AP Photo/Mel Evans
People walk past, a large image of Whitney Houston displayed on the side of the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012.
Houston's funeral will be held Saturday in the church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child, her family choosing to remember her in a private service rather than in a large event at an arena. Officials had discussed the possibility of holding a memorial at the Prudential Center, a major sports and entertainment venue that can seat about 18,000 people, but the funeral home said it had been ruled out.
Houston, 48, died Feb. 11 at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., just hours before she was set to perform at producer Clive Davis' pre-Grammy Awards bash.
AP Photo/Rich Schultz
A woman takes a photo as many fans pay their respects with flowers, balloons, photos and personal messages to Whitney Houston at New Hope Baptist Church, in Newark, N.J., Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Houston's funeral will be held here at this church on Saturday.
AP Photo/Rich Schultz
Stephanie Crews, of Newark, as she places balloons outside the front door of Whigham Funeral Home, which will hold a private service for the late Whitney Houston, in Newark, N.J., Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012. Crews says she knows the family from church.
DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images
A makeshift memorial to Grammy-winning pop legend and actress Whitney Houston near the Beverly Hilton Hotel is seen on Feb. 13, 2012 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
AP Photo/Rich Schultz
Lamar Coleman of Newark dressed as Michael Jackson, pays respect to Whitney Houston at Whigham Funeral Home, in Newark, N.J., Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012. The 48-year-old pop star was found dead in the bathtub in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday, hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre-Grammy gala.
ANTONY DICKSON/AFP/Getty Images
Two of the largest distributed Chinese language newspapers show a headline of the death of pop legend Whitney Houston in Hong Kong on Feb. 13, 2012.
ANTONY DICKSON/AFP/Getty Images
People stand before a makeshift memorial to Grammy-winning pop legend and actress Whitney Houston near the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 12, 2012, in Los Angeles.
DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images
Shattered glass representing a broken heart is seen at a makeshift memorial to Grammy-winning pop legend and actress Whitney Houston near the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles
Jennifer Hudson performs "I Will Always Love You" during the In Memoriam portion of the 54th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Host LL Cool J pays tribute to singer Whitney Houston onstage at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on Feb. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles, Calif.
AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit
On Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, a Thai lottery vendor in Bangkok, reads a newspaper showing a photo of the late singer Whitney Houston with an article reading "American Queen of Pop Whitney Houston died."
AP Photo
A local newspaper is on sale at a newspaper stand with the main title reading "American Queen of Pop Whitney Houston died" in Shanghai, China on Monday, Feb. 13, 2012.
AP Photo/Reed Saxon
Flowers placed on a Grammy sidewalk plaque honoring Whitney Houston's wins for Record of the Year and Album of the Year in 36th Grammy Awards, have been scattered and replaced several times outside the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, Feb. 12, 2012.
John W. Ferguson/Getty Images
Flowers and notes of sympathy are laid at the entrance of Whitney Houston's former home on Feb. 12, 2012 in Mendham, N.J.
John W. Ferguson/Getty Images
Flower and notes in remembrance of singer Whitney Houston are seen outside The New Hope Baptist Church on Feb. 12, 2012. The Newark, N.J. church is where Houston began her career as a child. The singer Whitney Houston died on Feb. 11 at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Annika Sillemon, 8, fan of Whitney Houston, is seen outside the Beverly Hilton Hotel Saturday Feb. 11, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
AP Photo/Mel Evans
Flowers and a sympathy card hang on a fence in front of New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., early Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. As a young girl, Whitney Houston sang in the choir at New Hope Baptist Church.
AP Photo/Mel Evans
Three-year-old Faith Walker waits as her aunt Shalana Gaston answers a question as they leave New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, where part of the service was about the death of Whitney Houston. As a young girl, Houston sang in the choir at the church.
AP Photo/Mel Evans
An American flag flies at half-staff in front of The Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts in East Orange, N.J., Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. As a young girl, Houston attended what was known then as the Franklin School.
AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu
Fans take pictures of a bronze disk honoring Whitney Houston's Record of the Year and Album of the Year in the 36th Grammy Awards, in LA Live before the 54th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles.
AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu
Donzaleigh Abernathy places a flower at a memorial outside the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
AP Photo/Verena Dobnik
A bouquet of pink roses and a note bearing lyrics from the last song music superstar Whitney Houston ever sang in public, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me," are placed at the entrance to Harlem's Apollo Theater Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in New York. Houston, 48, who sang the song for a pre-Grammy celebration early Friday at a Hollywood nightclub, died Saturday in Los Angeles. Her death came on the night before music's biggest showcase, the Grammys.
AP Photo/Verena Dobnik
The marquee of Harlem's Apollo Theater bears a tribute to superstar Whitney Houston Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in New York. Houston, 48, died Saturday in Los Angeles. Her death came on the night before music's biggest showcase, the Grammys.
AP Photo/Reed Saxon
A woman arriving for tonight's Grammy awards looks at a Grammy sidewalk plaque, honoring Whitney Houston's wins for Record of the Year and Album of the Year in 36th Grammy Awards, outside the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, Feb. 12, 2012. Houston, 48, died Feb. 11, 2012, on the eve of the 54th Grammys, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was preparing to attend a pre-Grammy party.
AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel
A woman places a flowal tribute to singer Whitney Houston on a fence surrounding the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012.
AP Photo/Reed Saxon
Soloist Vickilyn Reynolds leads the choir in "I Will Trust In The Lord" as the Rev. Al Sharpton, not shown, asks for a national day of prayer for Whitney Houston, during regular Sunday services at Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles, on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012.
Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images
Guests observe a minute of silence in memory of Whitney Huston during the Clive Davis And The Recording Academy's 2012 Pre-Grammy Gala And Salute To Industry Icons at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Feb. 11, 2012.
AP Photo/Bret Hartman
Monet Mitchell, from Philadelphia, left, and Melody Doff, of Beverly Hills, sing Whitney Houston songs to mourn her death out side of the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. Houston, 48, was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. in her room on the fourth floor of the hotel.
