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Mel Evans / AP
Candles burn at a memorial to Whitney Houston outside New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., early Saturday.
Editors note: Further updates on the Whitney Houston funeral will be posted here.
Updated 10:05 a.m. ET: Hearse carrying Whitney Houston's casket has arrived at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, a church where Houston sung as a child. Watch live video from the New Hope Baptist Church here.
Updated 9:45 a.m. ET: Whitney Houston's casket has departed Whigham Funeral Home in a gold hearse, escorted by a police motorcade, NBC News reports.
Soul, gospel and pop music greats from the past and present are set to mourn Whitney Houston Saturday, a week after the sudden death of the singer whose spectacular voice and best-selling albums made her one of biggest pop stars of her era.
Houston, who died in a Beverly Hills hotel room last week, recorded stirring love songs and vibrant, dance tunes during a 30-year career that peaked with her 1992 signature hit "I Will Always Love You."
She was due to be honored by family and friends at a funeral service in her native Newark, New Jersey. While the world knew her as one of the greatest artists of her generation, to her family and friends, she was just "Nippy."
NBC's Reheme Ellis reports.
A nickname given to Houston when she was a child, it stuck with her through adulthood and, later, would become the name of one of her companies.
There was a heavy police presence outside the invitation-only funeral on Saturday and streets were cordoned off.
Houston's body was expected to leave a nearby funeral home under tight security en route to the church. Fans have been urged to stay home and watch the funeral on the Internet or television.
Keys, Wonder, Franklin, Warwick
The funeral is for invited guests only. Houston is scheduled to be buried next to her father, John Houston, in nearby Westfield, N.J.
Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Houston's cousin Dionne Warwick will sing and speak at the New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston sang as a child in the choir with her mother, Cissy Houston, who was a backup singer for Franklin.
Hollywood stars Kevin Costner and Tyler Perry and Houston's mentor, record producer Clive Davis, were also scheduled to speak. Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, Beyonce and Bill Cosby were expected to attend the service.
In this TODAY exclusive, singer Aretha Franklin talks with TODAY's Al Roker about her reaction to the death of Whitney Houston, her close friend.
Houston's family decided against a public memorial, but fans were expected to crowd the streets around the church and nearby cemetery where she is due to be buried.
Many have left flowers, cards and balloons dedicated to the singer who became a global star with her 1985 debut album that included the hits "Saving All My Love For You," "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love Of All."
Houston was among the greatest singers of the 1980s and 1990s, but her personal life and marriage to singer Bobby Brown was tumultuous. She admitted to heavy use of cocaine, marijuana, alcohol and prescription pills.
Read more on Houston's death:
Franklin jumped out of bed at Houston news
Source: Houston was under 24/7 supervision
Inside Houston's last recording session
Her death at age 48 shocked her family, fans and the music industry. Houston was found underwater in a hotel bathtub on the eve of the music industry's Grammy Awards. A cause of death has yet to be determined.
Houston grew up surrounded by gospel and soul music legends like Franklin and Warwick. She later forged new territory for a black, female artist who brought R&B and gospel touches into pop music's mainstream.
After her debut, her popularity grew exponentially with her second album, "Whitney" (1987), with all four singles -- "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" -- hitting No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Coping with fame
Her music videos featuring her 1980s style and innocent, fun-loving image made her wildly popular around the world. In the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard," co-starring Costner, Houston played a character not far removed from her real self: an international singing sensation coping with fame.
She made other films including "The Preacher's Wife," but the 15-year period when she was married to singer Brown coincided with a decline in the quality and frequency of her albums. The couple, who have an 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, divorced in 2007.
Houston's powerful voice suffered in recent years. On her last world tour in 2010, she struggled to hit high notes.
She spoke publicly about her struggles with addiction.
In a 2002 interview, TV journalist Diane Sawyer asked Houston what was the "biggest devil" among her failings. Houston answered: "Nobody makes me do anything I don't want to do. So the bigger devil is me, I am either my best friend or my worst enemy."
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Really all you that are complaining about the flags being at half mast,did you not hear the gov.of New Jersey
and his comments on the matter?I bet all of you were Michael Jackson haters also.
who cares....the governor of New Jersey is nobody to the majority of us also....what a goober!
Wake me when all the silliness is over.....
Most likely true!
Gary Carter was a Hall of fame baseball player who entertained in front of 2-3 million people a year, died this week. He was a really good guy with great enthusiasm and outstanding moral character. He never did drugs and his teammates can remember him saying a swear word only once in his career. He was a great role model and he gave his time and money back to his community.
I wonder if flags will be at half staff for him around the country? I wonder if his funeral will be televised nationally? Probably not, he wasn't a drug addict who squandered his life and fortune disappointing millions. I'll never understand why we glorify musicians when they are drug addicts, child molesters or violent criminals or a combination of any of those three. Just another reason why our country is going down hill quickly.
~~Today~~~Respectfully~ We Mourn~~Lets Remember~~How would you want Yr Family Treated..during Bereavemnt~~~
~~To Ms Whitneys Family~~
~~May God Wrap You ~~In his Comforting Arms ~~And Surround you In his Saving Grace~~
~~sometimes we never undrstand the effective we have on others..just know Whitney is Loved~~
~~God said ~~Well Done~~Good and Faithful Servant
~~Yr Work is Done..
Sing Ms Whitney..Sing to You Want No More!!!!
moronic tripe!!
Whats all the fuss about?! People die everyday. Bury her and get on with life!
We lower our American flag for a drug addict? What about all our dear people that died for us serving our country. So sad to see this and we need to honor our soliders right now, that are giving up their lifes for us. This should not to televised on TV.
I agree there should not have been half staff flags for Whitney Houston! She wasn't a "National Hero" just a "Talented Singer" that had a tragic death!
I'll just be glad when it is over! Enough is enough!
Talented women? Absolutely!
Tragic situation? Very much so!
National Hero? Not!
I am very very Sad...
Sorry folks, don't have much use for drug addict. Why are we glorifying this druggie? Reminds me of another drug-addicted-dead-singer, MJ.
Enough already.She could sing, but if I hear "I wanna dance with somebody", or "I will always love you" one more time I'll puke.
She's dead,do we have to overkill her importance? Did she solve world hunger,serve for her country,or discover a cure for cancer..enough with flag draping and elevating to her to some sort of demi-god status.
Funny how the best known black singers seem to worth more when they're passed on.
Put a period after it, and move on.She killed herself with the drugs she ingested and the damage she did to herself. Her "best before date" had run out years ago.
It is so sad that there are people that strive on commenting on the negative things about people whether they are famous or not. We all have done something and some of us are still doing things we know is wrong. You may not have been a drug addict or a thief or a murderer but you have done something. Now, what we should do is "if we don't have anything good to say, don't say nothing at all" keep your negative thoughts to yourself.
Another thing if you don't want to watch or hear anything that's in the media, don't watch that station. It's as simple as that. There are stations that show nothing but movies. WATCH THAT!!!!!
How can a person with $100,000,000 debt live in splendor like she did. Who sponsered her bad habits and lifestyle? It's freaken amazing that this can happen. All this when people in masses are loosing there homes over less than $5000 arrears. She was not allowed to hit rock bottom, like everyone else. Only in america!
ffs how long do we have to hear about this dumb bi*ch ,bury her and move on you bunch of losers ,she was a f*cking wack job and the only sad part is that bobby wasn't under her !!
I have always LOVED Whitney Houston. She did have a bad marriage experience with Bobbi Brown who i do blame for her drug use! The only goog thing that came out of that relationship was Bobbi Christins. Now what's going to happen to her. They had such a close relationship! Her Dad isin't going to give her what Whitney did!!!! Poor thing! How sad! Gonna miss you Whitney! May God Bless you and watch over Bobbi Christina!!!!!
Call Governor Christie 609-292-6000 tell him what you think
Whats the big deal? She is just a drunken drug addict. Who really cares?
I for one am sick of this crap. Lets not forget she was a drug addict & an alcoholic. Who ruined her voice 10 years ago. Stop saying how wonderful she was!! Did anyone see the Diane Sawyer interview?? Everyone kissing her dead ass like she was a god. This is just another stupid Hollyweird story of fame gone wrong. This IS NOT tragic!! What IS tragic is none of her entourage & family did nothing till it was to late. Cos all they do for the famous is pat them on the back, tell them how great they are & look the other way when people like this are destroying themselves. This is no great loss as far as I'm concerned. And flying flags at half staff is BULL@!$%#!! What about all of our solders who have died in the past 10 years in our useless wars?!?! I dont see that fat bloated Chris Christie flying flags for them!! My rant is done....
I have to agree with you.
I agree with you as well...I am a veteran and I feel strongly about what others get to experience that should be reserved for the meaning of those who serve and give the ultimate sacrifice! I can't bash Whitney Houston because she was a human after all...and had a talent I could only dream of. I also agree that it was NO ONE'S fault for the choices she made...and I will respect the fact that I don't use drugs therefore I don't know how difficult it is to be addicted and fight (or not fight) to overcome the addiction. I agree with you that her death was not tragic and people should NOT be shocked that someone loses the battle when when they use!!! Especially in combination!
I am so disgusted with all these racists comments! She was someones daughter,mother,and sister. No family deserves these types of comments about there loved ones. She was a great singer, a great entertainer in her good days. She also had the disease of addiction, we all know that. She is gone know and the people that know her has the right to bury and remember her any way they please, this is land of the free home of the brave! Beside that disease she had, she had good traits, that most of us did not know. Only the people that was close to her. I sure enjoyed her music! I wish her daughter much success and that she learn from her mother and make a better life for herself.
Whitney Houston confessed to Diane Sawyer that she was the devil. She also stated in that interview that she was a child of God. That’s very confusing. You have to be one or the other.
www.Hear-The-Truth.com
@!$%# the flag !!!!!
All you do gooders out there who think you are perfect enough to judge someone else should simply shut your yapps! Bet you have some skeletons in your own closets! Show enough respect to allow this troubled lady to be put to rest in peace.
RIP Whitney
You guys should be ashamed of yourselves for taking the time to make some of these comments. Whitmey is gone, we're obviously aware of the problems and issues in her life; she didn't hide them, but this is the time to let her rest in peace. Maybe someone else's life will be spared. Maybe someone else will step back and take a good look at their own life and make that change. The hurtful comments posted on these websites only indicate how messed up you must be to take the time and try to inflict pain where it already is. Surely all of you throwing these stones must be perfect.
People Magazine Cover
Lotsa obvious jealousy being posted by the... haters!
Most of 'em probably don't even live in New Jersey. Just gotta get their holier-than-thou whine on...! No doubt
It's way too early.. this shouldn't have been..... I cannot believe it still.... 80's, I was a teen.. grew up loving her music.. this is just way too soon..
Why is it that her death feel personal as if she was part of my family member? This great sorrow over comes me.. You will be missed so very much.. I still can't believe it.
Rest in peace..
We miss you very very much..
I feel the same way. She was part of the soundtrack of my childhood. Her music brought beauty and comfort to me during difficult times. I always hoped that she would be able to reinvent herself, and was grieved after hearing about her passing when I realized that this would not be the case.
Peace and blessings to the family during this difficult time.
It is a black thing! Make noise, cry discrimination, have parades. Had Whitney Houston been white, you would not have heard a "peep", but whoa...it was a black person - bring on the music, make a lot of noise, get the NAACP on the phone to make sure you get what you want. Makes me wonder when "white folks" are going to wake up. Let's have a White History Month, say around August every year. Anyone interested? All of this celebration and lowering of our flag for a druggie makes me sick at my stomach. Hold on folks, there is more to come - Bobbi Christine and Michael Jackson's three kids are coming up next and they will swear these kids can sing! Too funny but also too sad.
And Elvis was a white thing?
BTW: Did you cry when he died? Didja go to Graceland? Was that a white thing?HJave ya seen an Elvis impersonator?
Stay sick. Your display name is very descriptive. Keep whinin', hater. I'm "laffing" atcha.
It was just a matter of time before she did herself in. Admit it people, her drugs were more important than her daughter. I just hope her daughter doesn't end up like her, but she's been doing drugs already, so it doesn't look to good for her either. Lets get this over with, and get to the real news.
If you didn't like her, and you're harboring all this anomosity, why in the hell did you even bother to click on this article? Oh, just to pass your stupid judgement on Whitney? Seems like YOU should move on with your life! Get something to do.