As thousands of fans, friends and family members gathered in the Staples Center in Los Angeles to say goodbye to the King of Pop, hundreds of people got together in Harlem to watch Michael Jackson's memorial service on a giant screen.
The pop icon's music and periodic chants of "Michael! Michael!'' rang out Tuesday outside a state office building. A giant screen was set up to afford New Yorkers a view of the remembrances in Los Angeles.
Jackson impersonator Moses Harper of Harlem teared up and hugged a friend as footage of a hearse carrying Jackson's casket was shown. Minutes later, the 31-year-old Harper began dancing to Jackson's version of "Ease on Down the Road,'' from the musical ``The Wiz.''
Harper says fans "miss him, but there's a lot to celebrate.''
Thousands have gathered in Harlem for celebrations in honor of Jackson throughout the last week. Crowds lined up at the Apollo for amateur night, which launched the Jackson 5 into the spotlight in the 1960s, and a musical tribute to the pop icon whose death has rocked the country and the world.
Two local theaters -- the Chelsea Clearview Cinemas and the Pavillion in Park Slope -- also carried today's memorial live on the big screen.
Smokey Robinson began the memorial in Los Angeles before 20,000 at about 10:10 a.m. (PST) by reading condolences to the family from Nelson Mandela and Diana Ross -- who apparently wasn't in attendance -- and then calling for a moment of silence.
About 20 minutes later, members of the Jackson family went to the stage and a gospel choir sang as Jackson's golden casket was wheeled to the fore.
Pastor Lucious W. Smith, of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena, Calif., then spoke, saying "to millions around the world, Michael Jackson was an idol, a hero and even a king, but first and foremost, this man before us was our brother, our father, our son and our friend."
Mariah Carey then sang the Jackson 5 song "I'll Be There," with Trey Songz, and they received a rousing applause. She finished with a simple "We miss you."
