Whitney Houston remembered in emotional funeral

Feb 19, 2012, 2:25 GMT

Newark, New Jersey - A nearly four-hour funeral for singer Whitney Houston ended with a rendition of her mega-hit I Will Always Love You, in a Baptist service packed with some of the biggest stars of music and cinema.

In the church where Houston first sang in public as a child, many of the eulogists and performers, including minister Bishop TD Jakes and gospel singer Bebe Winans, remembered her as a religious woman who always travelled with a Bible.

The stories of her personal faith added a new layer to the image of Houston that emerged in the last decade of her life, when her once-wholesome persona was blurred by substance abuse, including her own admission of battles with drugs. She underwent repeat rehab treatment and suffered a declining career, with concert performances that fell far short of the unmatched singing of her youth.

Houston was found on February 11 in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills hotel room, and could not be revived. She was 48. Authorities found no sign of foul play and are awaiting results of post-mortem toxicology tests.

Kevin Costner, who starred with Houston in 1992's The Bodyguard, recalled their first meeting at her audition, when he still had doubts about her as a novice actor.

'You weren't just pretty,' Costner said. 'You were as beautiful as a woman could be. Whitney, if you could hear me now, I would tell you: You weren't just good enough, you were great. You sang the whole damn song without a band.'

The soundtrack's love theme, I Will Always Love You, became a global phenomenon and the best-selling single ever by a female artist, transcending the movie and immortalizing Houston's soaring voice. She was 'the only one' who could have filled the role, Costner said.

'It was the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble again,' he said. 'The inexplicable burden that comes with fame. Call it doubt. Call it fear. I've had mine. I know the famous in the room have had theirs.'

Houston's ex-husband, singer Bobby Brown, arrived with several people for the funeral, only to leave before the service began.

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, who was seated at the front of the church, called the incident a 'painful' distraction at an otherwise 'emotionally gratifying' memorial.

Brown later said that he and his children had arrived by invitation of Houston's family, who were in charge of the funeral arrangements.

'We were seated by security and then subsequently asked to move on three separate occasions,' Brown said in a statement published by USA Today. 'I fail to understand why security treated my family this way.'

Brown, who has five children including one with Houston from their notoriously stormy 1993-2007 marriage, alleged that security kept him from seeing his daughter, Bobbi-Kristina, who was with her mother's family.

'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,' Brown said. 'My children are completely distraught over the events.'

He said that Saturday was 'a day to honour Whitney,' and he would 'continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way I know how.'

Houston's body was flown last week by private jet from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, where fans soon turned the street outside Whigham Funeral Home into a shrine to the pop icon. A hearse bearing her glittering coffin arrived Saturday at the church, accompanied by a long line of limousines.

A choir clad in white gowns clapped and sang some of Houston's favorite songs inside New Hope Baptist Church.

Outside, police enforced strict security around the church and kept hundreds mourners blocks away. Undeterred, they sang Houston's songs, held placards and photos of the late singer and followed the funeral on huge screens.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker started the ceremony, telling the congregation 'not to mourn our loss, but to celebrate her life. God is in heaven, and with him is one of our angels. We love you Whitney Houston.'

New Jersey authorities ordered the US flag at half-mast statewide, despite some protests that the singer had received better recognition than US soldiers who died on foreign battlefields.

The invitation-only guests were admitted into the church before the noon (1700 GMT) service under a cordon of security including mounted police.

While the family of the soul and pop diva had originally announced the memorial as a small, private funeral, television cameras were allowed to offer live coverage to her fans around the world.

Among the luminaries in attendance were singers Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Elton John, Chaka Khan and Houston's cousin Dione Warwick, record producer Antonio LA Reid and television icon Oprah Winfrey. Music mogul Clive Davis, who was Houston's mentor throughout her career, was among the speakers.

Legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin, who was Houston's godmother, was unable to attend due to health problems.