Stars Align for Tomorrow's Michael Jackson Memorial

Update

Stars Align for Tomorrow's Michael Jackson Memorial

Mon., Jul. 6, 2009 5:45 PM PDT by Breanne L. Heldman

Jennifer Hudson, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey

Axel/ZUMAPress.com, Mark Von Holden/Getty Images, Jim Spellman/Getty Images

While the drama regarding his estate, his children and the circumstances of his death aren't likely to rest for months to come, it's time for Michael Jackson himself to rest in peace.

Tuesday is the big day for both his private funeral and very public memorial event.

The star's close family members will gather at Forest Lawn Cemetery bright and early at 8 a.m. for a private funeral service.

Then, they'll make their way through traffic to the Staples Center for the 10 a.m. PT show.

Joe, Katherine, Jackie, Tito, Marlon, Jermaine, Randy, LaToya, Rebbie and Janet Jackson will all be there.

Debbie Rowe, however, will not. Her lawyers tell E! News that the mother of the star's two oldest children's "attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy" and that she "will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."

And, though they may have been the among those closest to Jackson in life, Quincy Jones and Elizabeth Taylor will not take part in the public farewell, either.

Jones, 76, told Entertainment Tonight last week that he "won't go to any more funerals as long as I live. I can't handle it."

Taylor, who has said that she "can't picture life without" Jackson, twittered today that she has been asked to speak tomorrow but how she feels is "not a public event."

"My love goes out to Katherine and Michael's beloved children," she wrote. Her other posts included: "I said I wouldn't go to the Staples Center and I certainly don't want to become a part of it. I love him too much...I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. How I feel is between us. Not a public event."

"And I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word."

That said, some serious star power will be turning out in the King of Pop's honor.

E! News has confirmed that both Mariah Carey and Jennifer Hudson will be performing.

Kobe Bryant, Berry Gordy, Magic Johnson, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Brooke Shields, Usher and Stevie Wonder are also confirmed participants. Ditto for the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Andraé Crouch Choir, Martin Luther King III, Bernice A. King and family friends Ron Boyd and Pastor Lucious Smith.

Whitney Houston and Beyoncé Knowles have been mentioned as possible attendees, but a press release from organizers did not mention their names. But Shaheen Jafargholi, a finalist on Britain's Got Talent, somehow made the cut.

The Michael Jackson memorial will air live in its entirety on dozens of outlets, including E! and E! Online, and even in select movie theaters.

(Originally published July 6, 2009, at 1:05 p.m. PT)

As you move through our Mourning Michael Jackson gallery, remember that one of the pop king's most moving and most lasting songs is also perhaps his best lesson: "You Are Not Alone."

We want you to be a part of the memories and memory sharing. We invite you to post your personal tribute to the King of Pop below. We'll be running as many reader comments as we can on air tomorrow.