Album review: Daughtry's 'Leave This Town'

To understand the sensibility Daughtry brings to hard rock, read the acknowledgments in the CD booklet for "Leave This Town." Every member of the band put together by Chris Daughtry, the chart-topping former "American Idol" contestant, thanks his wife profusely -- except for the drummer Joey Barnes, who expresses deep gratitude to a spouse he hasn't yet met.

What happened to the stripper-worshiping hedonism of hair metal, or even the lonely, monkish pose those messy '90s grunge rockers struck? Daughtry and his boys are marriage maniacs. That's what gives this band its pioneering edge, despite the utter predictability of its music.

Focusing on the drama of long-term relationships, Daughtry does something more radical than many more sonically adventurous (and fashionable) rock bands dare.

This doesn't make "Leave This Town" anything but a familiar listen. This is by-the-numbers arena rock, played with muscular competence by a relatively young band showing off its chops by executing successful formulas.

That unwed drummer might be the best thing about Daughtry the band -- Barnes is itchy enough to push forward anthems that might otherwise plod. Guitarist Josh Steely also has his moments, throwing in spicy little riffs. And there's Daughtry's voice, of course, an instrument cleaner and stronger than that of anybody else singing mainstream rock right now. Sometimes the notes he hits here are so open, you'd swear someone had invented a new audio processor just to generate it: Vibrato-Tune. But the mix on "Leave This Town," by hit doctor Chris Lord-Alge, is so compressed that it's tough to notice what each player is doing.

Because of this, though many of its songs surely will be radio staples for the next two years. "Leave This Town" might not make an impression on those not already inclined to love it, but Daughtry is still a major architect in mainstream rock, and his music is part of an important shift in the genre.

Two news items chased Beyoncé into the Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday, when she finally brought her latest world tour to the Southland after four months on the road. One had the singer earning the top spot on Forbes magazine’s “young rich list,” as the highest-earning celebrity under age 30. The other, more gossipy, story involved a rumor that she has banned photographers from shooting her from certain angles during her show, because she sweats too much.

Those tidbits – one about Beyoncé’s unique glamor and the other about a common, earthy foible – better summed up the inner divide she’s been exploring in her work than did the frenzied pizzaz of the concert itself.

That’s not to fault the production: It’s fairly astounding, as both showbiz and an athletic event. For more than two hours, Beyoncé led her large dance troupe and all-female big band (a concept to which she’s remained loyal for two tours now) through many compulsory arena pop routines and several she herself has invented.

She somersaulted while suspended in a harness. Thrilling! She sang Happy Birthday to a 2-year-old. Adorable! She let the crowd take over while singing “Irreplaceable.” Fun! She got on her knees and mourned Michael Jackson. Poignant! She hit most of her notes too, though sometimes slipping badly in her lower register. And she danced like only Beyoncé can dance, with a combination of power, grace and smarts that fully unites Broadway choreography with urban street innovations.

The only thing not fully realized was the show’s overarching theme. As in the album this tour supports, “I Am … Sasha Fierce,” Beyoncé meant to represent herself as a split personality, tender and open on the one hand, indomitable and rather scary on the other.

But she has chosen the wrong dichotomy to represent herself. Since she’s such a superb competitor, she might have done better with the one that preoccupies gymnasts: the difference between technical and creative genius, between nailing every element of your craft and turning that craft into an art. Or, to connect it to those news flashes previously mentioned and place it in the theatrical realm, the need to deliver both a great physical performance and one that moves the audience emotionally.

It’s poignant. It’s wrenching. But most of all, it’s so very Michael.

In the days after his death, Michael Jackson's mother reportedly worried that if her son's funeral was too long delayed, his soul might wander the earth. In a more secular sense, that is exactly what has been happening. Remembering Jackson -- debating his legacy, listening to his music, trying to make sense of his life -- has become the world's favorite activity. The shape of Jackson's shadow grows only more complicated as these thoughts and memories accrue.

Tuesday's public memorial at Staples Center could have performed the function such events often do, channeling all the different stories into one narrative, helping make the emotions that Jackson's death has generated feel neater and easier to digest.

Instead, the service (or was it a concert? Or a political event?) operated on several levels at once. Yet its two hours of music and eulogies made for many poignant and even wrenching moments, its incongruities adding up to the only reasonable response to an artistic giant whose meanings were always multiple and often contradictory.

Focus for a minute on just one musical offering: the rendition of "Smile" by Michael Jackson's older brother, Jermaine. Following a bravely personal remembrance by Brooke Shields, Michael's friend and fellow former child star, Jermaine took the stage wearing one silver glove and a red rose to sing this simple tune, which was co-written by Charlie Chaplin and served as the theme for his much-beloved film "Modern Times."

Where to start in interpreting what happened in the four or so minutes while Jermaine Jackson sang?

The final 20 minutes of today’s Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center came fast, with three performances and two group singalongs. First up, “Britain’s Got Talent” competitor, 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi, who performed Smokey Robinson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You,” after being introduced by Smokey, no less.

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and she writes, “Perhaps it was inevitable that a child would sing today. It turns out that Shaheen Jafargholi had been invited to sing on the This Is It shows. His performance today is energetic, not too nuanced. But what a spot to be put in! One of the memorial's stranger moments.”

Jafargholi was followed by two group performances: “We Are the World” and “Hear the World.” Among the performers on stage were Jackson’s children. The appearances were introduced by Kenny Ortega, who was to direct Jackson's This Is It comeback tour in London, which was being rehearsed at the Staples Center just before Jackson died.

Powers sums up the final moments:

What kind of finale can such a strange, hybrid event have? Well, give it back to the show people. Kenny Ortega, director of Michael's aborted last tour, speaks of the rehearsals: "We were a family, and this was Michael's house."

Then the show's cast, joined by the family (including Jackson's own children) and the stars who have already performed -- and including a dozen or so other children -- come onstage for a medley of "We Are the World" and "Heal the World." This is not the Michael critics preferred, but it's true to him.

For the latest updates on the news surrounding today’s memorial and Michael Jackson’s passing, stay tuned to L.A. Now.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Usher’s ‘Gone Too Soon.’

One of Jackson’s later ballads, the song appeared on 1993’s “Dangerous” and was among the album’s final singles. Usher, in black, oversized aviator sunglasses, was accompanied largely by organ and brief orchestral flourishes, but he didn’t let the sparseness keep him confined to the stage.

Usher wandered close to Jackson’s casket, just off to the side, covered in roses. As the song winded down, Usher lost his composure, took off his sunglasses and broke into tears.

Usher was moving on pure emotion, and as Ann Powers noted from inside the Staples Center, it was a bit  strange, perhaps uncomfortable, to see him singing directly at Jackson’s coffin. Yet, as Powers wrote, Usher’s vocals were “pristine.”

“He choked up near the song's end,” Powers writes, “and the Jackson family enveloped him in a group hug. I am not sure how to react.”

It felt like a very private moment, one not often captured on national television.

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: John Mayer's 'Human Nature.'

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and her first thought at Mayer's performance: "I don't know why John Mayer is here. Was Slash not available?"

Mayer went for a stylish guitar interpretation. It was vocal-less until about halfway through, when a choir sang the lyrics above a whisper. It's easy to take a jab at Mayer here, with his exaggerated, pained expressions and Sunday brunch-safe interpretation, but in this setting it was soft and respectable. Although there's no need to hear it beyond Tuesday afternoon.

Powers is a bit more kind, noting that the take is "reasonably tasteful," although she adds that the crowd singalong that organizers may have hoped for didn't develop.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: EPA

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at Tuesday's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jermaine Jackson's "Smile."

A song that was nicely set up by actress Brooke Shields. Her speech will likely stand as one of the day's best, offering personal, humorous looks at the pop singer, as well as some touching insights. She would hold his hand, Shields noted, as long as it wasn't covered with Jackson's famed white sequined glove.

And his favorite song, Shields noted, was "Smile," a tune originally used in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Michael covered the song on his 1995 double-disc set "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I."

Michael's brother Jermaine performed the song here immediately after Shields' speech. Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center.

"The older brother keeps his composure for the most part, the wobble in his voice echoing Michael's own, but during an a capella moment near the end, he almost loses it," Powers writes. "It's possible in this overwrought moment to see the lineage that extends from Louis Armstrong -- who also employed a very tricky smile -- to the man being celebrated here, as above all an African American icon. To feel the sorrow, compromise and determination behind every entertaining smile."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jennifer Hudson's "Will You Be There." The knockout "American Idol" vocalist took on Jackson's 1991 single, transforming it into a rousing, feel-good anthem. The set had a bit more choreography than the other performances thus far, and it moved the proceedings away from the more restrained recent performances.

But it worked, for the most part, and that's largely due to the strength of Hudson as a vocalist who can reach for the stars as well as any singer. Things drifted a bit toward Hallmark-like hokeyness toward the end, as Hudson stepped back to make way for Jackson's recorded vocals. The Times' Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center. Her reaction: "In a truly angelic white dress, Hudson takes the stage and sings, 'Hold me like the River Jordan,' " the opening refrain from the song.

"Where Hudson goes," Powers writes, "seriousness descends like a misty cloud. The dancers around her would be ridiculous, encircling her in a weird tribal ring — except we know they are Michael's dancers, and this must be his own routine, from the comeback that never happened. Then the fallen star's own voice comes over the loudspeakers doing the last verse in voice over.

Entertainment needs its ghosts. Is this one big effort to raise one?"

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Jennifer Hudson performs during Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center, July 7, 2009. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Live review: Ann Powers on Beyoncé*

Two news items chased Beyoncé into the Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday, when she finally brought her latest world tour to the Southland after four months on the road. One had the singer earning the top spot on Forbes magazine’s “young rich list,” as the highest-earning celebrity under age 30. The other, more gossipy, story involved a rumor that she has banned photographers from shooting her from certain angles during her show, because she sweats too much.

Those tidbits – one about Beyoncé’s unique glamor and the other about a common, earthy foible – better summed up the inner divide she’s been exploring in her work than did the frenzied pizzaz of the concert itself.

That’s not to fault the production: It’s fairly astounding, as both showbiz and an athletic event. For more than two hours, Beyoncé led her large dance troupe and all-female big band (a concept to which she’s remained loyal for two tours now) through many compulsory arena pop routines and several she herself has invented.

She somersaulted while suspended in a harness. Thrilling! She sang Happy Birthday to a 2-year-old. Adorable! She let the crowd take over while singing “Irreplaceable.” Fun! She got on her knees and mourned Michael Jackson. Poignant! She hit most of her notes too, though sometimes slipping badly in her lower register. And she danced like only Beyoncé can dance, with a combination of power, grace and smarts that fully unites Broadway choreography with urban street innovations.

The only thing not fully realized was the show’s overarching theme. As in the album this tour supports, “I Am … Sasha Fierce,” Beyoncé meant to represent herself as a split personality, tender and open on the one hand, indomitable and rather scary on the other.

But she has chosen the wrong dichotomy to represent herself. Since she’s such a superb competitor, she might have done better with the one that preoccupies gymnasts: the difference between technical and creative genius, between nailing every element of your craft and turning that craft into an art. Or, to connect it to those news flashes previously mentioned and place it in the theatrical realm, the need to deliver both a great physical performance and one that moves the audience emotionally.

It’s poignant. It’s wrenching. But most of all, it’s so very Michael.

In the days after his death, Michael Jackson's mother reportedly worried that if her son's funeral was too long delayed, his soul might wander the earth. In a more secular sense, that is exactly what has been happening. Remembering Jackson -- debating his legacy, listening to his music, trying to make sense of his life -- has become the world's favorite activity. The shape of Jackson's shadow grows only more complicated as these thoughts and memories accrue.

Tuesday's public memorial at Staples Center could have performed the function such events often do, channeling all the different stories into one narrative, helping make the emotions that Jackson's death has generated feel neater and easier to digest.

Instead, the service (or was it a concert? Or a political event?) operated on several levels at once. Yet its two hours of music and eulogies made for many poignant and even wrenching moments, its incongruities adding up to the only reasonable response to an artistic giant whose meanings were always multiple and often contradictory.

Focus for a minute on just one musical offering: the rendition of "Smile" by Michael Jackson's older brother, Jermaine. Following a bravely personal remembrance by Brooke Shields, Michael's friend and fellow former child star, Jermaine took the stage wearing one silver glove and a red rose to sing this simple tune, which was co-written by Charlie Chaplin and served as the theme for his much-beloved film "Modern Times."

Where to start in interpreting what happened in the four or so minutes while Jermaine Jackson sang?

The final 20 minutes of today’s Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center came fast, with three performances and two group singalongs. First up, “Britain’s Got Talent” competitor, 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi, who performed Smokey Robinson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You,” after being introduced by Smokey, no less.

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and she writes, “Perhaps it was inevitable that a child would sing today. It turns out that Shaheen Jafargholi had been invited to sing on the This Is It shows. His performance today is energetic, not too nuanced. But what a spot to be put in! One of the memorial's stranger moments.”

Jafargholi was followed by two group performances: “We Are the World” and “Hear the World.” Among the performers on stage were Jackson’s children. The appearances were introduced by Kenny Ortega, who was to direct Jackson's This Is It comeback tour in London, which was being rehearsed at the Staples Center just before Jackson died.

Powers sums up the final moments:

What kind of finale can such a strange, hybrid event have? Well, give it back to the show people. Kenny Ortega, director of Michael's aborted last tour, speaks of the rehearsals: "We were a family, and this was Michael's house."

Then the show's cast, joined by the family (including Jackson's own children) and the stars who have already performed -- and including a dozen or so other children -- come onstage for a medley of "We Are the World" and "Heal the World." This is not the Michael critics preferred, but it's true to him.

For the latest updates on the news surrounding today’s memorial and Michael Jackson’s passing, stay tuned to L.A. Now.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Usher’s ‘Gone Too Soon.’

One of Jackson’s later ballads, the song appeared on 1993’s “Dangerous” and was among the album’s final singles. Usher, in black, oversized aviator sunglasses, was accompanied largely by organ and brief orchestral flourishes, but he didn’t let the sparseness keep him confined to the stage.

Usher wandered close to Jackson’s casket, just off to the side, covered in roses. As the song winded down, Usher lost his composure, took off his sunglasses and broke into tears.

Usher was moving on pure emotion, and as Ann Powers noted from inside the Staples Center, it was a bit  strange, perhaps uncomfortable, to see him singing directly at Jackson’s coffin. Yet, as Powers wrote, Usher’s vocals were “pristine.”

“He choked up near the song's end,” Powers writes, “and the Jackson family enveloped him in a group hug. I am not sure how to react.”

It felt like a very private moment, one not often captured on national television.

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: John Mayer's 'Human Nature.'

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and her first thought at Mayer's performance: "I don't know why John Mayer is here. Was Slash not available?"

Mayer went for a stylish guitar interpretation. It was vocal-less until about halfway through, when a choir sang the lyrics above a whisper. It's easy to take a jab at Mayer here, with his exaggerated, pained expressions and Sunday brunch-safe interpretation, but in this setting it was soft and respectable. Although there's no need to hear it beyond Tuesday afternoon.

Powers is a bit more kind, noting that the take is "reasonably tasteful," although she adds that the crowd singalong that organizers may have hoped for didn't develop.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: EPA

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at Tuesday's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jermaine Jackson's "Smile."

A song that was nicely set up by actress Brooke Shields. Her speech will likely stand as one of the day's best, offering personal, humorous looks at the pop singer, as well as some touching insights. She would hold his hand, Shields noted, as long as it wasn't covered with Jackson's famed white sequined glove.

And his favorite song, Shields noted, was "Smile," a tune originally used in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Michael covered the song on his 1995 double-disc set "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I."

Michael's brother Jermaine performed the song here immediately after Shields' speech. Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center.

"The older brother keeps his composure for the most part, the wobble in his voice echoing Michael's own, but during an a capella moment near the end, he almost loses it," Powers writes. "It's possible in this overwrought moment to see the lineage that extends from Louis Armstrong -- who also employed a very tricky smile -- to the man being celebrated here, as above all an African American icon. To feel the sorrow, compromise and determination behind every entertaining smile."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jennifer Hudson's "Will You Be There." The knockout "American Idol" vocalist took on Jackson's 1991 single, transforming it into a rousing, feel-good anthem. The set had a bit more choreography than the other performances thus far, and it moved the proceedings away from the more restrained recent performances.

But it worked, for the most part, and that's largely due to the strength of Hudson as a vocalist who can reach for the stars as well as any singer. Things drifted a bit toward Hallmark-like hokeyness toward the end, as Hudson stepped back to make way for Jackson's recorded vocals. The Times' Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center. Her reaction: "In a truly angelic white dress, Hudson takes the stage and sings, 'Hold me like the River Jordan,' " the opening refrain from the song.

"Where Hudson goes," Powers writes, "seriousness descends like a misty cloud. The dancers around her would be ridiculous, encircling her in a weird tribal ring — except we know they are Michael's dancers, and this must be his own routine, from the comeback that never happened. Then the fallen star's own voice comes over the loudspeakers doing the last verse in voice over.

Entertainment needs its ghosts. Is this one big effort to raise one?"

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Jennifer Hudson performs during Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center, July 7, 2009. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Remembering Michael Jackson: The service is a thriller [Updated]

It’s poignant. It’s wrenching. But most of all, it’s so very Michael.

In the days after his death, Michael Jackson's mother reportedly worried that if her son's funeral was too long delayed, his soul might wander the earth. In a more secular sense, that is exactly what has been happening. Remembering Jackson -- debating his legacy, listening to his music, trying to make sense of his life -- has become the world's favorite activity. The shape of Jackson's shadow grows only more complicated as these thoughts and memories accrue.

Tuesday's public memorial at Staples Center could have performed the function such events often do, channeling all the different stories into one narrative, helping make the emotions that Jackson's death has generated feel neater and easier to digest.

Instead, the service (or was it a concert? Or a political event?) operated on several levels at once. Yet its two hours of music and eulogies made for many poignant and even wrenching moments, its incongruities adding up to the only reasonable response to an artistic giant whose meanings were always multiple and often contradictory.

Focus for a minute on just one musical offering: the rendition of "Smile" by Michael Jackson's older brother, Jermaine. Following a bravely personal remembrance by Brooke Shields, Michael's friend and fellow former child star, Jermaine took the stage wearing one silver glove and a red rose to sing this simple tune, which was co-written by Charlie Chaplin and served as the theme for his much-beloved film "Modern Times."

Where to start in interpreting what happened in the four or so minutes while Jermaine Jackson sang?

The final 20 minutes of today’s Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center came fast, with three performances and two group singalongs. First up, “Britain’s Got Talent” competitor, 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi, who performed Smokey Robinson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You,” after being introduced by Smokey, no less.

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and she writes, “Perhaps it was inevitable that a child would sing today. It turns out that Shaheen Jafargholi had been invited to sing on the This Is It shows. His performance today is energetic, not too nuanced. But what a spot to be put in! One of the memorial's stranger moments.”

Jafargholi was followed by two group performances: “We Are the World” and “Hear the World.” Among the performers on stage were Jackson’s children. The appearances were introduced by Kenny Ortega, who was to direct Jackson's This Is It comeback tour in London, which was being rehearsed at the Staples Center just before Jackson died.

Powers sums up the final moments:

What kind of finale can such a strange, hybrid event have? Well, give it back to the show people. Kenny Ortega, director of Michael's aborted last tour, speaks of the rehearsals: "We were a family, and this was Michael's house."

Then the show's cast, joined by the family (including Jackson's own children) and the stars who have already performed -- and including a dozen or so other children -- come onstage for a medley of "We Are the World" and "Heal the World." This is not the Michael critics preferred, but it's true to him.

For the latest updates on the news surrounding today’s memorial and Michael Jackson’s passing, stay tuned to L.A. Now.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Usher’s ‘Gone Too Soon.’

One of Jackson’s later ballads, the song appeared on 1993’s “Dangerous” and was among the album’s final singles. Usher, in black, oversized aviator sunglasses, was accompanied largely by organ and brief orchestral flourishes, but he didn’t let the sparseness keep him confined to the stage.

Usher wandered close to Jackson’s casket, just off to the side, covered in roses. As the song winded down, Usher lost his composure, took off his sunglasses and broke into tears.

Usher was moving on pure emotion, and as Ann Powers noted from inside the Staples Center, it was a bit  strange, perhaps uncomfortable, to see him singing directly at Jackson’s coffin. Yet, as Powers wrote, Usher’s vocals were “pristine.”

“He choked up near the song's end,” Powers writes, “and the Jackson family enveloped him in a group hug. I am not sure how to react.”

It felt like a very private moment, one not often captured on national television.

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: John Mayer's 'Human Nature.'

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and her first thought at Mayer's performance: "I don't know why John Mayer is here. Was Slash not available?"

Mayer went for a stylish guitar interpretation. It was vocal-less until about halfway through, when a choir sang the lyrics above a whisper. It's easy to take a jab at Mayer here, with his exaggerated, pained expressions and Sunday brunch-safe interpretation, but in this setting it was soft and respectable. Although there's no need to hear it beyond Tuesday afternoon.

Powers is a bit more kind, noting that the take is "reasonably tasteful," although she adds that the crowd singalong that organizers may have hoped for didn't develop.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: EPA

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at Tuesday's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jermaine Jackson's "Smile."

A song that was nicely set up by actress Brooke Shields. Her speech will likely stand as one of the day's best, offering personal, humorous looks at the pop singer, as well as some touching insights. She would hold his hand, Shields noted, as long as it wasn't covered with Jackson's famed white sequined glove.

And his favorite song, Shields noted, was "Smile," a tune originally used in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Michael covered the song on his 1995 double-disc set "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I."

Michael's brother Jermaine performed the song here immediately after Shields' speech. Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center.

"The older brother keeps his composure for the most part, the wobble in his voice echoing Michael's own, but during an a capella moment near the end, he almost loses it," Powers writes. "It's possible in this overwrought moment to see the lineage that extends from Louis Armstrong -- who also employed a very tricky smile -- to the man being celebrated here, as above all an African American icon. To feel the sorrow, compromise and determination behind every entertaining smile."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jennifer Hudson's "Will You Be There." The knockout "American Idol" vocalist took on Jackson's 1991 single, transforming it into a rousing, feel-good anthem. The set had a bit more choreography than the other performances thus far, and it moved the proceedings away from the more restrained recent performances.

But it worked, for the most part, and that's largely due to the strength of Hudson as a vocalist who can reach for the stars as well as any singer. Things drifted a bit toward Hallmark-like hokeyness toward the end, as Hudson stepped back to make way for Jackson's recorded vocals. The Times' Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center. Her reaction: "In a truly angelic white dress, Hudson takes the stage and sings, 'Hold me like the River Jordan,' " the opening refrain from the song.

"Where Hudson goes," Powers writes, "seriousness descends like a misty cloud. The dancers around her would be ridiculous, encircling her in a weird tribal ring — except we know they are Michael's dancers, and this must be his own routine, from the comeback that never happened. Then the fallen star's own voice comes over the loudspeakers doing the last verse in voice over.

Entertainment needs its ghosts. Is this one big effort to raise one?"

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Jennifer Hudson performs during Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center, July 7, 2009. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Michael Jackson memorial: ‘We Are the World,’ ‘Who’s Lovin' You’ and the final performances

The final 20 minutes of today’s Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center came fast, with three performances and two group singalongs. First up, “Britain’s Got Talent” competitor, 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi, who performed Smokey Robinson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You,” after being introduced by Smokey, no less.

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and she writes, “Perhaps it was inevitable that a child would sing today. It turns out that Shaheen Jafargholi had been invited to sing on the This Is It shows. His performance today is energetic, not too nuanced. But what a spot to be put in! One of the memorial's stranger moments.”

Jafargholi was followed by two group performances: “We Are the World” and “Hear the World.” Among the performers on stage were Jackson’s children. The appearances were introduced by Kenny Ortega, who was to direct Jackson's This Is It comeback tour in London, which was being rehearsed at the Staples Center just before Jackson died.

Powers sums up the final moments:

What kind of finale can such a strange, hybrid event have? Well, give it back to the show people. Kenny Ortega, director of Michael's aborted last tour, speaks of the rehearsals: "We were a family, and this was Michael's house."

Then the show's cast, joined by the family (including Jackson's own children) and the stars who have already performed -- and including a dozen or so other children -- come onstage for a medley of "We Are the World" and "Heal the World." This is not the Michael critics preferred, but it's true to him.

For the latest updates on the news surrounding today’s memorial and Michael Jackson’s passing, stay tuned to L.A. Now.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Usher’s ‘Gone Too Soon.’

One of Jackson’s later ballads, the song appeared on 1993’s “Dangerous” and was among the album’s final singles. Usher, in black, oversized aviator sunglasses, was accompanied largely by organ and brief orchestral flourishes, but he didn’t let the sparseness keep him confined to the stage.

Usher wandered close to Jackson’s casket, just off to the side, covered in roses. As the song winded down, Usher lost his composure, took off his sunglasses and broke into tears.

Usher was moving on pure emotion, and as Ann Powers noted from inside the Staples Center, it was a bit  strange, perhaps uncomfortable, to see him singing directly at Jackson’s coffin. Yet, as Powers wrote, Usher’s vocals were “pristine.”

“He choked up near the song's end,” Powers writes, “and the Jackson family enveloped him in a group hug. I am not sure how to react.”

It felt like a very private moment, one not often captured on national television.

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: John Mayer's 'Human Nature.'

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and her first thought at Mayer's performance: "I don't know why John Mayer is here. Was Slash not available?"

Mayer went for a stylish guitar interpretation. It was vocal-less until about halfway through, when a choir sang the lyrics above a whisper. It's easy to take a jab at Mayer here, with his exaggerated, pained expressions and Sunday brunch-safe interpretation, but in this setting it was soft and respectable. Although there's no need to hear it beyond Tuesday afternoon.

Powers is a bit more kind, noting that the take is "reasonably tasteful," although she adds that the crowd singalong that organizers may have hoped for didn't develop.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: EPA

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at Tuesday's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jermaine Jackson's "Smile."

A song that was nicely set up by actress Brooke Shields. Her speech will likely stand as one of the day's best, offering personal, humorous looks at the pop singer, as well as some touching insights. She would hold his hand, Shields noted, as long as it wasn't covered with Jackson's famed white sequined glove.

And his favorite song, Shields noted, was "Smile," a tune originally used in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Michael covered the song on his 1995 double-disc set "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I."

Michael's brother Jermaine performed the song here immediately after Shields' speech. Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center.

"The older brother keeps his composure for the most part, the wobble in his voice echoing Michael's own, but during an a capella moment near the end, he almost loses it," Powers writes. "It's possible in this overwrought moment to see the lineage that extends from Louis Armstrong -- who also employed a very tricky smile -- to the man being celebrated here, as above all an African American icon. To feel the sorrow, compromise and determination behind every entertaining smile."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jennifer Hudson's "Will You Be There." The knockout "American Idol" vocalist took on Jackson's 1991 single, transforming it into a rousing, feel-good anthem. The set had a bit more choreography than the other performances thus far, and it moved the proceedings away from the more restrained recent performances.

But it worked, for the most part, and that's largely due to the strength of Hudson as a vocalist who can reach for the stars as well as any singer. Things drifted a bit toward Hallmark-like hokeyness toward the end, as Hudson stepped back to make way for Jackson's recorded vocals. The Times' Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center. Her reaction: "In a truly angelic white dress, Hudson takes the stage and sings, 'Hold me like the River Jordan,' " the opening refrain from the song.

"Where Hudson goes," Powers writes, "seriousness descends like a misty cloud. The dancers around her would be ridiculous, encircling her in a weird tribal ring — except we know they are Michael's dancers, and this must be his own routine, from the comeback that never happened. Then the fallen star's own voice comes over the loudspeakers doing the last verse in voice over.

Entertainment needs its ghosts. Is this one big effort to raise one?"

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Jennifer Hudson performs during Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center, July 7, 2009. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Michael Jackson memorial: Usher sings 'Gone Too Soon'

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Usher’s ‘Gone Too Soon.’

One of Jackson’s later ballads, the song appeared on 1993’s “Dangerous” and was among the album’s final singles. Usher, in black, oversized aviator sunglasses, was accompanied largely by organ and brief orchestral flourishes, but he didn’t let the sparseness keep him confined to the stage.

Usher wandered close to Jackson’s casket, just off to the side, covered in roses. As the song winded down, Usher lost his composure, took off his sunglasses and broke into tears.

Usher was moving on pure emotion, and as Ann Powers noted from inside the Staples Center, it was a bit  strange, perhaps uncomfortable, to see him singing directly at Jackson’s coffin. Yet, as Powers wrote, Usher’s vocals were “pristine.”

“He choked up near the song's end,” Powers writes, “and the Jackson family enveloped him in a group hug. I am not sure how to react.”

It felt like a very private moment, one not often captured on national television.

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: John Mayer's 'Human Nature.'

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and her first thought at Mayer's performance: "I don't know why John Mayer is here. Was Slash not available?"

Mayer went for a stylish guitar interpretation. It was vocal-less until about halfway through, when a choir sang the lyrics above a whisper. It's easy to take a jab at Mayer here, with his exaggerated, pained expressions and Sunday brunch-safe interpretation, but in this setting it was soft and respectable. Although there's no need to hear it beyond Tuesday afternoon.

Powers is a bit more kind, noting that the take is "reasonably tasteful," although she adds that the crowd singalong that organizers may have hoped for didn't develop.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: EPA

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at Tuesday's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jermaine Jackson's "Smile."

A song that was nicely set up by actress Brooke Shields. Her speech will likely stand as one of the day's best, offering personal, humorous looks at the pop singer, as well as some touching insights. She would hold his hand, Shields noted, as long as it wasn't covered with Jackson's famed white sequined glove.

And his favorite song, Shields noted, was "Smile," a tune originally used in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Michael covered the song on his 1995 double-disc set "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I."

Michael's brother Jermaine performed the song here immediately after Shields' speech. Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center.

"The older brother keeps his composure for the most part, the wobble in his voice echoing Michael's own, but during an a capella moment near the end, he almost loses it," Powers writes. "It's possible in this overwrought moment to see the lineage that extends from Louis Armstrong -- who also employed a very tricky smile -- to the man being celebrated here, as above all an African American icon. To feel the sorrow, compromise and determination behind every entertaining smile."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jennifer Hudson's "Will You Be There." The knockout "American Idol" vocalist took on Jackson's 1991 single, transforming it into a rousing, feel-good anthem. The set had a bit more choreography than the other performances thus far, and it moved the proceedings away from the more restrained recent performances.

But it worked, for the most part, and that's largely due to the strength of Hudson as a vocalist who can reach for the stars as well as any singer. Things drifted a bit toward Hallmark-like hokeyness toward the end, as Hudson stepped back to make way for Jackson's recorded vocals. The Times' Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center. Her reaction: "In a truly angelic white dress, Hudson takes the stage and sings, 'Hold me like the River Jordan,' " the opening refrain from the song.

"Where Hudson goes," Powers writes, "seriousness descends like a misty cloud. The dancers around her would be ridiculous, encircling her in a weird tribal ring — except we know they are Michael's dancers, and this must be his own routine, from the comeback that never happened. Then the fallen star's own voice comes over the loudspeakers doing the last verse in voice over.

Entertainment needs its ghosts. Is this one big effort to raise one?"

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Jennifer Hudson performs during Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center, July 7, 2009. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Michael Jackson memorial: John Mayer performs 'Human Nature'

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: John Mayer's 'Human Nature.'

Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center, and her first thought at Mayer's performance: "I don't know why John Mayer is here. Was Slash not available?"

Mayer went for a stylish guitar interpretation. It was vocal-less until about halfway through, when a choir sang the lyrics above a whisper. It's easy to take a jab at Mayer here, with his exaggerated, pained expressions and Sunday brunch-safe interpretation, but in this setting it was soft and respectable. Although there's no need to hear it beyond Tuesday afternoon.

Powers is a bit more kind, noting that the take is "reasonably tasteful," although she adds that the crowd singalong that organizers may have hoped for didn't develop.

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: EPA

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at Tuesday's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jermaine Jackson's "Smile."

A song that was nicely set up by actress Brooke Shields. Her speech will likely stand as one of the day's best, offering personal, humorous looks at the pop singer, as well as some touching insights. She would hold his hand, Shields noted, as long as it wasn't covered with Jackson's famed white sequined glove.

And his favorite song, Shields noted, was "Smile," a tune originally used in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Michael covered the song on his 1995 double-disc set "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I."

Michael's brother Jermaine performed the song here immediately after Shields' speech. Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center.

"The older brother keeps his composure for the most part, the wobble in his voice echoing Michael's own, but during an a capella moment near the end, he almost loses it," Powers writes. "It's possible in this overwrought moment to see the lineage that extends from Louis Armstrong -- who also employed a very tricky smile -- to the man being celebrated here, as above all an African American icon. To feel the sorrow, compromise and determination behind every entertaining smile."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jennifer Hudson's "Will You Be There." The knockout "American Idol" vocalist took on Jackson's 1991 single, transforming it into a rousing, feel-good anthem. The set had a bit more choreography than the other performances thus far, and it moved the proceedings away from the more restrained recent performances.

But it worked, for the most part, and that's largely due to the strength of Hudson as a vocalist who can reach for the stars as well as any singer. Things drifted a bit toward Hallmark-like hokeyness toward the end, as Hudson stepped back to make way for Jackson's recorded vocals. The Times' Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center. Her reaction: "In a truly angelic white dress, Hudson takes the stage and sings, 'Hold me like the River Jordan,' " the opening refrain from the song.

"Where Hudson goes," Powers writes, "seriousness descends like a misty cloud. The dancers around her would be ridiculous, encircling her in a weird tribal ring — except we know they are Michael's dancers, and this must be his own routine, from the comeback that never happened. Then the fallen star's own voice comes over the loudspeakers doing the last verse in voice over.

Entertainment needs its ghosts. Is this one big effort to raise one?"

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Jennifer Hudson performs during Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center, July 7, 2009. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Michael Jackson memorial: Jermaine Jackson sings 'Smile'

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at Tuesday's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jermaine Jackson's "Smile."

A song that was nicely set up by actress Brooke Shields. Her speech will likely stand as one of the day's best, offering personal, humorous looks at the pop singer, as well as some touching insights. She would hold his hand, Shields noted, as long as it wasn't covered with Jackson's famed white sequined glove.

And his favorite song, Shields noted, was "Smile," a tune originally used in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." Michael covered the song on his 1995 double-disc set "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I."

Michael's brother Jermaine performed the song here immediately after Shields' speech. Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center.

"The older brother keeps his composure for the most part, the wobble in his voice echoing Michael's own, but during an a capella moment near the end, he almost loses it," Powers writes. "It's possible in this overwrought moment to see the lineage that extends from Louis Armstrong -- who also employed a very tricky smile -- to the man being celebrated here, as above all an African American icon. To feel the sorrow, compromise and determination behind every entertaining smile."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jennifer Hudson's "Will You Be There." The knockout "American Idol" vocalist took on Jackson's 1991 single, transforming it into a rousing, feel-good anthem. The set had a bit more choreography than the other performances thus far, and it moved the proceedings away from the more restrained recent performances.

But it worked, for the most part, and that's largely due to the strength of Hudson as a vocalist who can reach for the stars as well as any singer. Things drifted a bit toward Hallmark-like hokeyness toward the end, as Hudson stepped back to make way for Jackson's recorded vocals. The Times' Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center. Her reaction: "In a truly angelic white dress, Hudson takes the stage and sings, 'Hold me like the River Jordan,' " the opening refrain from the song.

"Where Hudson goes," Powers writes, "seriousness descends like a misty cloud. The dancers around her would be ridiculous, encircling her in a weird tribal ring — except we know they are Michael's dancers, and this must be his own routine, from the comeback that never happened. Then the fallen star's own voice comes over the loudspeakers doing the last verse in voice over.

Entertainment needs its ghosts. Is this one big effort to raise one?"

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Jennifer Hudson performs during Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center, July 7, 2009. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Michael Jackson memorial: Jennifer Hudson sings 'Will You Be There'

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Jennifer Hudson's "Will You Be There." The knockout "American Idol" vocalist took on Jackson's 1991 single, transforming it into a rousing, feel-good anthem. The set had a bit more choreography than the other performances thus far, and it moved the proceedings away from the more restrained recent performances.

But it worked, for the most part, and that's largely due to the strength of Hudson as a vocalist who can reach for the stars as well as any singer. Things drifted a bit toward Hallmark-like hokeyness toward the end, as Hudson stepped back to make way for Jackson's recorded vocals. The Times' Ann Powers is inside the Staples Center. Her reaction: "In a truly angelic white dress, Hudson takes the stage and sings, 'Hold me like the River Jordan,' " the opening refrain from the song.

"Where Hudson goes," Powers writes, "seriousness descends like a misty cloud. The dancers around her would be ridiculous, encircling her in a weird tribal ring — except we know they are Michael's dancers, and this must be his own routine, from the comeback that never happened. Then the fallen star's own voice comes over the loudspeakers doing the last verse in voice over.

Entertainment needs its ghosts. Is this one big effort to raise one?"

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Jennifer Hudson performs during Michael Jackson memorial at Staples Center, July 7, 2009. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Michael Jackson memorial: Stevie Wonder sings 'Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer'*

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version "so incredibly," said Wonder.

Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is "the most personal-feeling tribute yet." "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer," Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into "They Won't Go When I Go," extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one.

If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael's name. "A friend to a friend," Powers wrote, "a moment of modestly stated but real grief."

— Ann Powers and Todd Martens

Photo: Singer Stevie Wonder, right, arrives on stage to perform at pop star Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA

*Commenters have suggested that Wonder was not referring to "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" when he said Jackson covered the song, and was instead making a reference to "I Can't Help It" from Jackson's "Off the Wall," a song Wonder co-wrote.   

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL

Michael Jackson memorial: Lionel Richie sings 'Jesus Is Love'

Pop & Hiss brings you quick thoughts on some of the main performances at today's Michael Jackson memorial.

What: Lionel Richie's "Jesus is Love"

A classic sermon, Richie's performance shortly after Mariah Carey's made it clear that this would not be a tribute concert. Backed by a slowly rising choir, Richie's strong vocals provided a sturdy, uplifting take on the song, one powerful enough for a Sunday morning, as well as a downtown Los Angeles basketball arena.

As The Times' Ann Powers writes from inside the venue, " 'Jesus, he won't let you down,' sings Richie, gesticulating aggressively heavenward. The smooth star convincingly testifies, more like a Detroit preacher than the Jheri-curled gentleman behind 'All Night Long.' This is the mood here, church not club."

-- Ann Powers and Todd Martens

US singer Lionel Richie performs during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 July 2009. EPA/MARK J. TERRILL / POOL