Simon Cowell tells CNN that the rumor of Whitney Houston joining 'X Factor' was true

Simon Cowell has come out in the midst of the death of Whitney Houston to reveal that one of the X Factor rumors was true: he was considering Whitney Houston as a judge for the hit show.

E! Online reports that Cowell , who called in to CNN’s Piers Morgan on Saturday, says, “The rumors that had got back to us...and that's often what happens when people want to be on these shows, somebody tells someone to get the word out, it's normally a sign that they are interested.”

Cowell, like many others, was “absolutely devastated” by loss of the legend.

He adds, "We were ironically going to meet on Monday and of course, one of the names we were going to be talking about in that meeting as a possible mentor on the new series of X Factor was going to be Whitney Houston.” He adds that Houston would make a “great mentor” for the contestants. He adds that she was “one of the greatest voices in our time.”

Houston died on Saturday, February 11, when her bodyguard found her lifeless in her Beverly Hills hotel room. After a 911 call was placed, and in attempt to resuscitate her, she was pronounced dead at 3:55pm Pacific time.

Stars have taken to their Twitter page to express their deepest sympathies at the loss of their friend and mentor, Whitney Houston.

The cause of her death is still unknown, but California police to state that “no foul play” was found on the scene.