makeshift memorials honoring the star outside of that church where there now is an air of reverence inside, but there is also celebration because she has lived a life worth of celebration, her many, many achievements and there will be tributes and beautiful words paying tribute to whitney houston. craig melvin is there for us live. it is expected to begin shortly, correct? >> reporter: it is expected to begin at any moment now, alex witt. the funeral set to start at noon. weir told it will probably last about an hour and a half. a number of dignitaries, a number of performers are inside that church. we will see and hear from some of those throughout the next several hours, we are told. one of the folks who was set to perform will not perform. as we reported a short time ago, aretha franklin, the queen of south herself, was set to give a musical tribute at whitney's funeral will not be performing. we learned that and shortly thereafter we learned she'll not be there as well because she's ill. i want to bring in sean roberts. have you been able to find anything else out about aretha franning lynn? >> as you know, aretha franklin is a home girl of mine from detroit, michigan, and we had actually chatted about whitney. last night aretha franklin hadda i concert at radio city, and i understand now that she is not feeling well. at first we thought she was just not going to perform, but we found out she is not going to be able to make it. whether that concert at radio city -- radio city will actually go on this evening, weir not quite sure. weir still waiting to get confirmation, but i know that aretha, i had corresponded with aretha yesterday, this is just devastating to her because as you know, she and whitney were very, very close. she's known whitney since she was 9 years old. >> when she was nippy. >> yes, when she was nippy. whitney called aretha aunt re. it was widely reported that aretha was whitney houston's god mother. not quite sure where that rumor started, darling love was whitney's godmother. as aretha told al roker yesterday, it will be hard. it will be hard to perform and unfortunately, she is not going to perform today. >> let's talk about whitney houston, because you were the last reporter to sit down with her in a formal interview. you talked to her about the movie she had been working on "sparkle" that is set to come out later this year. were there any signs during that interview, was there any indication during that interview that whitney houston was in trouble? >> craig, i can tell you this. this interview was some 14 weeks ago. when she walked in the room, i interviewed her on the set of "sparkle." when she walked in the room i went whoa, she looked fantastic. she had gained weight. i evened to her. you look healthier. she looked like she had gained weight. she was happy. >> yeah. >> she was smiling. all of the actors on the set including jordan sparks said she was a true role model to them. she would look to her for advice. my friend deborah martin chase who was whitney houston's producing partner for the last 20 years. >> she looked like the comeback was on. >> there were times in the past when they said whitney was coming back. this time she looked like she was really on her game and no one could have told me when i was sitting down there looking in her eyes and watching about the future and being hopeful about the future and no one would tell me that three months later she would be gone. i would not have believed it. >> as we are talking, some of the scenes from inside new hope baptist church. that is the new hope -- that's the new hope choir along with the new jersey mass choir, we are told and they're wearing white. >> yes. >> they're not wearing black. this is not just mourning. >> right. >> this is a celebration. >> yes. and this is called whitney houston's home going which is, as you know, a common expression in the black community when there is -- especially in the baptist community, but also just in the black community in general. it's about a home going, about going back home to where you originally came in. this is what they are doing. they're celebrating the life of whitney houston. how tragic it is that she is gone and gone way too soon, but it's about celebrating the life of somebody who brought us so many wonderful memories through her music. >> do stick around. we want to spend more time talking to you. alex, i'm going to send it back to you in the studio right now. as we look and start to listen to some of what's going on inside new hope baptist church in newark. >> craig melvin. thank you so much. please extend our thanks to shaun robinson of "access hollywood." we are listening to a very large, powerful voice of a singing audience there and that would be the new hope baptist choir as well as the new jersey mass choir. all those voices in unison singing "dressed in white" this for sending home their beloved sister whitney houston. as we await this period to conclude which is called the processional and we will be listening in to some of the beautiful music for you as they will sing "the lord is my shepherd" i'd like to bring in my panel so you know the expert voices that we will have lending to our coverage here. first of all, joining us from los angeles is allison samuel, writer for "news week" and contributor to "the daily beast." allison has been covering this grim story as well as the investigation. thank you for being here. also joining me here in new york i have four trick guys. david wilson, the founder of the grillo.com. john farley, chris witherspoon, entertainment editor for the grillo and msnbc contributor ture, music analyst and so glad to have all of you here. you know, if you can each sum up in a word what whitney houston's greatest attribute or her legacy will be, is there something -- is it powerful? is it magic? is it sparkle? david? >> you know, this is something special for me to look at this service happening in newark, you know, i'm a kid from newark and i remember when i first heard of whitney houston and heard she was from newark. newark, particularly in the '80s is will have phied and a place that you don't go to, but here we have whitney houston, a celebrated figure and she is beautiful and she has a voice made of crystal and we were proud of her, and she was proud to be from newark, and so i looked at this and while it's sad that, you know, she passed so early, you know, she never forgot newark, and i'm just happy that newark never forgot her and all throughout the state of new jersey flags are flying half-staff in honor of her. that's what i remember of her, the impact she's had on me personally that something great can come to the city of newark. >> they took a lot of pride in whitney houston being from there. she's come home on this her final journey home. chris witherspoon, your thoughts? >> whitney houston is timeless. looking at this beautiful choir, i envisioned her when she was young getting her start singing all in white singing in the choir. they're so alive and it's a home going celebration. it's not a funeral. that's not wearing black and celebrating her life. i feel like she's still somehow with us now. aretha franklin said it best, that she had a twinkle. she had a sparkle and glitter about her and the picture on the programs and the posters everywhere, it still fills the essence about her and it was a timeless quality that she was able to have at her prime. >> i was down at the church taking in the scene. she gave voice to the people of newark. they saw themselves in her. they felt she represented them well on the radio on tv, in her life, and she's someone who really changed the game on radio and in record stores for what sells. upon when she sang in the '80s, and your voice still matters. vocals are at the core of what music is all about. even today we celebrate her for that for paving the ground for that and shaping the careers of a lot of other singers that came after her like beyondy and christina aguilera and they might not have made the world safe for real vocalists. >> you being a music krstic. christopher john farley has spoke ben what she meant to the music world. there are many who say that the likes of her voice will never come our way again. she had a callity to her singing. do you agree with that. >> that i'll agree with everything john farley is saying and this is a generational talent when we talk about what michael jackson did in music and what tiger woods did in golf and michael jordan in basketball. whitney is that level of physical talent and artist as well, and the word that i would put to whitney houston is dignity, and not just in her personal presentation, but the way that she sang her songs, and i mean that in two ways. this she's constantly giving dignity to these characters she's singing about, even in "saving all my love for you," one of the first songs that people heard from her. she's sing as the other woman. this sort of happy mistress, but she's giving this woman a certain dignity. she's not crazy. she's not coming unhinged. you know, she's just -- she sort of thz dignity and there are songs of whitney inhabiting the person in breakup, but instead of falling apart she's giving dignity and strength. whitney is in the upper echelon of singers that can do anything with the vibration and the riffs and the runs. she's never giving you acrobatics for the sake of acrobatics and there are certain singers we can name who do a lot of that and the extra trilles that are off-putting some people and whitney is always working in service to the song. it's always dignified and it's not me, let me show off how great a singer i am, but let me inhabit this character in the song and sing it in the best way possible. >> i agree with all that all of you have said and something else that comes to mind for me, it seems so effortless for her. she was such a natural and she would open her mouth and this power would emanate from her mouth when she sang and it would look so easy. some people when they sing they can strain. their faces look like they're straining to reach things and she was just -- she was just absolutely, fortless, it seems. allison samuels out there in los angeles, your thoughts on whitney. i've asked the gentlemen here if they can sum it up in a word or give at least one adjective that describes her. how about you? do you have one that comes to mind? >> one that comes to mind to me is game changer. as an african-american woman, watching her get on the cover of "seventeen" magazine one of the early african-americans in the '80s and opposite kevin costner being the love interest of a major white star in hollywood in 1992. >> true. >> you don't see that now. so for whitney to be able to do this as people have called her this little cute black girl from jersey, for her to become from that point and become this superstar, she redefined beauty and she redefined the way we look at style. she redefined the way african-american women looked at themselves and that's the main thing i think of when i look adwhitney houston. she was a game changer and she changed the way the world viewed african-american women for a period of time. >> you make a very good point. you mentioned kevin costner who will be here today and a very significant role in her life because she was her champion getting her going with her film start and he hand picked her. he did not want anybody else. he wanted only whitney houston. he helped support when the ultimate song from that incredible movie and soundtrack "the bodyguard," "i will always love you." a lot of officials in the film industry and the music industry, they said maybe this isn't the song to do. he said yes, it is. a powerful twosome who produced her number one single of all time and my absolute favorite song. it's one of those songs that is just so powerful. i want to get the tough business out of the way and ask you about the investigation. you're out there. you've been out there all of this week following things. what is the latest on how long it will be until we find a cause of death and also the latest on the fact that the lapd, they want to talk to everyone who was around her, talk to doctors. what is it that they were trying to find out? >> they're trying to found out, obviously, exactly why she died and if this could have been prevented. if she was taking medicines that she shouldn't have been taking. were doctors prescribing her medicines she shouldn't have been taking. so far all of her doctors have been very cooperative. they've given her list of information and the last time they saw her, what they actually gave her and they've had no problems in that sense and it will take six weeks before they get the toxicology reports back to tell them what was in her system and what contributed to her death. the main thing is they're trying to make sure everyone understands that in the music industry people will be held accountable in the music industry. if you can provide celebrities like whitney houston and michael jackson, if you are providing them medicine that are harmful to them and i think this is a wake-up call just like michael jackson was to the medical industry as a whole and the music industry that everyone is accountable and everyone has to keep a check on each other and if you know someone has a problem, like whitney did, you have to be very conscious of of what you're prescribe for example them. that's where the investigation stands right now. >> i think where you are and where we are here just adjacent to newark, new jersey, we are at the places the epicenter of the whitney houston furor. we're watching a celebration of her life. allison is out there at the place where she died in beverly hills at the beverly hilton hotel one week ago today. craig melvin is outside the new hope baptist church for us. craig? >> alex, good day to you. we just got some new information on aretha franklin. of course, we've been reporting that she's not going to be performing. th that she's not even going to be at the funeral. >> aretha franklin just e-mailed me and she wanted me to give everyone this message. and i'm just reading, this is in a series of e-mails, so just forgive me if i'm reading this for the first time. it says, sean, regretfully i cannot attend service for nippy. up until 4:00 a.m. with leg spasms and locked leg muscles. felt it very important to stay off my leg as long as possible until the concert tonight. my heart goes out to cissy -- reading the next e-mail now. >> cissy houston. >> bobbi chrykristina, and the of the family. would greatly appreciate if you would mention it. i have every intention of being there, just going to be -- it says necessary to keep leg elevated and stay off of it until the concert. >> so the very latest there on aretha franklin, why she's not going to be here. let's listen in now. the funeral's starting, alex. i'lls to it back to you. >> we'll miss that wonderful voice of arc reetha franklin. pastor joe carter of the new hope baptist church. >> i am also the minister of music here at the new hope baptist church. [ applause ] so we welcome you to our home, and we're going to have church today. because we believe in a mighty god. he's awesome through it all, it is well with my soul. we please ask that you not use your cell phones. ♪ >> we actually ask that you turn them off. no recording, please. ♪ >> no picture taking. ♪ >> and in case of an emergency, we're going to ask you to go to the nearest exits. you'll have an exit in the rear, to my left to your right. you have an exit on the right in the rear. we have two exits on the right here. ♪ >> and now i present to you the mayor of this great, beautiful city called newark, new jersey, the honorable corey bookner. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to welcome you all here to our great city. we are here to mourn our loss, but to celebrate her life. >> god is in heaven, and with him is one of our angels, whitney houston. ♪ ♪ >> as the heavens reverberate in joy and gladness may we understand, weeping may endure through the night, but joy -- joy cometh in the morning. we thank you for gathering here, and i again want to say we love you, whitney houston. thank you. ♪ ♪ >> would everyone please rise. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> as asleep in the morning. they're like grass which grows up, in the morning it flourishes and grows up. in the evening it is cut down and withers. for we are consumed by thine anger and by thine wrath are we troubled. i set our inequities before thee, our sins and the light of our countenance, for all of the days are passed away in thy wrath, we spend our years as a tale that is told. the days and years are three score years, and by reason and strength may be four score years yet for the strength, labor and sorrow for it is cut off and we fly away. who knows the power of thooin anger even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. return, o, lord, how long and let it repent thee concerning our circles. oh, satisfy us with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. make us according to the days the therein that has afflicted us in the years wherein we have seen you. let thy work appear unto thy service and thy glory unto the children and let the beauty of the lord, our god, be upon us, service the work of thy hands upon us, yes, the work of thy hands establish the end. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ the lord is my shepherd ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ he leadeth me ♪ beside quiet, still waters ♪ he restored my soul ♪ he restored my soul ♪ he restoreth my soul ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ oh, yeah ♪ he leadeth me in the path of righteousness ♪ ♪ for his, for his name's sake ♪ oh, yeah ♪ though i walk through the valley of the shadows of death ♪ ♪ they do comfort me, yes, they do comfort me ♪ ♪ yes, they do comfort me yes, they do comfort me ♪ ♪ hallelujah, they comfort me ♪ they comfort me, oh, yeah ♪ oh, yeah ♪ he prepareth the table ♪ in the presence of my enemies ♪ ♪ ♪ my head, my cup ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ oh, and you know that sure ly shall follow ♪ ♪ and i shall dwell forever ♪ from this moment, forever and ever ♪ ♪ from this moment, and ever and ever ♪ ♪ and i shall dwell in the house of the lord ♪ ♪ from this moment and ever and ever ♪ ♪ i shall dwell ♪ >> forever and ever ♪ ♪ forever and ever and ever ♪ shall dwell ♪ from this moment ♪ ♪ from this moment ♪ ♪ from this moment ♪ amen ♪ ♪ ♪ and i shall dwell in the house of the lord ♪ ♪ i'm going to see my jesus ♪ forever and ever and ever, yes, hallelujah ♪ ♪ yes, hallelujah ♪ ♪ from this moment ♪ won't be alone ♪ forever and ever ♪ and ever and ever and ever ♪ going to meet my jesus ♪ amen ♪ amen ♪ ♪ >> come on and give him praise, give him praise. ♪ >> god bless you. say amen for the choir. say amen for the choir. god bless you today. repeat after me. lord, we welcome you. >> lord, we welcome you. >> have your way. >> have your way. >> lord, we welcome you. >> lord, we welcome you. >> have your way. >> have your way. >> in jesus' name, amen. if you love the lord clap for him. come on, clap for him. clap for him if you love jesus, clap for him. hallelujah! glory to god. glory to god! glory to god! glory to god! god be praised, god be praised! god be praised! god be praised! god be praised! god be praised! god be praised! oh, my, my, my, my. yeah! ♪ ♪ >> god bless you. ♪ ♪ >> we're gathered here today because when you're a child of god, when you are dedicated you are dedicated at an altar. when you're fellowshiped into the body of christ, it's at an altar. when you make your wedding vows, it's an altar. and when god has spoken, you're laid to rest and yet celebrated