and as you've already stated that cece is bobbi kris' godmother. she was our sister, we'll be there. you can just rest assured of that. >> i have no doubt that you will be there. just if you can give us another story. bebe was so fun, your brother, talking about he's going to miss the crazy whitney. he shared some moments. is there something that you can let us in on the whitney that you knew? >> well, we called whitney illegal because she would just do stuff, you know, not because she was whitney houston the star. but she was this mischievous little girl from new jersey. speaking of the last time she was in detroit, you know. we have a congregation, there's about 2,000 people in the church. she's sitting on the second row and she keeps like pointing at me like come here, come here. now, i'm running the service, but this is whitney. so i go down. they're receiving the offer, she comes and is hugging me and kissing me. i'm like, whitney, there's a congregation watching but she doesn't care. she goes, can i run up on stage and speak to my mother and

bobby kr bobby kris was with her and my two teenage kids were with me.'t lead to that kind of behavior. i had my teenage daughter and son with me at the club. they came to celebrate their mother for the grammy nominations and love of r&b, the event. it was that kind of thing. i would have never wanted to bring my children into an environment i would have felt they would have seen something out of the way. i'm a very cautious mother. i was comfortable with the environment that was there, to the point i would have my own kids there. her daughter was there, she was there and it was an enjoyable time. >> i'm glad you were able to have that moment with your friend. i'm sorry how everything has happened and my condolences to you and your family. >> thank you. thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> kelly, thank you very much for talking. >> let us know what you think. we're on facebook, google plus. add us to your circles, a sad story. follow us on twitter. anderson cooper, tweeting tonight. whitney houston and battles to addiction in the past. we don't know wh

tmz is reporting brown hasn't been allowed to see his daughter, bobbi kris tina since she was hospitalized several family members told him to stay away from the funeral. >> fresh from her clean sweep at the grammys, adele hinted to vogue magazine she plans to take a five year break from her singing career to focus on her new relationship. can't she do both? >> finally, oprah winfrey has issued a rare apology after soliciting nielsene viewers in tweet to watch her show in the own network. the request ruffled feathers to reflect a biasing effect. >> she is taking advantage of the weapons she has. >> like you do with your tweets on the forecast. >> i'm working on it. >> #nationalforecast. i'm lynn berry, this is "first look" on msnbc. w "way too early" with willie geist starts now. >>> another week, another republican candidate pushing his way past mitt romney for the lead in the national polls. this time it's rick santorum. becomes a target for romney's million dollar attack machine in the next primary state of michigan. the question is, if santorum pulls off a win in romney's former home st

applause ] >> we thank you for those wonderful, wonderful stories and words of encouragement to bobbi kriseys. >> she called me keys on the keys. keys on the keys. we came up with this funny nickname for each other. i don't even know where it came from. which is, i guess, how nicknames happen. he called me mema and i called her mema. so whenever i text her, i said hey, mema. just last night when we were getting ready to come on the plane to come back, my son said, mema, mema, he kept saying mema. he didn't know that. i thought that was beautiful and i just felt, you know, really surrounded by her. and i was just -- i was just thinking about the way that is so obvious that she just crept into everybody's heart. just thank you. and the way that she just was so -- such a beautiful human being. really, really carriaing, thoughtful human being. call you for no reason at all but to say hi, you know. and that's rare, i think, sometimes. so i feel like in so many ways, you know, she reached back to so many people. she reached back to me, she reached back to monica and brandy and jordin and all the

we're going to go to the break here with some video of whitney houston singing with her daughter bobbi krising on the front line ♪ ♪ it's all right it's all so right ♪ ♪ as the years have gone by we stay young in each other's eyes ♪ no matter how old we get ♪ it's okay if i got my baby ♪ ♪ if tomorrow's judgment day and i'm standing on the front line ♪ ♪ and the lord asks me what i did with my life i will say i spent it with you ♪ >>> welcome back, everybody. you're watching cnn's special coverage of whitney houston, her life and her music. you see in those pictures there, photos of bobbi kristina, the only child of whitney houston and bobby brown. many people have told us that today is really about whitney houston's life. they say they want to talk about the people that she touched, the relatives, the friends that she loved, the joy that she brought to her fans. today is day to celebrate that life, and that's what's going to happen in that church that's over our shoulders. the new hope baptist church where they'll have a traditional baptist service really remembering the life of whitney ho

while she was pregnant with bobbi kris dtina. i was more than happy to do anything with her.close. >> reverend al, let me bring you back into this. at one point she told you that the spotlight can illuminate you but can also burn you. how concerned have you been about her over the years with her recovery and her ability to move forward? >> all of us were concerned. i remember that cissy houston had a prayer meeting for the community, not only for whitney, but all children recovering in harlem. i came to speak. we all prayed for whitney and we all were so happy when we started seeing her making steps to come back. in 2009 she did an album, a cd called "i look to you" sort of a gospel pop song where she really said in the song "i look to you, god. after all i've been through, i look to you." that's all i thought of about all night, that the last hit she left us with, she went back to her roots and said i look to you. i hope people around the country have a day of prayer and reflection. this great, probably the greatest voice of our generation that had gone through trials and tr

my heart goes out to cissy, her daughter bobbi kris. we heard from smoky robinson. i have known whitney since she was a little girl. she was like family to me, i will miss her. and whitney houston called herself a girl from newark, born and raised into the houston family, full of gospel singers. there's a statement coming out of newark from mayor cory booker, and he said a legend has died, as the world mourns the loss of one of the all-time greats, we in newark feel an especially deep sadness. she went from a newark church to the global stage, but will always remain a deep pride and part of our collective heart. she will be missed. our prayers are with her family. that's from cory booker. stay with us. we have a live report coming up from newark where whitney houston was born and raised where it all started as we continue following this breaking tragedy out of los angeles tonight. the death of whitney houston at the age of 48. keep it here on msnbc. we'll be right back. ♪ i found the greatest love of all inside of me ♪ ♪ the greatest love of all ♪ is easy to achieve

that's what i want to teach bobbi kris. have to be straight up with you. >> remember cnn will have special coverage of whitney houston's funeral. this is a live look at the church she went to as a little girl and where she'll be remembered today. coverage comes your way at

applause ] >> we thank you for those wonderful, wonderful stories and words of encouragement to bobbi kris about the way it was so obvious that she just crept into everybody's heart. in a way that she was such a beautiful human being, really, really caring and beautiful, thoughtful human being that would call you for no reason at all. but to say "hi." that's rare, i think, sometimes. so i feel in so many ways she reached back to so many people. she reached back to me. she reached back to monica and brandy and jordan and all these beautiful young artives, you know? so many artists, and just, in a way they feel strong, capable and loved and just, hey, mima. so i think she's an angel to us, and she's been an angel to us and just in a beautiful human being, you know? so i think we've been sent an angel for a long time. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ette ♪ sometimes i feel like i don't belong anywhere ♪ ♪ it is going take so long for me to get somewhere ♪ ♪ sometimes i feel so heavy hearted ♪ ♪ and i can't explain because i'm so guarded ♪ ♪ that's a lonely road to travel ♪ ♪ and a heavy load to bear ♪ and it's a l

my heart goes out to cssy, her daughter bobbi kris." >> people all over the world have been reacting morning again toeth bottom of you. let me tell you, folks, they are coming in from all ownered the world. trend maps shows you around the world the kind of tweet that is are going out on any given moment, and you can see hash tag whitney houston. an especially large number of tweets happening at any given moment. take a look at that. we have ireport. hearing from a lot of you via ireport. let's go tie couple of quotes. i pulled up one from sheila that came in want long ago. she said whitney houston was a dooef yashgs a songstress, an icon, a transformer. we should all be grateful for her beautiful legacy that she left us where. tammy said thank you to her family who shared her with the world. whet any, may you fill heaven with your voice. here's one. we're hearing from people all over the world. such great stars go beyond touch and lift our community beyond measure. now, you can weigh in any time on i report. we're also following you on facebook and on twitter. her official website le

she talked about bobbi kris like she was a piece of heaven that had been entrusted to her. dancing. >> it's the last performance we'll ever see with whitney houston with you. how did that make you feel? >> grateful. grateful. because she left a gift. and the last performance, but it was such a heartfelt moment. ♪ >> whitney! >> whitney was a great mentor for kelly, and her great lesson, business second, family first. george. >> a very important one. >>> coming up, we're going to talk to celine dion live about whitney's legacy. ♪ that you need me. that i'm your superhero. tell me you'll never let me go. tell me you miss me. tell me you love me. it's all i want to hear. [ female announcer ] everyone has something they need to hear. vow to tell them this valentine's day. ♪ [ son ] mom, computer's broke! where's i.t. mom? she quit. [ male announcer ] even with technology -- it's all you. staples easy tech can help with everything from new computers to set-ups to tune-ups. stapes. that was easy. gotta get that bacon! bacon?! bacon! smokey bacon, meaty bacon, tasty bacon! bacon?

my heart goes out to chris i, bobbi kris and bobby. >>> loved ones gathered at the new hope baptist churchs. >> we don't have any word on any arrangements. but we do know that the family is going to need all the prayer and support they can get. >> houston was born in 1963 in newark. that is where she sang in the church's gospel choir. >>> houston's untimely death leaves a huge hole in the fabric of not just popular culture but the music world as well. joining me now to talk about her origins and influence is christopher john farley from the wall street journal and professor marc anthony neal of duke university. good morning. >> thank for having me. appreciate in. >> good morning. >>> chris, i want to know about her background, the style that she sang and how much she think she was influenced by her times in a gospel choir in newark, new jersey. >>> she was deeply influenced because her mother was also a performer, roots in dpos pell, known as a pop gospel performer. she saw her mother perform in church and her family members perform in the choir. she brought that feeling into her music. sh

whitney herself told oprah once in an interview that bobbi kris encouraged her mom to leave her father> yeah. now let's talk about another rising star. maybe she's already risen actually. that would be adele after sweeping so many grammy awards this past weekend, and then she's saying she wants to take a break? >> well, it's a little complicated in itself. the story took off after adele gave an interview to britain's "vogue" magazine. in the interview adele said she wanted to go away for five years, settle down and start a family. people really read into that and said she was disappearing immediately and that's what she wanted to do. i am here to assure you this morning that is not the case. she wrote a really sweet message on hur blog all about the grammys being the best night of her life, how excited she was. she says, i have a few days off now and then it's the bring the awards. then i'm straight into the studio. five years, more like five days. so that clears that up. fred, for my money, i'm just happy to hear that she's going back into the studio. we want more music from adele. >>

bobbi kris was there.now it's a great moment. >> now look at these photographs taken by a freelance photographer who was waiting for houston outside of that event. >> in my opinion she seemed like she was under the influence of something, be it drugs or be it alcohol, i don't know. but she certainly seemed not to be all there. >> those are not flattering pictures of her. >> they are not at all, and those images in hindsight, it's one of those things that rings alarm bells. >> "los angeles times" reporter garrett kennedy saw houston at a pretty event on thursday. >> it was a little bit embarrassing, to be completely honest, and it was more, i guess, the shock of seeing whitney. it started to wear off as the day went on because now you're just seeing kind of this woman who might be intoxicated you know, might have had one or two many drinks. >> sounds like were you embarrassed for her? >> i was lime i'm exbearsed for her. someone needs to get her out of here. she needs to go take a nap or something. >> littl

. >> it gives you a lump in your throat when you hear her talk about bobbi sp s kris who will e in the record came in 1985 with arista records. earlier i asked david linton, one of her executives, what it was like, two with her. >> she was a joy, a perfectionist. she took her craft very seriously burke she al, but she understand her music was bringing joy to the world. sh e wanted to make sure she always delivered the best. >> you say she used to make you blush. how is that? >> well, the very first time -- i can say this. the very first time i met whitney was actually on a video set. i had just got hired by arista. the executive vice president of the label at the time and clive davis had just hired me and i went to meet whitney. she was one of the first projects i would be working with. when i walked in, she looked at gene and she said, ooh, he's handsome. so for whitney houston to tell you you're handsome, that's something i'll always remember. >> you'll never forget that. that's a wonderful story. >> yeah. >> when was the last time you saw whitney? >> the last time i saw whitney was

kris sanchez. coming up on "today in the bay," the shocking death of pop star whitney houston. we'll have the latest on the overnight investigation, plus what her ex-husband bobby brown is saying about the loss. another test for gop presidential hopeful. we'll tell you which candidate came out on top at the gathering the most conservative of the conservative in washington, d.c. this weekend. plus, the latest on the fight in syria to oust that country's president. what's planned to end the conflict diplomatically. this is "today in the bay." >>> a pretty chilly start to this sunday morning. hope you're all cozy and cuddled up in your comforter or your blankie, and -- and have a nice steaming cup of coffee this morning. thanks for joining us on this sunday. i'm kris sanchez. if you're not warm now, you're going to be really cold later. >> a little less clouds overnight and temperatures did drop off. patchy fog which is kind of slowing things down around santa rosa this morning. it is chilly out there. low 40s around santa rosa and concord. look at that, down to just about a tenth of a mile so that's the reason why we do have a dense fog advisory up to the north b