Whitney Houston's funeral: Who will attend?
(CBS) Whitney Houston will be laid to rest in her hometown of New Jersey on Saturday, one week after her unexpected death in Los Angeles .
The service, which will be held at New Hope Baptist Church, is expected to be attended by 1,500 people. The guest list is reportedly made up of mostly family members and the singer's close friends, which include many famous musicians and actors.
Pictures: Whitney Houston 1963-2012
Complete Coverage: Death of pop diva
The guest list reportedly includes R&B singers Brandy and Darlene Love, Grammy winners Chaka Khan and CeCe Winans, and record producer Antionio "L.A." Reid, reports E! News. Publicist Kristen Foster has confirmed that invitations went out to Houston's first leading man actor Kevin Costner, who co-starred with her in "The Bodyguard," and to Oprah Winfrey.
The New York Daily News is reporting that Costner will speak at the funeral as will Houston's record producer and mentor, Clive Davis. Music legends Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder will sing.
Marvin Winans, Gospel singer, pastor and close friend of Houston's, will give the eulogy. Marvin Winans also married Houston and her ex-husband Bobby Brown in 1992.
There has been a lot of speculation as to whether or not Brown will attend the funeral. Despite reports in TMZ that family members don't want him there, Foster confirmed that Brown did in fact receive an invitation..
Whether he will accept is another question.Brown is scheduled to perform with New Edition on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The funeral is slated for noon on Saturday in Newark, probably leaving Brown enough time to get to the concert venue after the funeral.
Fans who want to bid farewell to Whitney Houston will be able to watch her private funeral online.The Associated Press will be the pool camera for the ceremony and the AP will stream the service on livestream.com/aplive. It also will be available to broadcasters via satellite.
