Enlarge

Smokey Robinson started the evening by reading statements from friends unable to make the event. “You don't think you'll live to see them gone. He is going to live forever and ever and ever and ever,” the Motown legend said, before reading a letter from Diana Ross. “I'm trying to find closure, I want you to know that even though I am not there at the Staples Center I am there in my heart. I've decided to pause and be silent. This feels right for me,” Smokey read, continuing. "Michael was a personal love of mine, a treasured part of my world, part of the fabric of my life in a way that I can't seem to find words to express."

Read more celebrity tributes to Michael Jackson