With the guest list for Michael Jackson’s memorial all over the news yesterday, and the Jackson family motorcade being taped all the way to the Staples Center today, it seemed that the hype around the event might overshadow it’s message. But the tone of the service was appropriately serious, and more moving than I had expected. I had thought that all the news about Jackson’s death had forced me to feel all I would feel about the significance of the King of Pop’s passing, but watching the service felt surprisingly sad.

Brooke Shields’ speech about her loss of a fun-loving friend illuminated a Michael Jackson that I hadn’t considered, and I cried watching Paris Jackson force through her sobs the words, “Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, and I just wanted to say I love him so much.”

I had been skeptical about whether crowds outside the memorial would remember to be respectful amidst their excitement, so my faith was restored in the public when I read that crowds stayed under control and people heeded the L.A. police department’s request that fans without tickets refrain from spectating from afar. Only about 1,000 people showed up around the Staples Center, despite projections of 250,000, as L.A. Deputy Police Chief Sergio Diaz told The Associated Press.

The memorial was an appropriately musical, star-studded, and sentimental goodbye to Michael Jackson, though unfortunately I’m sure the public will not let him go quite yet.

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