As one would have expected of The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, his final show was just that, ’a show’. Vacillating between a happy, clappy gospel meeting and a special edition of America’s Got Talent, made this two hour extravaganza as much a fanciful display of his death as he had created for himself in life.

TV coverage beginning at 6.00 am, had commentators second guessing just what the Jackson family were doing, taking a crocodiling black cavalcade of cars to the Forest Lawn Cemetery (maybe having a private burial???) and the chosen few waiting to enter The Staples Stadium, where, half an hour later the lavish, gold plated, flower laden casket was wheeled in, with what the masses were led to believe held Jackson himself, to take center stage.

That’s when the real ‘all American’ circus began.

As Jackson himself once said to his peers when inviting them to appear for the recording of, We Are The World, ‘Please Check Your Egos At the Door. But today the message didn’t get through.

Following the initial farewell messages read by Smokey Robinson on behalf of an absent Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela, there was a one minute silence before the divas and other hopefuls of a career revival took to the stage.

First up, wearing a huge diamond ring, matching diamond bracelet, sultry hair style and revealing neckline, came the consummate diva, Mariah Carey, singing, and gestating, to the Jackson hit, I’ll Be There. With not a sign of sorrow, grief or even a glassy eyed tear, Carey acrobatically, vocally made her way through the lyrics that had the rest of us remembering the little black boy who first hit our screens back in 1970 along with his four brothers, known as The Jackson 5.

Next, for reasons best known to the organizers and the Jackson family themselves, John Mayer made his solo guitar rendition of Jackson’s Human Nature, at which every note he contorted his face as though suffering from a recent attack of diarrhea!

If this is the American version of a farewell to one of their greatest icons, they should maybe have taken a leaf out of the proceedings that accompanied the final farewell in 1997 to the UK’s Princess Diana, and added some, class!

Not wanting to miss out out on a potential Oscar nominated performance, Brooke Shield took to the stage. In an attempt to hog the proceedings, Shields rambled for what seemed hours, but oh, how she treated us to her best offering of a crying actress as she positioned her head ’heaven-wards’, and quoted the words from Jackson’s favourite song, Smile!

The sight of Jermaine Jackson and his brothers all sporting single white glitter studded gloves, yellow ties and dark glasses was a spectacle in itself, but when Marlon made a tearful plea for Michael to give Marlon’s’ dead twin brother a cuddle in heaven, (Brandon, died stillborn during emergency c-section surgery way back in 1957), the corners of some onlookers lips began to curl into a smile!

And as per usual at these functions the ever self promoting Al Sharpton had his say, reminding us that, in much the same way that Forrest Gump had caused just about everything good in recent history, Michael was responsible for black people being on the cover of magazines, becoming C.E.O’.s  and even having a black man in The White House!

Not wanting to let one event slip by without referring to Jackson’s somewhat dubious choices in life, both Berry Gordy and Republican, Sheila Jackson Lee, vehemently reminded the crowd of Michael’s acquittal on child-molestation charges back in June 2005.

Pointing out that Jackson was all things to all people Magic Johnson said that the singer had made him a better basketball player, and Jennifer Hudson, singing Michael’s song, Will You Be There, also showed us how a girl from the south side of Chicago could be influenced by The King of Pop herself, and find herself singing at a memorial service for one of the world’s greatest musical icon of the past century.

Forgetting the past 10 years of controversy, mismanagement and adverse life decisions the world today said a sad farewell with two of Michael’s best known songs written for charity, “We Are the World” and “Heal the World.”,  all that was left was for the Jackson family, including La Toya Jackson, Janet Jackson and Paris, Prince Michael, 12, Prince Michael II (also known as Blanket), 7, was to take to the stage where we actually witnessed one true moment of grief when Paris took the microphone and reminded us all that Michael Jackson wasn’t just a figure of fun, a fantastic showman and a hunted man, but a father, loved and now missed, as she said, ‘Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, and I just want to say that I love him so much.’

Finally, the real message came from Paris, the 11 year old grieving daughter of Michael Jackson, who simply called him, daddy!