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List of Staples Center celebrity attendees grows, but performers have not been confirmed.
By James Montgomery
Justin Timberlake
Photo: Chris Jackson/ Getty Images
With just hours to go before the Michael Jackson memorial service packs the Staples Center, a source close to the event told MTV News that even more big-name artists have signed on to pay tribute to the King of Pop.
Justin Timberlake, Jamie Foxx and Queen Latifah will all appear at Tuesday's (July 7) memorial service, joining a previously announced list of Jackson's closest friends, collaborators and mentors, including Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Motown founder Berry Gordy and John Mayer.
Other confirmed participants in the memorial service include a pair of Los Angeles Lakers' greats — Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson — Motown legend Smokey Robinson, Jackson family friend the Reverend Al Sharpton, "Britain's Got Talent" finalist Shaheen Jafargholi (who toured as a young MJ in the "Thriller Live" show), Martin Luther King III and Jackson's longtime pal, actress Brooke Shields.
It is not known who will be performing at the service. Some reports have Carey reprising her version of the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There," and Jackson family spokesperson Ken Sunshine told ABC that Latifah would perform as well. According to a statement released by the family, no further information will be released regarding the program before the service.
Though she will not appear at the Staples Center, Madonna recently paid tribute to Jackson during a show at London's O2 Arena — the same venue where Jackson's 50-show run was slated to kick off next week — and one of her dancers interpreting some of MJ's famous dance moves to a medley of "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something."
In Jackson's hometown of Gary, Indiana, Mayor Rudy Clay has announced that another Gary-born singer, Deniece Williams — who sang "Let's Hear It for the Boy" from the soundtrack to the 1984 film "Footloose" — would be among the performers at a Friday memorial service at the U.S. Steel Yard baseball stadium, according to the Gary Post-Tribune. A 500-member choir will also sing "We Are the World" at the service.
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