King of Pop Gets Emotional Send-Off

Michael Jackson's Daughter Says Tearful Goodbye as Icon is Eulogized by Star-Studded Lineup at Memorial

(CBS/AP)  Last updated 6:37 p.m. ET

Michael Jackson was eulogized in words and song Tuesday by an all-star list of musicians, athletes and other celebrities during a mournful ceremony in downtown Los Angeles, with the most poignant moment delivered by his sobbing 11-year-old daughter.

"I just want to say ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much," Paris-Michael Jackson said before almost collapsing in the arms of her aunt Janet Jackson.

Watched by millions around the world, the memorial struck a tone more spiritual than spectacular Tuesday, opening with a church choir serenading his golden casket and continuing with somber speeches and gospel-infused musical performances.

The Rev. Lucious W. Smith of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena gave the greeting on the same stage where Jackson had been rehearsing for a concert series in the days before his June 25 death at age 50. Then Mariah Carey sang the opening performance with a sweet rendition of the Jackson 5 ballad "I'll Be There," a duet with Trey Lorenz.

"We come together and we remember the time," said Smith, riffing on one of Jackson's lyrics. "As long as we remember him, he will always be there to comfort us."

Millions of fans around the world gathered at odd hours to watch the ceremony, which was broadcast by the major TV networks and cable channels from Tokyo to Paris to New York and streamed everywhere online in one of the biggest celebrity send-offs ever seen.

Jackson's golden casket was put into position by his brothers - all wearing Michael's trademark white glove, reports CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric. This would be the last time the Jackson 5 would share a stage together.

Among those who saluted Jackson were Motown music mogul Berry Gordy Jr., Brooke Shields, the Rev. Al Sharpton and basketball greats Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. Jennifer Hudson sang Jackson's hit "Will You Be There" and John Mayer played guitar on a whisper-light rendition of "Human Nature."

"This is a moment that I wished I didn't live to see," Stevie Wonder said before his performance. Usher broke down in tears after singing "Gone Too Soon."

"Michael gave so much of himself to the world," Wonder told Couric after the memorial.

Brooke Shields met Michael when she was 11. The two young stars comforted each other in the glare of the world's scrutiny, reports Couric.

"Today although our hearts are aching we need to look up where he is undoubtedly perched in a crescent moon and we need to smile."

Click here for more celebrity reflections on Michael Jackson

Although the event was billed as a celebration, some speakers took the occasion to come to the defense of Jackson, whose life was marked as much by criticism and scorn as scintillating talent.

Gordy said that despite what he called "some sad times and maybe some questionable decisions on his part," the title King of Pop wasn't good enough for Jackson. "I think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived," Gordy said.

Emotions rose when Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy highlighting all the barriers Jackson broke and the troubles he faced. "Every time he got knocked down, he got back up," Sharpton said, and the applauding crowd jumped to its feet.

Sharpton rode the moment, building to a crescendo. "There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy," he said later, addressing Jackson's three children in the front row. "It was strange what your daddy had to deal with!" After he left the stage, chants of "Mi-chael! Mi-chael!" filled the arena.

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Complete coverage of Jackson's death

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The ceremony wrapped up with group performances of "We Are the World" and "Heal the World" sung by Lionel Richie, Hudson and Jackson family members - including his children - before a backdrop of symbols of religions from around the world. They were joined onstage by children in white and several other people who had participated in the ceremony. Then members of Jackson's family took the stage to thank the crowd and share their own thoughts, barely able to hide their emotion as they hugged in the ceremony's final moments.

An estimated 20,000 people were in the Staples Center as Jackson's flower-draped casket was brought to the venue in a motorcade under law enforcement escort. Those who gathered constituted a visual representation of Jackson's life: black, white and everything in between, wearing fedoras and African headdresses, sequins and surgical masks.

Fans with a ticket wore gold wristbands and picked up a metallic gold program guide on their way in. Acting as pallbearers, Jackson's brothers each wore a gold necktie and, in a touch borrowed from their brother, a single spangly white glove and sunglasses.

Brother Jermaine Jackson took the stage and sang the standard "Smile" as he fought back tears.

Jackson's hearse had been part of a motorcade that smoothly whisked his body 10 miles across closed freeways from a private service at a Hollywood Hills cemetery to his public memorial and awaiting fans.

The traffic snarls and logistical nightmares that had been feared by police and city officials did not materialize. Traffic was actually considered by police to be lighter than normal.

"I think people got the message to stay home," said California Highway Patrol Officer Miguel Luevano.

Deputy Police Chief Sergio Diaz, operations chief for the event, said authorities had expected a crowd of 250,000. Besides reporters and those with tickets to the memorial service, the crowd around the Staples Center perimeter numbered only around 600, according to the LAPD.

Three thousand LAPD officers were assigned to the memorial.

Outside the Staples Center, Claudia Hernandez, 29, said she loved Jackson's music as a girl growing up in Mexico. Now a day-care teaching assistant in Los Angeles, Hernandez said she cried watching TV coverage of his death.

"I'm trying to hold in my emotions," said Hernandez, wearing a wristband to allow her admittance to the service and holding a framed photograph of Jackson. "I know right now he's teaching the angels to dance."

More than 1.6 million people registered for the lottery for free tickets to Jackson's memorial. A total of 8,750 were chosen to receive two tickets each.

"There are certain people in our popular culture that just capture people's imaginations. And in death, they become even larger," President Barack Obama told CBS while in Moscow. "Now, I have to admit that it's also fed by a 24/7 media that is insatiable."

The city of Los Angeles set up a Web site Tuesday to allow fans to contribute money to help the city pay for his Staples Center memorial service. Mayoral spokesman Matt Szabo estimated the service will cost $1.5 million to $4 million.

It was not clear what will happen to Jackson's body. The Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills cemetery is the final resting place for such stars as Bette Davis, Andy Gibb, Freddie Prinze, Liberace and recently deceased David Carradine and Ed McMahon.

Jermaine Jackson has expressed a desire to have him buried someday at Neverland, his estate in Southern California.

Midway during the memorial service, police Officer April Harding told the media gathered at the gates of Forest Lawn to disperse. Asked if Jackson's body was going to be returned to the cemetery after the memorial, she replied: "His body is not going to be returned here." She did not say where it would be taken.

[nisey012]

Farewell Michael Jackson
(Love You Into Eternity)

A spirit of love
Blessed from our Lord above
Embraced by strong arms
Michael endured it all
With the Lord at his side
Walking close as his guide

The world so evil ran its course
But Michael sang love with his voice
None other have I seen
None other will there ever be
A person of Michael status
For he was the first and last at it

As Michael take wings to fly up on high
To greet the Lord beyond that big sky
We earthlings will miss him so much
His love, his music and all he offered,
Including his ever gentle touch
Michael was truly a gift from the Most High
Whom was bless to us all for a little while

Memories are what we must now share
Michael?s fine and now he?s in the best care
Through all his ups and downs he may have faced
The Lord kept him to endure the race
Now his end his finally come
So will our end-in this race we must run.

C. Artis
Portsmouth, Virginia

[nisey012]

Farewell Michael Jackson
(Love You Into Eternity)

A spirit of love
Blessed from our Lord above
Embraced by strong arms
Michael endured it all
With the Lord at his side
Walking close as his guide

The world so evil ran its course
But Michael sang love with his voice
None other have I seen
None other will there ever be
A person of Michael status
For he was the first and last at it

As Michael take wings to fly up on high
To greet the Lord beyond that big sky
We earthlings will miss him so much
His love, his music and all he offered,
Including his ever gentle touch
Michael was truly a gift from the Most High
Whom was bless to us all for a little while

Memories are what we must now share
Michael?s fine and now he?s in the best care
Through all his ups and downs he may have faced
The Lord kept him to endure the race
Now his end his finally come
So will our end-in this race we must run.

C. Artis
Portsmouth, Virginia

[greg-o]

Every single african mixed child I ever saw [and thats in the thousands], had some kind of trait showing one of their parents were african. Usually nappy hair always showed, but not in these children. Their hair is silky smooth, noses like a caucasion, fair skinned. I seriously doubt these children are jackos. Some DNA work should be done here. Jacko had kids locked in his bedroom for up to a week according to Latoya. Its sad when the media and music sensationalism overrides what kinda person jacko really was. All you jacko fans are are immature idiots, you cant spell reality. The media has you brainwashed. If I were in your shoes I'd see a doctor quick and I dont mean doctor FEELGOOD!

[carolledg2001]

Please Light A Candle For Michael Jackson Here
http://rememberedbyus.com/MichaelJackson2009

Thank you so much

[wyckedme]

Why did Katie Courik have to talk throught the whole service ? I changed the channel to CNN they had respect and shut UP !

[Paul-Solomon]

The eccentric pop star who never seemed to grow up was portrayed by the media mostly as an eccentric oddball who had no business taking care of children. He famously dangled his youngest child, Prince Michael II, nicknamed "Blanket", over a hotel balcony in 2002, when the child was just an infant. His three kids were rarely seen publicly, and when they were, their faces were covered by veils or masks.

After his death, something changed in the media. The sexual allegations and reports of weird behavior were pushed to the background while Jackson's contributions to the world of music were celebrated. The groundbreaking musical career that Jackson gave us was on a level with Elvis and the Beatles. In this era of news-at-the-speed-of-the-Internet, Jackson as an icon seems to have no peer. The news of his death has been relentless, and sales of his music is going through the roof.

Jackson's comeback is even bigger in death than it would have been in life. Sales of his final rehearsals at the Staples Center are expected to bring in at least $500 million. The fact that he's not alive to spend his money will make his heirs very wealthy. His children stand to inherit the bulk of his estate.

The memorial was over-the-top. The gold coffin, the endless parade of celebrity guests, the gospel choir and endless videos of the pop star himself, all transmitted globally through the Internet and television to millions of people worldwide was surreal enough. Inside the Staples Center, people were taking videos on their cell phones and posting them on the Internet while journalists sent out Twitter reports.

The defining moment in the image transformation of Michael Jackson was not complete, however, until the end of the glitzy affair at the Staples Center. After all the musical numbers, prepared speeches and video tributes, it appeared that Janet Jackson was going to address the crowd. Instead, Janet pushed little Paris Katherine, the 11-year-old daughter of Michael, in front of the microphone. In addition to Paris and Prince Michael II, now age 7, 12-year-old Prince Michael I was in attendance. Could these normal-looking children be related to the man who once owned the elephant man's bones, slept in an oxygen chamber and dangled his baby over a hotel balcony?

As the circus elephants waited in the wings, Paris gave her now famous speech, lasting only a few sentences, and ending with: "I love him so much." As she broke down in tears, there weren't many dry eyes in the house, or around the world, for that matter. The memorial service for Jackson was now over, but the image of his loving daughter will live on.

As much as he would have loved the spectacle at the Staples Center, which portrayed him as a larger-than-life icon, a new Michael Jackson has emerged: family man.

http://www.paulsolomon.blogspot.com

[CUERVOBRILLANTE]

Isn't it typical of all the embittered, envious, selg-righteous know-it-alls to try and get up on their high horses and decry the amazing Michael Jackson and those who love him? HOW they must have squirmed with the beautiful eulogies to his name! ... Soon running off to vomit and foam in their own nastiness, while stuffing their ears with their ghastly fingers!
... Well, let them! - The day will come when THEY can gurgle through their own death-rattle as they lie dying, and complain to God about Michael Jackson and see His answer to them!

[DisgustedwithCBS]

I am disgusted with CBS and all the rest of the media. Their sick, obsessive coverage of Michael Jackson's death and burial into a circus. What happened to real news? Journalistic ethics? Is it all news/entertainment now? Is every "news" show really just another episode of The Insider or Access Hollywood? Michael Jackson was a famous, sometimes infamous man who died. Let it go. Move on. Give us all a break, while you still have some viewers.

[mollybee5]

God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you?

[abcdgoldfish-2009]

You know, you people just need to give him a break. He did a lot of good in this world, like breaking down the racial barriers on MTV. Did any of you do that? He affected almost every part of this world. Yes, like all people, he had his bad moments, but he had many good moments too. Don't keep putting him down for the bad things, because the good definatly outweigh the bad.
Also, stop complaining about how everyone is making such a big deal about his death and how you just. People need to grieve. People around the whole world grieved when Elvis Presley died, and then when Princess Diana died, everyone grieved. These people were important, and many people admired them and made them idols. Michael Jackson was an idol. Just let people grieve the way they want to. Grief takes a long time to get over. People will be talking about this for a long time. No one will forget him.

[didserve]

ENOUGH!

HOW IS THIS SO LONG IN THE NEWS?

GET A LIFE

[realnews12]

No one forced you to read this story and comment on it. Get a life yourself.

[MrBag]

realnews12: you need to get a life....

[sam-kiley]

bonjour,
j'ai suivi la cérémonie, elle a été célebrée dans la simplicité, en présence de sa famille, ses amis ..ses fans..témoignages trés émouvants... en discours et en chansons, les sanglots de sa petite fille..inoubliables...
michael est parti, mais sera eternellemnt présent dans le coeur de ceux qui continueront de 'l'aimer et chanter ses chansons..

[grabandgo]

The news media is a joke. This should have ended days ago, before the child molesters body started STINKING!
I can't even put on the TV!

[excoachken]

Mallory: Dead is dead. Now, get a Life. We are no Bible bangers or any one category, other than those who are sick of this story being blown out of proportion and given credence it has not earned. He was just a frekkin singer, he didn't cure cancer, was extremely neurotic, and touched little kids who never asked to be touched. If he were not filthy rich, he would have been in some state prison, using his falsetto to calm down his roomy Bubba. On the day he overdosed (because as a fifty year old millionaire, life is sooo difficult) over 1000 W W II Vets died. How can you compare his "life value" to theirs?

[michaelm07]

Please, CBS, NBC, ABC ad everyone else, enough already with this stuff. A talented man yes, but end it already and get back to news that has meaning. We don't care about the Paris Hiltons, the Jackson's, and the rest of the vapid celebrity culture. Please leave that to the Jerry Springer's of the world.

[MalloryDavis]

UGLY NASTY MEAN SPIRITED PEOPLE. Most of the blogs show this. Someone on this blog wants PUBLIC GRIEVING to be illegal? WOW! Most of you are haters. Probably bible thumping haters. The worst kind of hate because it's righteous indignation. PUTZes all.

[tdentino]

The ***** is dead leave this worthless story!

[excoachken]

Did I misunderstand? Was this really Abraham Lincon who died, not some singer/dancer with mental health problems and a propensity to sleep with little boys? ENOUGH of this sickening Hype. If his parents really wanted "privacy" you guys are violating their wishes with each of these increasingly silly stories. Didn't anything of value happen in the entire world yesterday or have you reporters just decided to take an extended July 4th Holiday. Put it to rest, for both those who loved this guy AND those who loathed him.

[zonkzilla]

Leave the Michael Jackson people alone, if they want to worship a drug taking alcoholic pedophile as their god that's their right.

[gangesdak]

First was Diana, the floosie. Now Michael Jackson,the pedophile. I am not sure which one of them was worse. Media is playing to the hilt catering for the sick population. However, I am glad both Michael and Diana are gone.