♪ they say time makes it better ♪ ♪ but in time i'll see you later ♪ ♪ we'll be together a long time forever ♪ ♪ when i leave here ♪ ♪ but i'll miss your wit, i'll miss your charm ♪ ♪ just want to hold you in my arms ♪ ♪ hearts in two, you have no clue how i'll miss you ♪ ♪ i'll miss your voice, when

you would call ♪ ♪ i'll miss your smile for so long ♪ ♪ just with nowhere to go and nothing to do ♪ ♪ i'm gonna miss you ♪ ♪ i take several precautions, i think of you often ♪ ♪ since you left here ♪ ♪ life's a bit harder, our love a lot smarter since you left here ♪ ♪ the days that i can't take it, my, i don't know how i'll make it ♪ ♪ with jesus and memories, it

will help to keep me since you left here ♪ ♪ oh, but ill he' miss your wit ♪ ♪ i'll miss your charm, just want to hold you in my arms ♪ ♪ my heart is blue 'cause you have no clue, how i'll miss you ♪ ♪ and i'll miss her voice, when she would call ♪ ♪ i'll miss her smile for so long ♪ ♪ just us two, with nowhere to go ♪ ♪ and nothing to do ♪ ♪ i'm gonna miss you ♪ ♪ you, you, oh, i'll miss ♪ ♪ just holding, holding in

your arms ♪ ♪ in your arms ♪ ♪ oh, in your arms, i'll miss her voice ♪ ♪ when she would call, i'll miss her smile for so long ♪ ♪ just us two, with nowhere to go ♪ ♪ when we had nothing to do, i'm gonna miss ♪ ♪ there will be tears on my pillow ♪ ♪ it's hard to just let go when she left here ♪ ♪ what i know for sure, it was a great celebration and she

was waiting which she left ♪ (applause) (applause) >> we're going to ask bishop jakes to come and have word of expressi expression. >> and can the church say amen. >> amen. >> can we say amen again? >> amen.

>> i want to convoy, just take just a moment, i realize the dichotomy that the family faces at this time tis your ronneded by friends and admirers who are enthralled by the beautiful whitney houston, the voice, her song, her poise, her class, but that's not what brings you here because you knew who she was, not just what she did. and paid a tremendous price for life, you shared her with the world and we'll want to take a moment and say thank you. [applaus [applause] >> in moments like this, it feels, it feels like death is

long, but the bible says that love is stronger than death. the hearts are heavy, tears flow down, and spirits are wounded, i feel that, too. i didn't have the privilege of knowing whitney as long as as many of you have done. i met her on the set of the remake of sparkle, but i understand what it is to be in pain. you look around and everybody you love and everybody you can count on and everybody you can trust seems to be slipping through your fingers. and it feels as though death is wrong. the first family when cain killed abel, it seemed like death is wrong. and noah escaped the flood and still he died. and death wrong. and you could see thousands of

miles and years away, and still, he died. it looked like death had won. and a prophet to israel spoke truth so strong, but no matter how close he had come to god, he still had died. and looked like death had won. and great thinkers and sages of the ages, no matter how profound or pro live particular and profound they were, still they died. looked lie death had won. the bible kept saying that love is stronger than death and like two gladiators in a fight every time they entered into the ring, it looks like death had won and i know, some of you it looks like death has won, but i tell you that 2000 years ago, love rolled into

the ring and said, wait a minute, death, you've been bullying people for a long time, but i want to set the record straight, love is greater than death. roll up your sleeves and they fought all over jerusalem and wrestled through the cross and the fight went down to the grave and death said, see, i get to you just like i did all the rest of them. death started having a party on friday night. and it was one of those weekend parties. and lasted all the way through friday night and all saturday, and looked like death had won, but sunday morning, love rolled up its sleeve and said, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, snatch death and took the sting the out of death and out the grave and i want you to understand, i'm not gonna preach, i am a note going to start, i'm going to feel it, i want you to

understand in a practical and pragmatic way, that death has not won. your tears may flow, your pain may come, flowers will wither, the hearts, and phone stops ringing, going to start stop ringing and cakes and pies stop coming, don't you dare think that death has won. you will learn what all of us know who have lost people that we love, you'll be driving down the street one day and you'll, you'll hear whitney's voice talking in your head, something she said or something she did, will pop up in your spirit and you'll giggle inside of yourself as if she were sitting in the car with you and you will find that people that you really love, they may leave you outwardly, but they never leave you inwardly.

and may the love of god, the peace of the holy spirit, the sweet communion of knowing that you are a child of the king, keep you through this period in life when it might appear as if death has won, but it's a lie, love will last forever, for god is love. [applaus [applause] >> yeah, god is love. >> ' going to ask reverend ken burrell to come forward and do

a song that was whitney's favorite song and she loved listening to ken sing it. [applaus [applause]. >> all of those things that come to my mind all week long about her, and she was special and she had a loving heart. i'm thankful today because she was not selfish. as popular and powerful as she was, she was so brilliant ly liberal with who she was and others. she, too, saw great in me and contributed to that. i want to thank pat and miss cissy houston for allowing me to sing that song, i believe in you and me to her, and i'm going to try and do it today, but there's a little song i want to do, and personalized

for her, if that's okay? okay. ♪ she was born in newark, ooh, she was heaven sent ♪ ♪ for all ♪ ♪ it's been a long, a long time coming ♪ ♪ oh, but a change had to come, oh, yes, it did ♪ ♪ sometimes when we talk, it's like it's too hard living, but i know she wasn't afraid to die ♪

♪ 'cause whitney understood, ooh, somebody's waiting up in the sky ♪ ♪ it's a long, a long time coming ♪ ♪ oh, objection, ooh ♪ ♪ a change had to come, ooh, yes it did ♪ ♪ oh, sometimes she'd say, i got to call my mother ♪ ♪ i got to call her because i'm, i'm in need ♪ ♪ yeah, 'cause when she, when she called you, she already knew, mother ♪ ♪ that whatever she was going

through, you would get down on your knees oh, oh ♪ ♪ there was a time that she thought she couldn't last, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ but i know, i know, it's been a long, a long time coming ♪ ♪ but i know, ooh, a change us mortals, immortal change has come ♪ ♪ no more tears, no more rehearseals ♪ ♪ no more flying, no more crying, ooh, a change, a

change, a change ♪ ♪ the final change has come, the best outfit to be with god, ooh ♪ ♪ a change, a change a change, a change has come ♪ ♪ it's been a long time, it's been a long time, it's been a long time, but i know she's with jesus, yeah ♪ ♪ a long time coming, but a change has come ♪ ♪ it's been a long, a long time coming ♪ ♪ oh, oh, ooh, oh ♪ ♪ ooh, whitney, a change has come ♪ ♪ oh, yes it did, yeah ♪

(applaus (applause). >> a change has come. and ask miss kevin costner to come and say some words regarding whitney. [applaus [applause]. >> (laughter) . >> it feels right.

i'd like to thank cissy and dionne for the honor of being here and everybody in the church treating my wife and i so gracefully. i'm going to say some stories, maybe some of you know, maybe some of you, you don't. i wrote them down because i didn't want to, i didn't want to miss anything. the song "i will always love you" almost wasn't. it wasn't supposed to be in the movie, but first choice was going to be "what becomes of a broken heart" and it had been out the year before in another movie and we felt it wasn't have the impact so he we couldn't use it. so what becomes of our broken hearts? whitney returns home today to the place where it all began

and i urge us all inside and outside across the nation and around the world to dry our tears, suspend our sorrow, and perhaps our anger, just long enough, just long enough to remember the sweet miracle of whitney. never forgetting that cissy, and bobbi kristina are still among us. and her mother and i have a lot in common. i know many at this moment are thinking, really? (laughter) . >> she's a girl, you're a boy. you're white. she's black. we heard you like to sing, but our sister could really sing. so what am i talking about? kevin costner and whitney

houston, they don't have anything in common at all. well, you'd be wrong about that. we both grew up in the baptist church. [applaus [applause]. >> it wasn't as big as this, my grandmother played the piano and led the choir and her two daughters, mom mom and aunt sang in it and rest of my families aunts and uncles and cousins sat out front and watched and my earliest memories tied to the old church in paramount and i remember seeing a gold shovel going to the ground and people praying about it and thinking, wow, something big was going to go here, and i watched my father and the rest of the men build it from the ground up. and i was probably four years old and seemed to be always in the way, and i wanted to help.

i wanted to be in on the action. when one of the men snapped down a red line where the choir would be standing one day, and said, have at it. as many nails as you want. all in a line. i always took great comfort watching my mom and aunt sing knowing they would never fall through that floor where i had worked. (laughter) . the church was a center of our social life and whitney and i would laugh knowing it was always the place you could get into big trouble. and especially when you were allowed to sit with your friends and not your parents, in the big church. and i remember more than once being pulled from the pew, for whispering and passing notes. i don't believe my feet ever hit the floor as my father

hauled me outside in front of everyone. i believed even the preacher prayed for me. (laughter) >> whitney's favorite story of mine was me sneaking into the church kitchen after communion, i liked the little glasses of grape juice that were left over. i liked how they felt in my hand, i couldn't have been over six at the time, but i would lean against the table and one by one, i would knock them back. (laughter) >> having some imagery conversation with someone. my father was the one who found me again and asked what i was doing, i told him i was a cowboy. (laughter) >> and that was drinking whiskey. i don't think my touched the floor that day either. (laughter)

>> it was easy for us to laugh, the church was what we knew. and it was our private bond. i can see her in my own mind running around here as a skinny little girl, knowing everyone, everyone's business, and knowing every inch of this place. i can also see her in trouble, too. trying to use that beautiful smile, trying to talk her way out of it. and cissy not having any of it. (laughter) >> mostly, the days at church were good ones for us, and we both remembered how our parents tried to explain god, and the plan he had for our lives, and we agreed that there was this feeling, this promise that somehow we listened carefully god's voice would somehow come to us. i told whitney i was worried

that god was going to ask me to be a preacher, i wasn't sure how much fun ours had. whitney told me she wasn't worried at all she wasn't waiting for no whitney. she told god she was going to be like aretha, like her famous cousin dionne, like her beautiful mother cissy, there can be no doubt in the room that she's joined their ranks and as the debate heats up this century and surely will about the greatest singer of the last century, as the lists are drawn, it will have little meaning to me, if her name is not on it. [applaus [applause] >> as sure as i am about whitney's place in musical history i'm just as sure she came home from the first time she took center stage here as a teenager, flush with the excitement of knowing that

she'd exceeded everyone's expectations and awesome calmness what was to come, but needing to hear from her mother about how she was received. was she good enough? could i have done better? did they really like me? were they just being polite because they were scared of you, cissy? (laughter) >> these are the private questions that whitney would always have that would always follow her. but the height of her fame as a singer i asked her to be my coast guard in a movie called "the bodyguard" i thought she was the perfect choice, but the red flags came out immediately. maybe i should think this over a bit. i was reminded that this would be her first acting role. we could also think about another singer was a

suggestion. maybe somebody white. nobody ever said it out loud, but it was a fair question. it was. there would be a lot riding on this. maybe a more experienced actress was the way to go. it was clear i really had to think about this. i told everyone that i had taken notice that whitney was black. (laughter) >> the only problem was i thought she was perfect for what we were trying to do. there was a bit of a relief in the room when we found out that whitney was going to be on tour and she wouldn't be available for our movie. the anxiety came right back he when i said we should postpone and wait a year.

[applaus [applause]. that was a lot for the studio to accept and to their credit they did. but not without a screen test. whitney would have to earn it. that was the first time i saw the doubt, the doubt creep into her that she would not be handed the part. she would have to be great. and the day of the test came and i went into her trailer after the hair and makeup people were done. whitney was scared. arguably the biggest pop star in the world wasn't sure if she was good enough. she didn't think she looked right. there were a thousand things to her that seemed wrong. i held her hand and told her that she looked beautiful, i told her that i would be with her every step of the way,

that everyone there wanted her to succeed. but i could still feel the doubt. i wanted to tell her that the game was rigged, that i didn't care how the test went, that she could fall down or start speaking in tongues. (laughter) (applaus (applause) >> that somehow i would find a way to explain it as an extraordinary acting choice. and we could expect more to follow. and gee, weren't we lucky to have her. [applause] but that wouldn't have been fair. it wouldn't have been fair to lawrence who had written the the screen play 15 years

earlier. wouldn't have been fair to my partners at warner brothers and it wasn't a right signal to send to wit. she took it all in and asked me if she could have a few minutes by herself and meet me on the set. i was sure she was praying. after about 20 minutes later she came out. we hadn't said four lines when we had to stop. the lights were turned off, and i walked whitney off the set and back to her room. she wanted to know what was wro wrong. and i needed to know what she'd done during those 20 minutes. she said nothing. in only a way that she could, nothing. he so-so i turned her around so she could see herself in the mirror and she gasped, all the makeup on whitney's face was running, and it was

streaking down her face, and she was devastated. she didn't feel like the makeup we had he' put on her was enough so she'd wiped it off and put on the makeup she was used to wearing in her music videos, it was much thicker and the hot lights had melted it. (laughter) >> she asked if anyone had saw. i said i didn't think so. (laughter) >> it happened so quick. she seemed so small and sad at that moment and i asked her why she did it. she said, i just wanted to look my best. it's a tree we could all hang

from, the burden with fame, call it doubt, call it fear, i've had mine, and i know the famous in the room have had theirs. i asked her to trust me and she said she would. a half hour later she went back in to do her screen test and the studio fell in love with her. the whitney i knew despite her success and fame thought am i good enough, am i pretty enough? will they like me? it was the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble in the end. 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 wou

without a band. you made the picture what it was, a lot of leading men could have played my part. a lot of guys, a lot of guys could have filled that role, but you, whitney, i truly believe that were you the only one that could have played rachel marin at that time. [applause]. you weren't just pretty, you were as beautiful as a woman could be. and people didn't just like you, whitney, they loved you. i was your pretend bodyguard once not so long ago and now you're gone. too soon leaving us with memories and memories of a little girl who stepped bravely in front of this church, in front of the ones that loved you first, in front of the ones that loved you

best, and loved you the longest. then boldly, you stepped into the white hot light of the world stage and what you did was the rarest of achievements, you set the bar so high that professional singers, your own colleagues, they don't want to sing that little country song, what would be the point. now the only one who sing your songs are young girls like you, who are dreaming of being you some day. and so to you, bobbi kristina and to all those young girls who are dreaming that dream, that may be thinking, they aren't good enough, i think whitney would tell you, guard your bodies and guard the precious miracle of your own

life and then sing your hearts out, knowing that there's a lady in heaven who is making god himself wonder how he created something so perfect. so off you go, whitney, off you go. escorted by an army of angels, dear heavenly father, when you sing before him, don't you worry, you'll be good enough. [applause]

[applause] >> thank you for the wonderful, wonderful stories and words and encouragement to bobbi kristina and cissy, which we know you'll get a lot of of those still yet to come. like to ask-- alicia keyes. [applause] >> if she would come.

♪ >> she's a young lady that whitney adored and always said, boy, she's got the a lot of talent. and she does. miss alicia keyes. [applause] ♪

keys on the kooez. okay. i don't know where it came from, she called me neema and i called her nemo and just last night on the-- to come on the plane to come

back, my son said neema, neema, neema, and he kept saying neema. he didn't know that. and i thought that was beautiful and i just felt, you know, really surrounded by her. and i just, i just thinking about the way it's so obvious that she just crept into everybody's heart. and just thinking and the way that she did it, such a beautiful human being, really, really caring, thoughtful human being and call you for no reason at all. but to say hi. and that's rare, i think, sometimes. so, i feel like in many ways

she reached back to so many people, she reached back to me, she reached back to monica, and brandy and jordin and all these beautiful young artists, you know, so many artists and you know, made us feel like, like strong and capable and loved and just like, hey, neema. so, i think she, she's an angel to us and she's been an angel to us, you know? and just beautiful human being, you know. so, i think we're going to see an angel for a long time. ♪

♪ oh, sometimes i feel like i don't belong anywhere ♪ ♪ and it's okay, so long somewhere ♪ ♪ sometimes i feel so heavy

heart hearted, and i can't explain i'm so guarded ♪ ♪ but that's a lonely road to travel ♪ ♪ and a heavy load to bear ♪ ♪ and it's a long, long way to heaven, but i got to get there ♪ ♪ can you send an angel ♪ ♪ can you send an angel ♪ ♪ god, mmm ♪

♪ sometimes i feel like it's always okay, i think it's always okay ♪ ♪ and all the answers are locked away to me ♪ ♪ they're so hard to find ♪ ♪ especially when i'm feeling lost and so blind ♪ ♪ but that's a lonely road to travel ♪ ♪ and a heavy load to bare ♪ ♪ and it's a long, long way to heaven ♪ ♪ but i got to get there ♪

♪ can you an angel ♪ ♪ can you send an angel ♪ ♪ please send me an angel ♪ ♪ can you send me angel ♪ ♪ i don't want to feel like a dove with no wings ♪ ♪ and i don't want to know what a heart of stone would bring ♪ ♪ but that's a lonely road to travel ♪

♪ and a heavy load to bear ♪ ♪ and it's a long, long way to heaven ♪ ♪ but i got to get there ♪ ♪ 'cause whitney's an angel ♪ ♪ she is is an angel ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ ♪ she is an angel ♪ ♪ oh, yeah, she is an angel ♪ ♪ oh, we're never gonna forget you, no, no ♪ ♪ we're never gonna forget what you've done for us, no, no, no ♪ ♪ well, you loved us so good,

and so strong ♪ ♪ and you showed us how to get along, well ♪ ♪ so, guided you home, ooh, guided you home ♪ ♪ thank you, thank you for telling me, yeah ♪ ♪ now, send your home ♪ ♪ oh, our angel ♪ (applause)

(applause) >> alicia, thank you so, very, very much. clive davis to come to the podium to speak. [applaus [applause] >> i can't tell you how moved, touched, inspired i am tod today, by feeling the spirit in this great church. the feeling the faith, it's

helping me with my grief and my heavy heart. what i do know is about passing. i lost my parents when i was a teenag teenager, my mother was 47, when she passed away and my father passed away the following year, so that i was left an orphan. no money. but i did feel my mother's guidance, her spirit to this very he day.day. and she has helped me through every part of my life. if you'll permit me, i want to talk from my experiences in

music. with whitney. you wait for a voice like that for a lifetime. you wait for a face like that, smile like that, presence like that, for a lifetime. and when one person embodied it all, well, it takes your breath away. and that's the way i felt in 1983 when in the middle of your act, cissy, your daughter stepped forward and shattered me with her version of the greatest love of all. and that night we connected and we connected with each other every night thereafter. i thought of that just this past week when whitney and i

spent tuesday afternoon in my bungalow at the beverly hills hotel. i looked at her on the couch, saw that she'd applied a little makeup, and was once again taken aback, she was one beautiful woman. [applaus [applause] >> we talked nonstop music, a subject that we fervently loved and as we spoke i couldn't help, but silently reminisce everything we'd shared together over the years. in the past, every hit we shared was pure joy. neither of us could believe the incredible worldwide explosion when it happened. when she broke that all-time

record of seven consecutive number ones, we just felt utter disbelief. i would ask her, you pinching yourself? and she would say, with wide open eyes, i'm pinching myself. she never took anything for granted. she was never arrogant. she was always grateful and appreciative. and then, yes, then, thanks to you, kevin, came "the bodyguard" she knew how much i was worried about her transition to film. she had to hold my hands. we assuring me that it would be all right. i said, look, i've got to worry. it's my job to worry. so, whitney, i pleaded with her, let me worry. but you know?

she and kevin were right, she literally lit up the screen and when kevin stood up and agreed with us that the movie had to be changed and opened up to much more music, who can ever forget how she looked when she mesmerized everyone in that head dress with "i have nothing" dazzled in her close-ups during "run to you" how she reinvented "i'm every woman" and how she captured the world forever with "i will always love you" and then she followed the most two special films "waiting to exhale" and "the preacher's wife" were there ever memorable? was there anything she could not do musically? is there any performance of the star spangled banner that

remotely compares to her? (applaus (applause). will there ever be? and then there came a time in 1998 because of the passing of years, for what they called the comeback album. and that material accumulated, we would meet in my hotel bungalow, in our pajamas at 1 a.m. and she ordered a hamburger that she loved and french fries from room service and i'll never forget the expression on her face when she first heard "my love is your love" and "it's not right, but it's okay" she listened to each song carefully sitting on the carpet and we'd play these songs over and over. and gradually, to my amazement, she already had learned the lyrics.

and she started singing. with each play back, she started over and her voice, it really wasn't long before she stood before me and totally owned each song, and by the meaning the composers never expected was there. and that's the way it was, song, videos, right from the beginning, can you picture her on that big theater stage starting out with "the greatest love of all" and turning to run into the wings into her mother's outstretched arms? in a flash, you can visualize the verve, the vitality of "i want to dance with somebody" "how will i know" the video

for "heart break hotel" as she approached the water draped in fur. memories, vivid indellable, visual memories. each of you has them as part of your lives. i have them scorching my brain right now. and we toured together at least two continents, previewed her album with pride and playing each cut to a rep house and includes the last album, "i look to you" we first went to london and i usually did the talking and deejay and she would come out at the end to acknowledge everyone. but with this album a definite difference emerged. she walked in to acknowledge, she wanted to speak and did she speak out. was she ever articulate.

she did this with such assurance. you know, whitney was no longer the shy one. she was no longer introverted. she was there among music, she was returning to music and that was her passion. the lord and her religion obviously was her life guiding force. music, as well, was her passion. whitney lived music. whitney loved music. this was her world and she was so glad that we were back and that's why i'm talking about the the professional whitney today. without knowing of her love of music, her passion and her absolutely natural genius in

interpreting songs, you certainly don't know all of whitney houston. personally, all i can say is that i loved her very much. whitney was purely and simply one of a kind. yes, she admitted to crisis in her life. yes, she confessed to oprah about her searing battles. when i needed her, she was there. there. [applaus [applause]. she was there for me an eternally loyal friend. what's the cause or event, she was there dominating the stage, stunning the audience, and creating still another

lifetime memory. i believe in you and me, she sang. looking me straight in the eye. showing she now we've always been in it together. yes, i was her industry father and i was and am so proud of it. and bobbi kristina, you two always, always be proud of your mother. she loved so very much. [applaus [applause]. she defined not only pure talent, but true heart and soul as well. she'll forever be looking after you, and will never let go of your hand.

so as i said earlier, last week, last week whitney came by my hotel, that hotel bungalow, alone, no body guards, no security, just whitney and me and she played her new cuts from "sparkle" and i played some new music that i'd like for her. it was like old times and she looked at me quietly said, i want you to know i'm getting in shape. i'm swimming or two a day, and i'm committed to get my high he notes back, no cigarettes, plenty of vocal exercising, clive, i'll be ready by augu august. well, whitney, i'm going to hold you to it.

[applaus [applause]. everyone in heaven of, including god is waiting and i just know you're going to raise the roof like no one else has done before. [applaus [applause]. we thank you, clive for those wonderful, wonderful memories that you have with whitney and you just reminded me of something. i remember sitting in a room with friends of mine, and they all said, girl, did you hear your cousin do the star spangled banner? i said not only did i hear her do it, i was there.

and when she sold a million copies out of the box of the star spangled, banner, i looked at her, i said, well, i guess the telegraph book is next, huh? (laughter) >> one that loves her dearly, that we happen to also love dearly, she is as much family to us as anyone could ever be. please, miss receiaretha frankl. [applaus [applause]. >> . >> jamie: she's not here, but is here.