Madonna: ‘I Wish I Could Sing Like That’

As one of few reigning pop monarchs left, many have been keen on Queen of Pop Madonna‘s thoughts on the passing of pop icon Whitney Houston.

While for years the two were touted as rivals as they dominated 80s and 90s charts with few comparison, Madge took to UK paper The Sun to remember the ‘I Will Always Love You’ singer and also share her thoughts on late “blue eyed soulstress”Amy Winehouse.

Madonna, via ‘The Sun’:

“I, probably like everybody else, was hit by this shocking sense of disbelief – especially with Whitney Houston. It had not been a secret, the struggles Amy had been through — both brilliant, brilliant artists and obviously both huge losses.

“But when these things happen, I’m always shocked by the first thing you say — ‘It’s such a loss’ — which doesn’t quite cover it. Then you reflect and you think, ‘How did it happen? How did the people around them allow it to happen?’ We’ve lost so many great artists that way when you think about it. So history just kind of repeats itself over and over.

“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.”

Here’s the clip Madge was speaking of.  Start at the 1:00 mark

LOL..WH is so cute. RIP