Heather Small reflects on the sad loss of singer Whitney Houston who died on 11th February 2012:

M People singer Heather Small told BBC News: “She was great, and definitely an icon and a diva in the true sense of the word."

“She was able to take any song and make it her own.”

Referring to Houston's signature song, I Will Always Love You, she said: “It's not that you take anything away from Dolly Parton because she wrote the song, but something that was so different, she (Houston) made it her own, because it was originally a country song."

“She just made it into this really big, big ballad, a very soulful ballad.”

Comparing Houston to Aretha Franklin and Billy Holliday, Small added: “For an artist to be able to relay something in their music, there is sometimes a pain or a feeling so deep that it can only come up musically.”