Simon Cowell on Whitney Houston: 'She was a superstar, legendary diva'

Simon Cowell has said that Whitney Houston's death is a "massive" loss to the music industry.

Speaking shortly after news of the late singer's passing broke from Los Angeles, the X Factor creator told LBC 97.3 that Houston's death was "really, really, really horrible".

"There's always moments in your life which are horrible things to remember," Cowell said. "The day John Lennon died, or Elvis Presley, and recently Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse. And now Whitney.

"It was a [complete shock], because I knew quite a few people who have worked with her over the years and we all knew that she had issues. I last met her when she came on X Factor when she was in England doing her comeback album, and you could sense at the time that there were still a few problems."

He continued: "But she was a delight to work with on the day; she was very professional, she was kind to everyone around her. She probably wasn't altogether there, but it was still Whitney Houston - and you know that you're in the presence of a legend and I'll never forget that day."

Describing the 48-year-old as a "true superstar, legendary diva", Cowell said that there was a "disturbing" pattern in the recent losses of Jackson, Winehouse and Houston.

"You just wanted these people to live a normal life and to enjoy the rest of their life. They were right at the top. The irony with all of them is that they were all trying to make a big comeback - and something prevented that happening," he said. "That in itself is tragic, it really is."

With the Grammy Awards taking place in Los Angeles later tonight (February 12), Cowell said that he expected the ceremony to "fondly" honor the 'I Will Always Love You' star.

"A lot of the people who were going to be getting awards at The Grammys; they owe a lot of their success to Whitney. She was a trailblazer," he said. "She proved that a solo female artist can become, and she did become, one of the biggest stars in the world.

"I'm absolutely certain her influence has rubbed off on a lot of the Grammy nominees who will be there over the next night or so."

Meanwhile, the music mogul also confirmed reports that Houston was under consideration for a judging role on the second season of The X Factor USA.

"The irony is, is that we have a meeting about The X Factor on Monday and Tuesday - and she was going to be one of the names we would be discussing," he explained. "I think we would have at least spoken, if not met. I did get on very well with her when she came on our show in London, and was such a huge fan.

"I thought, you know, if I could work with her on this show, and she got the chance to mentor some of our contestants, it would have been incredible."