May 26, 2013
  • MJ's memorial service packed with star power

    Photo credit: Urbanite

    (AP photo: a fan holds her tickets and wristband to Michael Jackson's memorial)

    By Marlene Naanes

    Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Hudson are just a few of the performers who will add star power to the Los Angeles public memorial service for Michael Jackson on Tuesday.

    Carey will be singing the Jackson 5 hit “I’ll Be There,” according to TMZ, but no other details have been released. The lineup was announced yesterday as fans clamored to get their hands on the 17,500 tickets to the Los Angeles memorial either by claiming the tickets on the up-and-up through the raffle system set up by organizers or scoring some on Craigslist and eBay.

    Both sites listed tickets going for thousands of dollars, though it’s unclear if a sale went through as the postings were repeatedly and rapidly removed yesterday. Police said anyone with a scalped ticket would be arrested.

    A private family service will take place at Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills hours before the 1 p.m. public memorial at the Staples Center. The family memorial will last two hours, according to the Los Angeles Times.Funeral details remain unclear.

    Other developments yesterday:

    • A judge yesterday ruled that Jackson’s longtime attorney John Branca and family friend John McClain will take over the King of Pop’s estate. The singer’s mother, Katherine Jackson, had petitioned to be in charge or share control of the estate.

    In a 2002 will, Michael Jackson designated Branca and McClain as estate administrators and his mother as a beneficiary and guardian of his three children.

    • Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s ex-wife and mother of his eldest children, said she would not attend the public memorial — after she first said she would.

    "The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," according to a statement from her attorney. "Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."

    (With AP)

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