It was one for the ages. Below, read Twirlit’s live blog of the two plus hour Michael Jackson Public Memorial service from the Staples Center in Los Angeles .
This is a play by play of the historic event.
9:47 a.m. – The Jackson family motorcade has begun to arrived at the Staples Center.
9:57 a.m. – A message inside the Staples Center is letting attendees know the event should be starting in 10 minutes or so
10:11 a.m. – Smokey Robinson is reading a letter to possibly kick off the event. It’s from Diana Ross who was scheduled to be there but, apparently, can’t make it. Next another letter, from Nelson Mandela. Obviously, very kind and touching words.
10:15 a.m. – Now awaiting the formal beginning of the event.
10:23 a.m. – Still waiting. But Kenny Ortega, director of the “High School Musical” series, will be directing today’s event.
10:30 a.m. – The wait continues. CNN just showed Jackson’s casket from earlier this morning which will be at the Staples Center.
10:33 a.m. – Looks like its actually starting now. A choir is on stage.
10:34 a.m. – Michael Jackson’s casket, gold and covered in roses, is brought to the foot of the stage by his family members. Raucous applause can be heard. The choir continues to sing.
- Check out the pictures from the Michael Jackson Funeral and Viewing-
10:36 a.m. – Pastor Lucious Brown gives a sermon about the late pop star.
10:39 a.m. – Mariah Carey takes the stage, decked in a black dress, to sing “I’ll Be There.” She’s joined by another singer, Trey Lorenz. Carey seems to be very emotional.
10:46 a.m. – Queen Latifah steps up to the podium to “represent the fans.” She reads a poem by Maya Angelou.
10:50 a.m. – Lionel Richie takes the microphone to sing in a black tuxedo with a yellow rose. He is singing “Jesus is Love.”
10:54 a.m. – Another speaker. It’s Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records. He’s telling a story of Michael Jackson singing a Smokey Robinson song better than Smokey himself on the day the Jackson 5 auditioned for the label. The Jackson family is seen in the front row. Black suits, white shirts, gold ties, red roses and a rhinestone glove. They match the casket.
11:02 a.m. – Gordy calls Michael “the greatest entertainer that ever lived.” A standing ovation ensues. His speech continues.
11:04 a.m. – A video montage with footage from videos, live performances, awards shows and interviews.
Very touching and a good representation of the huge scope of Michael’s career.
11:07 a.m. – Stevie Wonder is lead out to a piano at center stage. “This is a moment that I wished that I didn’t live to see come,” he says. He then transitions into a song that Stevie wrong and Michael performed, “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer.” It’s an impassioned performance that gets another standing ovations.
11:15 a.m. – Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson speak about Michael’s records, not musical, but humanitarian and more. Magic was in the video “Remember the Time” and tells the story of how that came to be including Michael eating Kentucky Fried Chicken and how Michael opened doors for African Americans across the world.
11:21 a.m. – Jennifer Hudson, Oscar winner and former “American Idol” contestant, performs “Will You Be There.” A full choir is behind her as well as people signing the song and dancing. It’s intercut with Michael’s voice speaking words from the song which are also projected behind the stage.
11:25 a.m. – The Reverend Al Sharpton takes the stage. “It was Michael Jackson who brought black and whites and Asians and Latinos together” Sharpton says. And a whole lot more, which is his character. He speaks directly to his children telling them what kind of man their father was and ends up with a huge ovation.
-Check out pictures from The Michael Jackson Memorial Service at the Staples Center-
11:33 a.m. – “Theres nothing that can’t be done if we raise our voice as one” is being projected on the stage as the next act gets ready. It’s John Mayer, who picks up his guitar and starts to do what John Mayer does. It’s “Human Nature,” acoustic. Well – acoustic by Mayer, a choir is singing a few of the words, but the guitar is doing most of the singing.
11:38 a.m. – John leaves the stage without saying a word. Kind of classy to not make it about him, just the music.
11:39 a.m. – Brooke Shields steps up to the podium. She is having trouble speaking and is all teared up. Calls him “one of a kind.” She met him at 13 and says their friendship was based on an unspoken bond, possibly because they both had fame at such an early age. His sense of humor is what Brooke will remember most and how much they would laugh together. Then she tells an amusing story about she and Michael sneaking into Elizabeth Taylor’s house and joking about the glove. Shields reads from “The Little Prince,” which is how she will forever think of the icon. And then quotes Michael’s favorite song, “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin from “Modern Times.” A wonderful, heartful, moving speech. The best of the day so far because you can just tell how well she knew him.
11:47 a.m. – A perfect transition – Jermaine Jackson sings the aforementioned song, “Smile.” He really poured his heart into the performance and, once again, got a standing ovation.
11:52 a.m. – Bernice King and Martin Luther King III now take the stage. A real testament again to the universal and important reach of Michael Jackson.
11:59 a.m. – Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee of Texas a Congresswoman and member of the Congressional Black Caucus speaks representing the government and some other stuff. Jackson apparently talked in Rep. Lee’s office to world representatives about AIDS and she was inspired at how he could inspire others. She then introduces Resolution 600, which recognizes Michael Jackson as an icon. (Which, isn’t he already? I hate to editorialize but that was all very confusing.) Anyway, on with the memorial.
12:07 p.m. – Usher sits on a stool in front of the microphone. He’s singing “Gone Too Soon.” He’s the first person to go off the stage, down to the coffin and sing directly to it. He ends the song with a tear, literally and is then engulfed by the Jackson family.
12:12 p.m. – Another video performance. This one is Michael on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
12:14 p.m. – Smokey Robinson is back on the stage and is telling a story about the songs he wrote that the Jackson 5 sung. “You don’t think that you’ll live to see him gone, but he will never really be gone. He is going to live for ever and ever and ever and ever.”
12:18 p.m. – Next up on the stage is Shaheen Jafargholi, a young man who made a name for himself on “Britain’s Got Talent.” He’s performing “Who’s Lovin’ You” and is quite the impressive singer. He ends with a little, tear-filled “Thank You.”
12:22 p.m. – Kenny Ortega, director, thanks Shaheen who was scheduled to help Michael on his final tour. He then talks about the final place where Michael performed, Staples Center, and that’s why they chose to do it there. He’s going to present a special scene from the tour that will never happen, “This Is It,” which was being rehearsed at Staples the day before he passed.
12:25 p.m. – It’s “We Are the World” which he co-wrote with Lionel Richie. All the other singers from the day have started to make their way out on the stage. The entire Jackson family has also made their way onto the stage. I gotta admit, I’m getting a little choked up cause it’s a pretty impressive sight.
12:28 p.m. – A whole slew of children come on stage with a giant image of the Earth in the background to help sing the next song, “Heal the World.” Pretty much everyone is singing in a very fitting tribute because that song really fells like the kind of think Michael would want to be remembered for.
12:34 p.m. – Jermaine thanks everyone on behalf of the family for their support. Marlon does the same but says a part of him died too when Michael passed. He then tells a humorous story of finding Michael disguised in a record store. “How much pain can one man take? Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone,” he also said. He asks Michael to hug their other deceased brother, Brandon, for him. And the whole family hugs one another.
12:40 p.m. – Michael’s daughter Paris, speaks next and calls him “the best daddy you could ever imagine” though a face full of tears. Wow. That was tough to watch.
12:41 p.m. – Thank you and goodnight, says Marlon.
12:42 p.m. – Michael’s coffin is wheeled from the foot of the stage, the best seat in the house, where he got to see just a glimpse of how much the world loved him. A single spotlight on a microphone is seen through the darkness on stage.
12:44 p.m. – Pastor Lucious Brown returns. “There will never be another Michael Jackson.” He hopes this will not be a memorial, but a remembrance of what Michael meant to all of us. He will close this event in a prayer.
“I’m alive and I’m here forever” says the quote on the screen in the Staples Center and that’s the end.
![Designer McQueen Dead From Apparent Suicide [Photos]](http://cache.static.tsavo.com/wordpress/uploads/2010/02/20040603_tkf_n44_003-sm.jpg)
Comments
No comments.