Alicia Keys at Whitney Houston Funeral: 'She Was Our Angel'
Alicia Keys paid tribute to one of her musical inspirations in Whitney Houston Saturday, as she sang at her funeral service at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.
Alicia Keys, who is also a Clive Davis acolyte like Houston, was close to the 48 year old singer in recent years and wrote "Million Dollar Bill," the hit single on Houston's latest album.
During Saturday's funeral Keys paid tribute to Houston in the best way she knew how by singing for her and those mourning her passing away. Keys dressed in a dark suit and addressed mourners in the Newark church testifying Houston as a "beautiful human being, [who would] call you for no reason at all but to say, 'Hi.'"
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She also testified how Houston would go out of her way to help nurture younger female singers who were following in her footsteps chasing recognition in the music industry.
Keys said, "She reached back to so many people; she reached back to me, to Monica and Brandy ... all these beautiful young artists, and just made us feel strong and capable and loved."
"So she's an angel to us, and has been an angel to us," Keys added.
She then went on to offer an emotional performance singing "Send Me an Angel."
Others singing at the funeral were Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly and gospel legends BeBe & CeCe Winans, Donnie McClurkin and Kim Burrell.
Houston's Bodyguard co-star Kevin Costner also spoke at the funeral to deliver a heartbreaking eulogy in which he reminisced about his and Houston's common Baptist church upbringings, as well as the obstacles they overcame together to create worldwide blockbuster "The Bodyguard."
SEE VIDEO OF ALICIA KEYS SINGING AT WHITNEY HOUSTON'S FUNERAL
