- Title: USA: FANS OF SOUL SINGER AALIYAH ATTEND FUNERAL
- Date: 1st September 2001
- Summary: (W8) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 31, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. SLV HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGE CARRYING AALIYAH FOLLOWS CARS WITH FLOWERS 0.09 2. SCU WOMAN CRYING ZOOM OUT WOMAN HOLDING POSTER OF AALIYAH; SLV FUNERAL PROCESSION WITH HORSES PULLING GLASS CARRIAGE WITH COFFIN; MV MEDIA; SLV FANS ON STREET (3 SHOTS) 0.29 3. SLV CARRIAGE TURNS CORNER TO CHURCH; SLV CROWDED STREET; SLV CARRIAGE PULLS UP IN FRONT OF CHURCH 0.37 4. MV FORMER WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION MIKE TYSON GETTING OUT OF LIMOUSINE 0.45 5. SOUNDBITE (English) KIM WILSON, FAN SAYING "Aaliyah is in heaven, so we lost her on earth but we're going to see her again. And her music that God put in her heart for always will be with us forever." 0.54 6. SOUNDBITE (English) ST. CLINTON COBURN, FAN SAYING "She as the ideal woman that you can look up to. She possessed angelic qualities which are rare which were singled out and she shone, shined like a star in heaven." 1.09 7. MV CROWD BEHIND BARRIERS 1.13 8. SOUNDBITE (English) SHARON LITAKER, FAN SAYING "I actually took the day off from work today to be here because we all love her and we'll miss her." 1.20 9. SLV PALBEARERS CARRYING CASKET TO HEARSE; MV MOTHER LETS DOVES FLY; SCU RAP STAR PUFF DADDY WATCHES (4 SHOTS) 1.48 10. MV FANS OUTSIDE CAMPBELL FUNERAL HOME; SCU GIRL WITH ROSE; SCU AALIYAH SIGN; SCU SIGNING ATTENDANCE BOOK (4 SHOTS) 2.09 11. SCU FLOWERS IN FRONT OF CARRIAGE; MV PALBEARERS CARRYING CASKET (2 SHOTS) 2.19 12. MV AALIYAH POSTER WITH PEOPLE PAYING RESPECTS 2.23 13. SCU WOMAN CRYING 2.26 19. LAS CEILING TILT DOWN SLV AALIYAH TRIBUTE WITH AALIYAH ON BIG SCREEN; MV PEOPLE PASSING IN FRONT OF SCREEN; SLV LINE OF PEOPLE PAYING RESPECTS; SCU WOMAN SIGNING BOOK 2.40 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 16th September 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA25PCKOL26KUG45TVVZNL90ZVC
- Story Text: Hundreds of fans of soul singer Aaliyah have marched
alongside a glass, horse-drawn, carriage carrying the body of
the budding artist, who died in a fiery plane crash in the
Bahamas.
Admirers of the R&B star walked several blocks from a
Manhattan funeral home to St. Ignatius Loyola Church on Park
Avenue, where they joined hundreds more fans crowded behind
police barricades.
Inside, mourners at the invitation-only service included
boxer Mike Tyson, rapper Li'l Kim, music mogul Sean Combs, R&B
producer Timothy "Timbaland" Moseley and rapper Jay-Z.
For fans outside, Aaliyah's golden casket could be seen
through the glass sides of the carriage, drawn by two white
horses.
Following the service that lasted more than an hour, 22
white doves were released into the sky, one for each year of
the singer's life.
She and eight others were killed last Saturday (August
25) when their twin-engined Cessna propeller plane crashed
into swampy scrub and burst into flames shortly after taking
off from Marsh Harbour airport in the Bahamas.
Although investigators have not released formal findings,
police have said they are investigating whether overloading or
engine failure played a role in the crash. Bahamian police
have said the plane may have been overloaded by as much as 700
pounds (1,120 kg).
Fans were shocked that such a young star could be taken
from them so early in life but were comforted by their faith.
"Aaliyah is in heaven, so we lost her on earth but we're going
to see her again. And her music that God put in her heart for
always will be with us forever," said Kim Wilson. St. Clinton
Coburn said Aaliyah was an ideal role model, "She is the ideal
woman that you can look up to. She possessed angelic
qualities which are rare which were singled out and she shone,
shined like a star in heaven."
The 22-year-old R&B star, whose full name was Aaliyah
Haughton, was on her way back to the United States after
completing filming of a music video.
The up-and-coming sensation sold a million copies of her
debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" in 1994, and more
recently the single "Try Again" became a big hit.
Just last month, she released her third album, "Aaliyah,"
and one of her latest projects was to have been an appearance
in a sequel to the cult movie "The Matrix."
Sales of her new album jumped 41 percent last week,
according to Soundscan, which tracks record sales.
Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, New York, but moved to
Detroit when she was 5. She began performing at an early age
and by the time she was 11 she was singing in Las Vegas with
the legendary Gladys Knight troupe.
After her teen-age album success in 1994, Aaliyah embarked
on a tour that took her to Europe, Japan and South Africa.
"One in a Million," released in 1996, pioneered a new R&B
sound that tended toward computer-generated backing tracks
instead of live instrumentation. Her film debut came opposite
Chinese martial arts legend Jet Li in the hip and violent
"Romeo Must Die."
A daylong memorial event for the public also was being
held at Cipriani's 42nd Street, across from Grand Central
Terminal.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None