people, we don’t want to feel pain.”
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