• Jenni Rivera fans mourn Mexican-American singer at her memorial

    David Mcnew / Reuters

    Martha Hernandez and six-year-old daughter Evlin mourn with Soledad Hernandez and her six-year-old daughter Betsy as they watch a live broadcast of the memorial service for Mexican-American singer and Spanish language television personality Jenni Rivera at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 19. The 43-year-old Long Beach, California native and six other people died on December 9 when her rented Learjet crashed shortly after takeoff from Monterrey, Mexico. A new compilation album of songs from her albums over the last seven years, "La Misma Gran Senora" or "The Same Great Lady", was to be released two days later.

    David Mcnew / Reuters

    A woman holds a white rose as she watches a live broadcast of the memorial service for Mexican-American singer and Spanish language television personality Jenni Rivera at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 19.

    Kevin Winter / Getty Images for LARAS, file

    Singer Jenni Rivera performs onstage during the 11th annual Latin GRAMMY Awards at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Nov. 11, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Reuters -- Thousands of mourners on Wednesday packed a Los Angeles theater to pay their final respects to Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera more than a week after her death in a plane crash.

    Rivera, 43, best known for her work in the Mexican folk Nortena and Banda genres, died after the small jet she was traveling in crashed in northern Mexico on December 9.

    Rivera's family, dressed in white, led the memorial service eulogizing the singer. A bank of white roses was displayed in front of Rivera's bright red coffin and a brass band performed musical interludes.

    More than 6,000 people crowded into the theater about 30 miles north of her childhood home in Long Beach, California. Tickets for the service at the Gibson Amphitheatre sold out within minutes, organizers said.

    Continue reading.

    Frederic J. Brown / AFP - Getty Images

    Fans of the late Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera wait to attend the memorial service at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City on Dec. 19, in California. The service, billed by the Rivera family as a "Celestial Graduation,'' was broadcast live and watched by her many fans off a big screen at a Universal CityWalk plaza.

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  • Singer Whitney Houston dead at 48

    Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images file

    Singer Whitney Houston accepts the Winner of International - Favorite Artist Award onstage at the 2009 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Nov. 22, 2009, in Los Angeles, Calif.

    Slideshow: Whitney Houston, 1963-2012

    Kevin Winter / Getty Images

    Born into a musical family, the singer's stunning voice wowed many, but drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage ravaged her image.

    Launch slideshow

    Whitney Houston influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

    But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

    "The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side. -- Reported by the Associated Press

    NBC's Jinah Kim has more on the reported circumstances surrounding the death of singer Whitney Houston.

  • Hip-hop soulstress Lauryn Hill takes stage during Sundance

    Lucas Jackson / Reuters

    Singer Lauryn Hill performs at "Skullcandy Sessions" at Harry O's nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Jan. 27.

    Lucas Jackson / Reuters

    Singer Lauryn Hill performs at "Skullcandy Sessions" at Harry O's nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Jan. 27.

    Lucas Jackson / Reuters

    Singer Lauryn Hill performs at "Skullcandy Sessions" at Harry O's nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Jan. 27.

    Lucas Jackson / Reuters

    Singer Lauryn Hill performs at "Skullcandy Sessions" at Harry O's nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Jan. 27.

    By Elena Grothe

    I love how vivid these photos are. You can see a slideshow of more Sundance Film Festival images here.