Joan Ricci, of Narragnasett, is among those who paused to watch the Michael Jackson memorial at the Warwick Mall on Tuesday.

The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

WARWICK — Trenda Taylor, 49, of West Warwick, grew up listening to Michael Jackson. Just one year younger, she watched him perform with his brothers on television and followed him as his career took off.

As a teenager, she watched him perform at what then was the Providence Civic Center — now the Dunkin’ Donuts Center — then saw him later that day when he appeared at the Holiday Inn. She liked to sing along to “ABC” and “Rockin’ Robin.” Her all-time favorite song is “Ben.”

On Tuesday, Taylor listened to Jackson’s songs once more while she watched the big screen in the middle of the food court at the Warwick Mall. This time other singers, among them Jennifer Hudson and Stevie Wonder, were singing Jackson’s songs at a memorial celebration in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, paying tribute to the “King of Pop,” who died suddenly on June 25 at the age of 50.

“I wanted to watch before I went home,” said Taylor, who works as an insurance agent. “I knew they had a wide-screen here, and that I could sit here and watch.

“His music, the person he was, his effervescence exuded from him,” Taylor said. “What exuded from him was love. That love was made tangible through his music.”

The food court was about three-quarters full. While a few people watched the ceremony on the screen, many were oblivious.

Sunny Adebayo, a social worker for Gateway Healthcare, in Johnston, came to the food court after a client asked to watch the memorial there. He ate a burger and watched singer Smokey Robinson pay tribute to Jackson. Pictures of Jackson, who had been in the public eye about 40 of his 50 years, appeared on the screen.

People from all over the world — including Japan, China and England — recognized that Jackson had influenced the music world, Adebayo said. Thousands from the United States, and from all over the world, without tickets to the tribute, had flocked to the Staples Center anyway to be near the memorial celebration.

“It’s very sad; at the same time you see that people appreciate the good things he did, like transform music,” Adebayo said.

Yesterday was a day to celebrate the talent the Jackson had given the world, Adebayo said, not the negative things that haunted him.

Jim Swanson, 53, of Pawtucket, watched the screen as Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz sang Jackson’s “I’ll Be There.” Jackson was a talented and deserved recognition, but media coverage of his death, which has lasted for nearly two weeks, has been over the top, Swanson said.

“There are a lot of other really important things going on in the world, like Iran, Iraq, our economic situation,” Swanson said.

Stevie Wonder appeared on the screen. He sat at the keyboard and sang an emotional rendition of his “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer.”

Joan Ricci, 47, an emergency room technician from Narragansett, watched the tribute from the food court with her son Victor, 14, and daughter Brittany, 16.

“I grew up with him,” she said. “Everyone played his music. We used to go to Barry’s. He got everybody dancing. He was definitely odd, but he was a great entertainer.”

Jackson changed the course of music, Ricci said. And she tried to communicate that to her children.

“I was trying to tell them, “Thriller” was the first 15-minute music video. That was cutting-edge.”

tpina@projo.com