United Kingdom, March 30 -- Whitney Houston made a heartbreaking final promise to her friend Brandy just hours before her death.

The superstar singer passed away in 2012 at the age of 48 and Brandy has now revealed she spent three hours on the phone with Whitney the night before the tragedy - and the Greatest Love Of All star vowed to "be better" and was looking for "redemption" after a turbulent few years.

In an extract from her new book Phases: A Memoir published by New York Magazine, Brandy wrote: "For three precious hours, we talked ...

"There were flashes of the old Whitney in that conversation. I heard it in her raspy laugh that erupted unexpectedly like sunshine after rain, in the way she scattered 'baby' and 'sweetie' throughou...