Usher performs “Gone Too Soon” at Michael Jackson’s memorial service.

Jackson’s brother performs his favorite song, “Smile.”

Jennifer Hudson sings “Will You Be There.”

Singer celebrates Michael Jackson in song.

The former Lakers star talks about a shared dinner of fried chicken.

Brooke Shields tearfully describes her friendship with the singer.

Singer Mariah Carey performs at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, paying tribute to Michael Jackson. (July 7)

Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris, speaks at her father’s memorial service.

Known widely as one-third of TLC, Chilli has inked a deal with VH1 for what might described as a love search with a little help from a relationship expert.

“Despite huge success as a recording artist and a mother, Chilli has grown tired of striking out on the romantic front, so she has enlisted the help of Brooklyn relationship expert Tionna Smalls,: reports VH1.

Not one to let people take the easy way out, Tionna has promised to give Chilli the challenging emotional workout she needs in order to get over the hurdles that have kept her from having the long-term serious relationship she craves.

Picked up for a reported eight episode run, Chilli’s as-yet-untitled reality jaunt is due to air in 2010. Share and Enjoy:

Touring in support of their recent releases “Promise” and “Timeless” respectively, Cox and Lattimore have dubbed the trek “A Timeless Promise Tour”.

Slated to kick off July 15 at House of Blues’ Lake Buena Vista, FL venue, the tour will make rounds through the southeast with additional dates to be determined.

Sponsored by House of Blues and Live Nation, tickets for the tour are available through Ticketmaster.com starting Friday. (see confirmed dates below)

As previously reported on Singersroom, Deborah Cox released the effort “Promise” and hit single “Beautiful U R” as well as the Urban AC charting cuts “Saying Goodbye” and “Did You Ever Love Me” in 2008.

Kenny Lattimore’s fourth album “Timeless” was also released last year, producing the Urban AC singles “Everybody Here Wants You” and “You Are My Starship”.

‘A Timeless Promise Tour’ Itinerary
*subject to change

7/15 - Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues
7/19 - New Orleans, LA House of Blues

The performance, put together prior to the shocking death and subsequent tribute to Michael Jackson, became a subject of much scrutiny — mainly aimed at BET earlier this week.

The scrutiny, due to the fact that Lil Wayne’s daughter and other teenage girls were on stage while the rapper was using immense profanity and sexually tinged lyrics, has now been addressed in Drake’s fresh interview with Complex Magazine.

In his sit down with Complex, Drake takes on the backlash, stating: “That, actually—to be honest—was a terrible idea that I’ll never do to myself again. But I was being pressed from different areas to perform, and I think what really happened at the BET Awards is with the passing of Mike, the climate really changed, as far as the award show goes. I don’t think it called for us to perform “Every Girl” and “Always Strapped,” and I think it was an award show filled with tributes and music and these genuine heartfelt speeches. And to sort of climax out of a very tongue-in-cheek point, and then people misconstruing Wayne’s daughters and her friends coming out on stage.”

While addressing the BET performance, Drake also confirms that he did indeed injure himself and was thus sitting on the stool for that reason alone. But it is Drake’s response to a question that involves BET’s planning (Watching it at home, the BET Awards seemed to be a mess. Did it seem that way in person?) that is most interesting:

“Well, I can only speak for my portion of it. I had asked for something very specific for my performance and none of those were met, as far as production value, so… I understood my situation, as far as sitting in one place, and figured there was a way to make it interesting. But when I looked around and noticed that none of that was going on, I kind of just realized that it was going to be a loss for me. But at the end of the day, it is what it is.”

For any parents and other viewers offended by the performance, Drake says “To anyone who was offended, my personal apologies, it wasn’t intended to offend anybody.”

In related news, Drake has signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money and will release his anticipated debut later this year.

First up for the dynamic singers is this weekend’s BET Awards. Slated to air Sunday, June 28, the BET Awards 09′ will feature a performance from the two.

After the show however, former “So Gone” singer Monica will chart her own path and return with new music (solo) this fall, as will Keyshia Cole.

Monica’s album, with the working title “Still Standing,” is reportedly on trek for release mid-fall 2009, accompanied by her anticipated BET Reality series.

“Still Standing,” Monica’s first album to be released since 2006s “The Makings of Me” will, according to executive producer Bryan Michael Cox, feature Monica in a new light.

“She wanted to talk about what she’s been through, her love life and the business; the ups and downs of it,” Cox told Singersroom last year.

In related news, Monica has joined Usher, Ciara, Bobby Valentino and other R&B celebs on Twitter.

In one of her first tweets Monica wrote “Be checking in with u guys on a regular to tell u what’s going on in my life.album coming soon Still Standing.”

Singer, dancer, superstar, humanitarian: That was how the some 20,000 people gathered inside the Staples Center arena on Tuesday, and untold millions watching around the world, remembered Jackson, whose immense talents almost drowned beneath the spectacle of his life and fame.

If there was a shocking moment, it came in the form of Jackson’s daughter, Paris-Michael, who made the first public statement of her 11 years.

“Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” she said, dissolving into tears and turning to lean on her aunt Janet. “And I just wanted to say I love him — so much.”

Outside the arena, the celebrity-industrial complex that Jackson helped create ground on. More than 3,000 police officers massed downtown to keep the ticketless at bay. Helicopters followed the golden casket as it was driven over blocked-off freeways from Forest Lawn cemetery to Staples Center. A bazaar of T-shirts, buttons, photos and other memorabilia sprouted in the blocks around the memorial. Movie theaters played the service live and people paused around the world to watch.

Inside, however, the atmosphere was churchlike, assisted by the enormous video image of a stained glass window, with red-gold clouds blowing past, that was projected behind the stage.

The ceremony began with Smokey Robinson reading statements from Jackson’s close friend Diana Ross — “Michael was part of the fabric of my life” — and then Nelson Mandela — “Be strong.”

A lengthy silence of several minutes followed, punctuated only by a steady twinkle of camera flashes. The thousands of mourners spoke softly to those in neighboring seats or contemplated their private thoughts.

Celebrities made their way to their seats in front of the stage: Kobe Bryant, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Lou Ferrigno, Don King, the Kardashian sisters, Magic Johnson, Brooke Shields, Larry King. While Jackson was among the most famous faces in the world, today’s megastars were largely absent. Those present mostly reflected some connection to Jackson’s life or work.

Among those conspicuously not in attendance were Elizabeth Taylor, Ross and Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s ex-wife and the mother of Jackson’s two oldest children.

Many vehicles left Staples in a long motorcade that ended up in a Beverly Hills hotel. Record producer Jimmy Jam told AP Television that he was headed for a gathering for friends and family, but he won’t give details.

The fans, clutching tickets that 1.6 million people had sought, were a visual representation of Jackson’s life: white, black and everything in between; from Mexico, Japan, Italy or America; wearing fedoras, African headdresses, sequins or surgical masks. Actor Corey Feldman showed up fully costumed as Michael Jackson.

“Words can’t express how I feel,” said Dani Harris, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mom from Los Angeles.

“You think about one person, larger than presidents and kings and queens,” Harris said. “People in countries you can’t even see on the map know his face, his music.”

The pre-ceremony stillness was broken by the organ strains of an African-American spiritual. “Hallelujah, hallelujah, going to see the King,” a choir sang. The crowd cheered and rose to its feet.

The Rev. Lucious W. Smith of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena gave the greeting, standing on the same stage where Jackson had been rehearsing for a comeback concert before his death on June 25 at age 50. Then Mariah Carey sang the opening performance with a sweet rendition of the Jackson 5 ballad “I’ll Be There,” a duet with Trey Lorenz.

Queen Latifah read a special poem composed by Maya Angelou. Lionel Richie sang gospel, “Jesus Is Love.” Berry Gordy remembered the prodigy of young Michael, drawing a standing ovation when he said the title King of Pop would no longer suffice: “He is simply the greatest entertainer who ever lived.”

Emotions peaked when the Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy highlighting all the barriers Jackson broke and the troubles he faced. “Every time he got knocked down, he got back up,” Sharpton said, and the applauding crowd again jumped to its feet.

Sharpton rode the moment, building to a crescendo. “There wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy,” he said later, addressing Jackson’s three children in the front row. “It was strange what your daddy had to deal with!”

Jubilation erupted, with the longest standing ovation of the day. It seemed as if Sharpton broke through some sort of wall, freeing shouts from the crowd of “We love you Michael!” After he left the stage, chants of “Mi-chael! Mi-chael!” filled the arena.

The parade of famous names continued: Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, Usher, Martin Luther King III and his sister Bernice, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Kobe Bryant.

For a performer who smashed the race barrier on MTV and did as much as anyone to make black music mainstream — not to mention was accused of trying to turn himself white through skin treatments and plastic surgery — the ceremony had a remarkably black cast. John Mayer and Brooke Sheields were the only white celebs with major roles.

Another unexpected aspect was the logistics. The mayhem and traffic snarls that had been feared by city officials never materialized. The thousands of ticketholders began filing in early and encountered few problems, and traffic was actually considered by police to be lighter than normal. An estimate of up to 700,000 gawkers turned out to be about 1,000.

The city of Los Angeles set up a Web site to allow fans to contribute money to help the city pay for the memorial, which was estimated to cost $1.5 million to $4 million. AEG, the event promoter behind the memorial, has not addressed whether it will give money for the effort, but did contribute $1 million to the city after it staged a victory parade for the Los Angeles Lakers last month.

It was not clear what will happen to Jackson’s body. The Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills cemetery, where a private service was held, is the final resting place for such stars as Bette Davis, Andy Gibb, Freddie Prinze, Liberace and recently deceased David Carradine and Ed McMahon.

But Jackson’s brother Jermaine has expressed a desire to have him buried someday at Neverland, his estate in Southern California.

The ceremony ended with Jackson’s family on stage, amid a choir, singing “Heal the World.”

“All around us are people of different cultures, different religions, different nationalities,” Rev. Smith said as he closed the service. “And yet the music of Michael Jackson brings us together.”

The power forward for the Houston Rockets stood before about 150 guests and exchanged vows with Victoria Velasquez on Saturday at the Trump National Golf Club in Palos Verdes, Calif. Players from across the league were on hand and one of his two best men was Luke Walton from the Los Angeles Lakers, one Cook’s former teams.

“I wasn’t nervous at all until right before the ceremony,” says Cook, “and then I saw her and just knew that it was all good.”

The five-tiered wedding cake was made of red velvet and vanilla cake with butter cream frosting. But it was the groom’s cake – in the shape of a basketball – that caused a commotion. As soon as they cut the cake, several of the players “started throwing cake on Brian!” says a witness.

The couple danced their first dance to Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbon in the Sky.” The bride wore a dress by Priscilla of Boston Platinum Collection and $75,000 worth of jewelry from Adorn Brides. The wedding, which had a purple and turquoise color scheme, was designed by Kathy Mazza of Bella Weddings & Events.