Michael Jackson to be treated like real royalty

On Monday, representatives for the Jackson family announced that such entertainers as Lionel Richie, Usher, Kobe Bryant, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson would participate in the memorial. Wonder and Carey are expected to perform, as well as Jennifer Hudson, while Beyoncé and Whitney Houston are rumored to be attending but won't sing during the festivities, MTV.com reports.

Photo: Michael Jackson to be treated like real royalty

A public memorial for the singer begins today at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. In a lottery over the weekend, 17,500 tickets were issued.

Grammy Awards producer Ken Ehrlich and choreographer Kenny Ortega, director of Jackson's shows that were planned for London, have been collaborating on the memorial, The USA Today reports.

Michael Jackson will be laid to rest in a lavish paradise of lush green lawns and million-dollar views in the Hollywood Hills.

The immaculate and gentle grounds of Forest Lawn Memorial Park are home to some of Tinseltown's brightest stars, who now rest in green pastures and giant marble mausoleums.

"It's one of the greenest cemeteries in Los Angeles," said author and cemetery historian Lisa Burks. "It's immaculately kept by a massive groundskeeping crew who are very good, and it's notorious for guarding the privacy of their clients," The New York Daily News reports.

So Michael Jackson may finally get his wish: to be treated like royalty. He never got the opportunity to be called Sir Michael Jackson, but after today's memorial, there will be no doubt that he was the King of Pop, ABC News reports.