Farewell Whitney : Whitney Houston’s ‘Home Going’ : Videos : aforadio.com
Posted in E-News on 19. Feb, 2012
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Whitney Houston’s funeral ends to I Will Always Love You
Farewell Whitney Houston. The star leaves the church for the final time to I Will Always Love You.
Family and friends have paid tribute to Whitney at her funeral service in the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.
The service was attended by stars including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Oprah Winfrey and Bebe Winas.
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Whitney Houston’s funeral: An uplifting ‘home going’ from New Hope
It bears noting up top the odd juxtaposition of watching Whitney Houston’s funeral on television stations called E! Entertainment and Black Entertainment Television, as though the loss of a singular voice is indeed an entertainment, something to watch with morning coffee. Houston, however, was an entertainer, and her images have permeated television both in good times and in bad since her rise in the mid 1980s, so there’s a certain symmetry at work.
But that’s the cynical view of the broadcast of Houston’s “home going,” a private church service streamed on the Internet from the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., the same church where her family belonged and where a young Whitney learned to sing.
And any cynicism was obliterated with the very first images of the inside of New Hope, where a choir 100 strong of men clad in black, women in white, hands clapping, lifted their arms to the sky, sang hymns to their Lord and provided a farewell filled with the same emotional spirit that their departed friend offered to the world.
In those faces weren’t mere fans, but a congregation who sang the words in glorious harmony, “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever.” The voices commanded that you believe them, and in the process, at least for outsiders, illustrated in pure harmony the world that gave birth to Whitney Houston’s voice, even as it affirmed that the same spirit will continue to ring for generations to come in Newark.
The older of these faces know Whitney’s mom Cissy Houston, had watched the daughter grow up in the church. You could see on their faces the knowledge that some of them blossomed right alongside Whitney, where she became an inspiration when her voice transcended church walls and became the world’s. The younger of them saw in her the possible, as well as the truth that the roots of the church, like the voices that inhabit it, are part of a continuum that began long before Whitney was born and will continue long after her untimely death.
Or, in the words of one speaker, “We spend our years as a tale that is told.”
Over the next four hours, friends, colleagues, and relatives including Houston’s cousin Dionne Warwick, her pastor, her dear friends BeBe and CeCe Winans, her costar in “The Bodyguard,” Kevin Costner, and the man, Clive Davis, who signed her to his record label and helped guide her throughout her career, praised the woman.
Singer Alicia Keys called Whitney her angel as she told stories of her not only serving as an inspiration growing up, but a constant cheerleader for many young singers looking for support. The Rev. Kim Burrell sang a moving interpretation on “A Change is Gonna Come,” and R. Kelly, wearing sunglasses and in his most solemn voice, sang a rendition of “Look to You.” Stevie Wonder reworked his song, “Ribbon in the Sky” for her.
Keys said it most simply during her expression of grief: “It’s so obvious how she’s crept into everyone’s heart.”
But, honestly, none conveyed the life of Whitney Houston like that choir standing behind the chrome casket, the collective voice that rose from so many individuals simultaneously to become unity personified. It’s one that brought together not only the spirit of everyone watching at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, but touched the ears of everyone streaming worldwide online, those watching it on an entertainment outlets and replaying it on YouTube. That singular song rising from the choir contained generational multitudes, and was more life affirming than the greatest sermon; passed down from mother and father to son and daughter, it connects the young and old, the black and the white, the rich and the poor — and, as proven on Saturday morning, the living and the dead.
credit & thanks : latimes.com / Randall Roberts / Photo Credit: Mel Evans / Associated Press
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Bobby Brown leaves church as Whitney Houston’s funeral begins
Bobby Brown was invited to the funeral of Whitney Houston on Saturday, but he left shortly after the “home going” service began, reportedly over a seating dispute.
Brown’s invite was for him plus two guests, but he showed up with an entourage of nine, according to TMZ, which said the singer became upset when the entire party could not be seated. Sources told the website that Brown wanted to sit with his daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.
[Updated at 1:25 p.m. Feb. 18: Brown's rep has released a statement indicating that he and his children were invited, seated by security and then asked to move three times. "I fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continue to ask us and no one else to move," he said in the statement, adding that he was prevented from attempting to see Bobbi Kristina.
"Security then prevented me from attempting to see my daughter Bobbi-Kristina. In light of the events, I gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as I refused to create a scene. My children are completely distraught over the events. This was a day to honor Whitney. I doubt Whitney would have wanted this to occur. I will continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way I know how."]
Bobbi Kristina, Whitney Houston’s only child, was seated in the front row of the New Hope Baptist Church, where speakers and singers repeatedly addressed her and Cissy Houston directly during the nearly four-hour service.
According to CNN, Brown had entered the church, gone up to the casket and was crying over his ex-wife, but left in an SUV about 10 minutes into the service. Sources told CNN he chose to leave when his entourage could not be accommodated inside the church.
Following the service, Jesse Jackson told CNN that he’d tried to get Brown to stay after the singer and several members of his entourage were asked to leave the front row. “That was a very difficult moment for all of us.”
“It seems to me that they could have accommodated him better than they did,” Jackson said.
Tweeting from outside the church, the Rev. Al Sharpton said, “I am at Whitney’s funeral. I spoke with Bobby Brown trying to calm him down and not distract from the services. Today is about Whitney! I am going back in the services, I did my best out here. Can’t tweet from inside the sanctuary, I hope the press will not distort the day.”
After the service, Sharpton told CNN that Brown had shown nothing but respect, and asked that the singer be left alone.
Christie D’Zurilla / Photo: Bobby Brown is escorted to a vehicle during the funeral of his ex-wife Whitney Houston in New Jersey on Saturday. Credit: Mel Evans / Associated Press
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Alicia Keys raises the roof at Whitney Houston’s funeral
Alicia Keys stunned mourners at Whitney Houston’s funeral as she sang an emotional song, after weeping.
Family and friends have paid tribute to Whitney at her funeral service in the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.
The service was attended by stars including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Oprah Winfrey and Bebe Winas.
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Stevie Wonder plays at Whitney Houston’s funeral
Stevie Wonder sings a special reworking of his songs Ribbon In The Sky and Love’s In Need at the service for pop star Whitney Houston.
Stevie Wonder, a close friend of Houston’s told mourners,”I want to thank God for allowing me to be in this world at the same time as Whitney.”
“In my fantasy world I had a little crush on her, I think everyone did,” he added.
Ribbon in the Sky which he played, is said to be one of Whitney Houston’s favourite songs.
Bebe Winians, a gospel singer performed Really Miss You in tribute to his late friend and Alicia Keys also gave an emotional performance.
Whitney Houston will be buried near her father at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey.
The 48-year-old died in a Beverly Hills hotel room on February 11 on the eve of the music industry’s Grammy Awards. She was found underwater in a bathtub in her hotel room, according to police.
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R Kelly fights back tears performing at Whitney Houston’s funeral
R Kelly has performed at Whitney Houston’s funeral in New Jersey and struggled to hold back tears as he sang for the late singer.
Family and friends have paid tribute to Whitney at her funeral service in the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.
The service was attended by stars including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Oprah Winfrey and Bebe Winas.
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Aretha Franklin: Whitney was one of the finest and greatest singers
The Queen of Soul and godmother of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, pays a musical tribute to the singer calling her, “one of the finest and greatest singers that ever stood behind a microphone.”
At a concert in New York’s Radio City Music Hall Franklin performed her greatest hits, but inserted a special tribute in honor of the late singer Whitney Houston, who died in a Beverly Hills hotel room a week ago on the eve of the music industry’s Grammy Awards.
Franklin said, “we will always remember her kindness, her grace, her smile and her dynamic performances, but she has moved on up just a little bit higher now.”
She then sang Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, which was made popular by Whitney Houston in her own rendition.
Franklin is scheduled to perform at her funeral on Saturday at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, along with Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder.
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Kevin Costner bids farewell to Whitney Houston at funeral: ‘off you go Whitney’
Speaking at Whitney Houston’s funeral, actor Kevin Costner remembered a fledgling movie star who still wondered if she was good enough.
“Escorted by an army of angels to your heavenly father, when you sing before him, don’t you worry. You will be good enough,” Costner said in an emotional tribute to the singer who died last week aged 48.
The service in the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, was attended by stars including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Oprah Winfrey and Bebe Winas.
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‘We love you Whitney Houston’ – tributes paid to singer at funeral
Cory Booker, the mayor of Whitney Houston’s childhood home, Newark paid tribute to the singer at her funeral service, describing her as an “Angel.”
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CREDIT & THANKS : telegraph.co.uk / ITN NEWS / latimes.com
