Whitney Houston Funeral Photos: Bobby Brown

Paying Tribute to Whitney Houston

Famous friends, family and fans gather in Newark's New Hope Baptist Church to grieve the music legend at her home-going service

Janet Mock

Published on February 21, 2012 06:05AM EST

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NAME IN LIGHTS

Mourners lay flowers, rosary beads, balloons and candles in a memorial for Whitney Houston, who died Feb. 11 at age 48, outside New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., where the singer found her voice in the choir as a child.

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GOLD STANDARD

A gold hearse transports the six-time Grammy Award winner's body through the streets of Newark to the church where she was grieved at a star-studded Feb. 18 home-going service.

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SPIRITUAL HEALING

Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Houston family friend, makes his way to speak with the press before the service. "We feel such awesome pain," he said of Houston, whom he knew since her childhood. "I watched her grow up singing in the church choir under the leadership of Rev. [Charles] Thomas. Whitney was one of the outstanding voices of our time."

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WHERE IS THE LOVE?

A fan carries a sign quoting lyrics from the late singer's 1990 hit single, "All the Man That I Need," outside the New Hope Baptist Church.

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'SKY' HIGH

Stevie Wonder, who admitted to having a crush on his longtime friend, makes his way into the church, where he sang his classic "Ribbon in the Sky."

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SHIRT & SWEET

A mourner wears a T-shirt emblazoned with a photograph of the singer outside Houston's hometown church in Newark, N.J.

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FAN FAREWELL

Fans gather outside the New Hope Baptist Church, documenting the ambiance around the invitation-only service as family and friends – including Houston's 18-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina, mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick, Mariah Carey and Oprah Winfrey – arrive to celebrate the singer's life and music.

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THE EX FACTOR

While friends and family gathered inside, the singer's ex-husband Bobby Brown, whom she married in 1992 and divorced in 2007, is reportedly turned away from the church services. "I love you, Whitney," Brown, father to Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina, said at a New Edition concert after the star's death.

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GIFT OF SONG

A tearful Alicia Keys, who shared a mentor in Clive Davis with the late singer, performs a moving rendition of "Send Me an Angel" in memory of Houston, whom she lovingly called "Mima."

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TO HAVE, TO HOLD

A fan solemnly displays a photograph of the singer in remembrance of Houston.

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POSTER GIRL

Mourners gather around a portrait of the late singer, drawn by a fan right outside the home-going service at the New Hope Baptist Church.

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ON GUARD

Actor Kevin Costner delivers a moving eulogy to Houston, with whom he starred in the 1992 hit Bodyguard. "A lot of men could have played [my] role. But you, Whitney, were the only person who could have played Rachel Marron," he said. "‘I was your pretend bodyguard once. And now you’re gone too soon."