As two of the last people to spend time with Whitney Houston, her tragic passing was inevitably going to hit R&B singers Brandy and Monica hard.

Attempting to soldier on through their grief, the duo shot the video for their duet ‘It All Belongs To Me’ yesterday in LA. E! News were on hand at the shoot, where they talked to the Grammy winners about their final moments with the late, great superstar.

Interview after the jump…

Via NB / E!:

Monica On A Fun Memory She Has Of Whitney:

She was a jokester and I don’t think people really understood the fact that she was hilarious. The other day she came in, and heard our song, and she walks up to me and she goes, ‘You killin’ that run at the end.’ You know she kept sayin’ it, and she was like, ‘And you know I know you stole that from me, right? You killin’ that run you stole from me.” I’m like “I didn’t steal it, I borrowed it in a respectful manner” and she just thought that was funny because every night in my shows I do a segment for her and always have. That was something she enjoyed ; watching the YouTube’s and watching me kind of emulate her.

It hasn’t always been easy for me but I think that I pushed through because so many people have loved, uplifted and supported me and she was at the top of that list.

Monica on Whitney pulling her on stage to sing with her

That’s something that she often did. She always liked for me to come sing because she told me, ‘I’ve never met anybody that I saw myself in,’ And the fact that I was signed and discovered singing ‘The Greatest Love of All,’ you know…it’s just been a rough week overall. But I recognize that she and I both, outside of music, had a lot in common. And our love for God and our belief in Christ was one of those things and it’s kept me strong and kept me fighting for what it is she loved, and that is family first, music and the rest is second.

Monica On The Advice She’s Received From Whitney:

Allow my love to lead me. That was something that she would always say. Be okay with who I was.

There are a lot of heart broken people but we should just keep her daughter in our prayers and be thankful that God allowed us the time we did have with her.

Brandy when asked what was on the note that Whitney gave to her during an E! interview last week

I’m going to just not say what it was and just keep it to myself for my own personal reasons. I really don’t want to talk about Whitney right now.

Brandy On if she’s been Able To Reach Out To Bobbi Kristina

Yes, I have. I was with Bobbi Kristina the other night. It’s just so unfortunate. Whitney meant everything to me—everything. She’s the reason that I sing. It’s crazy, so crazy. I just want to make her proud. Every step I make I’m just going to do my best to make her proud.

——————————

In still trying to digest this terrible, terrible tragedy, it’s both warming yet distressing to see them try and soldier on, while clearly broken. Our thoughts remain with Whitney friends, and more so her family, during this testing time.

Your thoughts?