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Category: Michael Jackson

King of Pop's memorial full of emotion and mystery

Brooke Shields' speech at Michael Jackson's memorial Tuesday said it all: the singer was a "Little Prince" type figure who could be very mischievous.

I always thought that Jackson was like the Little Prince, a manchild from another planet, who came to enchant and entertain us for a short time.

The mischief also sprung to mind and as I sat through a nearly three-hour service for the King of Pop at the Staples Center, and fought back tears, part of me kept wondering was this whole memorial an homage to "The Usual Suspects."

Part of me -- and I know this sounds crazy -- but part of me kept scanning the crowd to see if Jackson was sitting somewhere in the audience, dressed in disguise.

Seriously, would that be so unlike him?

The fact that no one could confirm whether or not his body was in the casket just added to the mystery and surrealism of the whole event.

Take away that doubt, and the memorial was very tasteful, spiritual and moving.

I cried when Stevie Wonder said, with tears in voice, "This is a moment I wished I had never seen," before performing "I Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer," a song he wrote for Jackson many years ago.

Tears flowed down my cheeks again when Shields said that Jackson's favorite song was Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" followed by a moving performance of the tune from Jermaine Jackson.

I cried when Marlon Jackson said part of him died with his brother and I didn't stop when Paris, the singer's daughter, said he was a great dad and she loved him.

Others among the nearly 20,000 inside Staples sniffled along side me, when they weren't screaming "I love you Michael," of course.

Which leads me to another point. Do people know how to behave at funerals or were all the yells and T-shirt sales appropriate considering the man? I don't know.

What I do know is that just like Jackson's two personas -- the shy and reserved man offstage and the brilliant showman onstage -- my mind and emotions are still torn.

I'll put it this way, the man we knew as Michael Jackson is gone and in the end, I guess that's all that matters.