MJGirlEternalDreamer
Proud Member
Just wanted to relay my experience after the memorial today. It's not that interesting because I saw just what you all saw on TV, only in person. I just wanted to make a few comments from behind the scenes.
First of all...oh my gosh...I'm emotionally wrecked! I don't know about you all, but I have a headache from crying so much today!
So...all those worries about non-fans getting the tickets and attending the memorial went away once I got into the stadium. There was a lot of love in the room, and the crowd was so respectful. There were just like 6 or 7 people who yelled out stuff just a few too many times when they should've been a bit quieter I thought. After Smokey Robinson went up in the beginning there was like 20 minutes of complete silence while they were waiting for the family to arrive so they could continue, which is so weird in a huge arena full of 20,000 people...totally silent. As we all know, Michael's fan base is so diverse, and I was happy to see that represented there, all different races and ages, and people from different countries. The line to get in was soooo long, several blocks, even though we all had tickets and assigned seats, and it was cool to see people walking by, lots of different MJ shirts, fedoras, a coupe MJ impersonators, people dressed up, and some in jeans and flip-flops. I myself dressed up because I would feel strange doing anything else.
Seeing the casket just made it really final...I mean I knew he was gone, but there was still a sense of disbelief, like he would get up and start dancing or something, and then they wheeled the casket in and it was like...oh my god. Strangely I wasn't that upset when they brought it in, but more so when they took it out at the end of the service because everyone was just yelling out "We love you!" and "Thank you, Michael!" I hope he knew how much he was loved. Then when they were playing "Man In The Mirror" with the spotlight on the empty microphone. Saddest thing ever, showing his absence, no more singing and dancing. :-( It was also strange the whole time seeing the casket there and then right above it was the stage where he danced at rehearsal just a couple weeks ago, and thinking about how the same people put together the service that were putting together the concerts. People were crying throughout the service, but the first time you could actually hear anyone crying was when Paris made her little speech. That was like a knife in the heart. Seeing his kids and his family there in person made it all really real and human.
The one time people went nuts, and my favorite line, was Al Sharpton when he said "There was nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with." You can sort of hear it if you watch, but you can't see how everyone jumped up really quickly and just went crazy cheering. I can't imagine what those kids will hear or have heard about their dad. That's awful. I love how Paris stood up and started clapping too after he said it. She seems to be pretty aware at her age, like others have said.
As for the performers...it surprised me how thin Mariah's voice seemed, especially when compared to Jennifer Hudson, who was amazing. Stevie Wonder was incredible, one of the best performers I've ever seen live, and the song was so beautiful.
Anyway, not much for behind the scenes info, but I just wanted to share my experience. It was the most emotionally intense experience of my life thus far. I would be interested to hear from the others who mentioned they had tickets to see what their experience was like. Anyone??
First of all...oh my gosh...I'm emotionally wrecked! I don't know about you all, but I have a headache from crying so much today!
So...all those worries about non-fans getting the tickets and attending the memorial went away once I got into the stadium. There was a lot of love in the room, and the crowd was so respectful. There were just like 6 or 7 people who yelled out stuff just a few too many times when they should've been a bit quieter I thought. After Smokey Robinson went up in the beginning there was like 20 minutes of complete silence while they were waiting for the family to arrive so they could continue, which is so weird in a huge arena full of 20,000 people...totally silent. As we all know, Michael's fan base is so diverse, and I was happy to see that represented there, all different races and ages, and people from different countries. The line to get in was soooo long, several blocks, even though we all had tickets and assigned seats, and it was cool to see people walking by, lots of different MJ shirts, fedoras, a coupe MJ impersonators, people dressed up, and some in jeans and flip-flops. I myself dressed up because I would feel strange doing anything else.
Seeing the casket just made it really final...I mean I knew he was gone, but there was still a sense of disbelief, like he would get up and start dancing or something, and then they wheeled the casket in and it was like...oh my god. Strangely I wasn't that upset when they brought it in, but more so when they took it out at the end of the service because everyone was just yelling out "We love you!" and "Thank you, Michael!" I hope he knew how much he was loved. Then when they were playing "Man In The Mirror" with the spotlight on the empty microphone. Saddest thing ever, showing his absence, no more singing and dancing. :-( It was also strange the whole time seeing the casket there and then right above it was the stage where he danced at rehearsal just a couple weeks ago, and thinking about how the same people put together the service that were putting together the concerts. People were crying throughout the service, but the first time you could actually hear anyone crying was when Paris made her little speech. That was like a knife in the heart. Seeing his kids and his family there in person made it all really real and human.
The one time people went nuts, and my favorite line, was Al Sharpton when he said "There was nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with." You can sort of hear it if you watch, but you can't see how everyone jumped up really quickly and just went crazy cheering. I can't imagine what those kids will hear or have heard about their dad. That's awful. I love how Paris stood up and started clapping too after he said it. She seems to be pretty aware at her age, like others have said.
As for the performers...it surprised me how thin Mariah's voice seemed, especially when compared to Jennifer Hudson, who was amazing. Stevie Wonder was incredible, one of the best performers I've ever seen live, and the song was so beautiful.
Anyway, not much for behind the scenes info, but I just wanted to share my experience. It was the most emotionally intense experience of my life thus far. I would be interested to hear from the others who mentioned they had tickets to see what their experience was like. Anyone??
