• 3:42 p.m. An instrumental version of "Man In The Mirror" is playing; Michael's casket is being taken out of the Staples Center while an older picture of the Jackson family shows on the giant screen.
  
  Pastor Lucious Smith is back with parting words and a prayer. The ceremony lasted just about two hours.

• 3:33 p.m. It's now quiet onstage. Some fans can be heard screaming out how much they love Michael as those on the stage hug each other. Jermaine stepped up to the front of the gathering: "On behalf of my family...I would like to thank everyone for coming out. As you know, I'm lost for words. I was his voice and his backbone. I had his back," says Jermaine Jackson.
  
  Marlon Jackson then took the microphone and instantly sobbed, "I hurt." Those around him put their hands on his shoulder for emotional support. Marlon is sharing memories of Michael--of them watching "The Three Stooges" before it was time to go to the studio. Whenever they would hug and say their goodbyes, Marlon says, he would say, "Michael, I love you." He says Michael would respond, "I love you more."

• 3:29 p.m. A woman is now onstage, singing "Heal The World." Numerous children and performers are also still on stage, waving their hands in unison back and forth and singing along to the chorus.

• 3:25 p.m. The opening chords of "We Are The World" are now playing. Singers, presumably from the O2 shows, have sung the leads in the song. Friends and Jackson relatives have joined them onstage as the choruses to the song swell.

• 3:18 p.m. After Smokey, now 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi of Britain's Got Talent fame is singing "Who's Loving You." It's been reported that Michael Jackson saw a clip of the boy on YouTube and thought it was so well done, he considered getting Jafargholi to perform on stage with him during his O2 shows. Now Kenny Ortega, director of choreography for the O2 shows, is onstage talking to the crowd and confirming that report.
  
  

• 3:13 p.m. Smokey Robinson is back on stage, after the crowd saw a short clip of little Michael Jackson singing "Who's Loving You." As the thousands at the Staples Center applauded his words, Robinson said, Michael "will never really be gone. He will live forever and ever and ever and ever."
  
  Robinson then shared that when he sings "Who's Loving You" at concerts now, younger fans come up to him and say, "Oh, you're singing Michael Jackson's song, huh?" Robinson says he's glad to have known Jackson.
  
  

• 3:52 p.m. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas addressed the service, speaking of Michael Jackson's charity work and comparing his story to the biblical one of the Good Samaritan. Then, Usher sang Jackson's hit penned for AIDS victim Ryan White, "Gone Too Soon." Usher appeared emotional at the end of the song.

• 2:51 p.m. Taking the stage now, Martin King III and Rev. Bernice King. "It is apparent that like our father and mother, Martin and Coretta King, Michael's life and work was inspired by the love of God," said Rev. King.
  
  

• 2:40 p.m. Brooke Shields is talking about dating Jackson; she says while some thought it was an odd pairing, to them it was the most natural thing in the world. Shields is the first person to get really teary up there. "Michael always knew he could count on me....we had a bond," she said, her voice breaking. She says because both had been child stars, they both needed to be adults very early in life--but that when the two of them were together, they played and laughed like kids.
  
  "He was...pure, honest, non-jaded, a lover of life who cared so dearly about his friends, his family and his fans." She's recalling that Jackson's favorite song was "Smile" from the Charlie Chaplin movie "Modern Times;" he did it on his HIStory album and a line in it says, "Smile though your heart is aching...smile even though it's breaking." Shields ended her address to the crowd by saying, "We need to smile." Now, Michael's big brother Jermaine Jackson is singing "Smile," and wearing a glittery glove.
  
  Jermaine ended the song by saying, "I love you, Michael."

• 2:39: Rev. Al Sharpton steps onstage to talk about his friend Michael, whom he first met in 1970 in Chicago. He's remembering the way Jackson broke down barriers for other people of color, and how he united so many people: "It was Michael Jackson that brought blacks and whites and Asians and Latinos together...he created a comfort level, where people that felt they were separate became interconnected with his music." His message today was, "Thank you, Michael."
  
  Now, John Mayer has just finished a lovely, soft and soulful guitar version of "Human Nature," from Jackson's Thriller album. Brooke Shields is now taking the mic.
  
  

• 2:20: We just heard from current L. A. Laker Kobe Bryant, and former Laker Magic Johnson. Bryant noted that Michael Jackson made the Guinness Book of World Records for the most charities supported by a pop star. Johnson remembered being asked to perform in Jackson's "Remember The Time" video, and how he was nervous going over to Jackson's house.
  
  "The chef brought me grilled chicken, but he brought Michael a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. I said, "Michael, you eat Kentucky Fried Chicken?!" Johnson said he'll never forget sitting on the floor with Michael Jackson, eating a bucket of KFC. No word whether it was Original Recipe or Extra Crispy. Now, Jennifer Hudson is singing MJ's "Will You Be There," from the movie Free Willy. Michael's voice is gently--almost cryingly--heard reciting the lyrics to the song.

• 2:10 p.m.: A video retrospective of Michael Jackson, which included photos, music snippets and clips of some of his famous videos and concert performances, Stevie Wonder took the stage, saying, "This is a moment that I wish I didn't live to see coming. But as much as i can say that and mean it, I do know that God is good. And I do know that as much as we may feel, and we do, that we need Michael here with us, God must have needed him far more."
  
  
Wonder then sang "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer," inserting Jackson's name in the line, "Love has gone away...Michael, why didn't you stay."

• 1:54 p.m.: Berry Gordy has now stepped up to the mic. The Motown founder says Michael Jackson was just 10 years old when he and his brothers auditioned, and blew everyone away.


"Michael had a quality which I couldn't completely understand, but we all knew he was special," said Gordy. He drew laughs when he said little Michael's version of Smokey Robinson's "Who's Loving You" was better than even Robinson's. Gordy says when he told Robinson that he thought Jackson had "got him on that one," he says Robinson replied, "I do too." Gordy says when Michael sang and danced, "You could feel the happiness in his soul, because that's what he loved to do." He said the King of Pop "raised the bar, and then he broke the bar."

• 1:50 p.m. Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz took the stage to sing "I'll Be There." Queen Latifah then spoke, saying that "In Birmingham, Alabama and Birmingham, England, we are missing Michael Jackson." Now, Lionel Richie is singing "Jesus Is Love."

• Andrae Crouch's choir has been singing "Soon and Very Soon." Now, Pastor Lucious Smith is greeting the crowd, saying "We remember this man by celebrating his life...Our hearts are heavy today because [Michael Jackson] is gone far too soon. But as long as we remember our time with him, the truth is, he is never really gone at all."

• Here's a photo of some fans leafing through the program at the Jackson memorial.

• 1:15: We've heard the ceremony would start as much as 30 minutes late. Smokey Robinson began the event at the Staples Center reading statements from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela.

Michael Jackson's casket arrived at the Staples Center at about 12:43 p.m.  It came in a motorcade which drove 10 miles on closed freeways from the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, after a private service.

Earlier in the morning, Jackson's family members and dozens of friends, led by his parents, Joe and Katherine, were seen entering a building at the cemetery. News reports estimated as many as 20 helicopters circled overhead.

Jackson's gold-plated casket, draped in crimson flowers, was placed in a the hearse by pallbearers in dark suits and gold neckties. Fans with a ticket wore gold wristbands and picked up a gold program guide on their way in.