As the news of Whitney Houston’s untimely death spread around the world late last night, celebrities took to their Twitter to pay their respects.

Mariah Carey led the tributes writing:

“Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable Ms. Whitney Houston.

“My heartfelt condolences to Whitney's family and to all her millions of fans throughout the world.

“She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth.”

And Mariah’s sentiments were echoed by many including Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin and Gloria Estefan to name but a few.

Simon Cowell said, “I am so sad to hear about Whitney. We have lost one of the greatest singers of all time.”

He then confirmed rumours that he was scheduled to have a meeting on Monday to discuss the possibility of Whitney being one of the new judges on X Factor USA.