Remembering MJ at the BET Awards
All weekend I kept the TV jumping from Vh1 to Mtv, as they were showing MJ videos everyday and it was such a great way to remember him. I watched his “short films” and listened to his music regularly, but they showed some that I didn’t have in my possession (and I have many!), so it was a lot of fun. Of course, it was really depressing, too.
I still can’t believe he’s gone, and a lot of the feeling of devastation is because I’ve never had one of my idols pass away before. Those that know me know Janet is my favorite, but MJ was actually first, so this hits hard (Now I understand Beatles and Elvis fans). I still have more CDs, DVDs, and other stuff of his than hers, but I’ve seen her in concert a bunch of times while I never got to see him. That really fucking sucks because now I’ll never have that chance. *sigh*
Anyway, I watched the BET awards last night, and while they can stand to put it together a bit better every year, I liked that in a matter of 3 days they transformed it into a memorial for him. It was just this massive celebration and it was wonderful to see how he was loved. I particularly loved Jamie Foxx’s opening statement:
“No need to be sad. We are going to celebrate this black man – this black man. He belongs to us, and we shared him with everybody else.”
It also seemed that everyone was adding little MJ touches to their performances, and the show opener was New Edition (with Bobby Brown O.O), who did a medley of Jackson 5 songs, including my two faves: “I Want You Back” and “The Love You Save“. However, someone has to tell Ricky that the days of hitting high notes are over. >.>
Ne-Yo did a lovely rendition of “The Lady in My Life” (You can hear that one on Absolution), which is one of the most romantic songs EVER and a long time fave off the Thriller CD. Jamie kept us laughing because he kept coming on stage in different MJ outfits (Beat it, Billie Jean, Thriller) and at the end, he and Ne-Yo sang “I’ll Be There” (Jackson 5) as they showed a montage of photos on the big screen.
But what brought tears to my eyes (besides the finale) was when Janet took the stage. She looked beautiful in her white outfit, but there was so much pain on her face. She came to thank everyone and said all of the family wanted to come, but it was too painful for them (Joe Jackson did show, but he never took the stage). Her voice was breaking and I just knew she was going to cry. 
It was pretty emotional.
But all in all, it was a nice tribute, and I know other music awards will follow suit when they come around. Some of the performances, though… (and this isn’t about Mike-oriented stuff) were brow-raising. Like Beyonce’s. WTF was she actually attempting up there? Opera? It was awful, as was that terrible “fairy” outfit she was wearing. Once and for all (because someone has to say it) stop letting your mother design your clothes. Seriously. Her talent is NOT in that area, and it’s painfully obvious EVERY time you take the stage.
Another girl that made me get up and take a soda break was someone called Keri Hilson, or something (Never even heard of her before last night). She looked like this tore up version of Rhianna and whatever that was she was singing was really bad. Case and point? When you’re commanding an audience to sing with you and you get stone silence? Yeah, it’s not good. I later heard that she likes to dis other artists and talk trash. I sort of had that feeling, though, because on the read carpet they asked her what performance she was looking forward to and she said her own. (I had this real o.O “Who is YOU?” moment there.) Disaster from start to finish. Elvis on crack. So, all I can say is if you plan to talk shit, you better be able to back it up. That mess she produced last night was not her A game (I hope).
It was fun to see Keith Sweat, Guy, and BBD again, though. It brought back so many memories of when my mom was alive and she introduced me to all of these R&B groups/singers. So we sang and danced around in here last night! It’s like Jamie said, it was a celebration and I, for one, had a good time. 😀
The MJ thing has had me a mess all weekend, so I didn’t finish Chapter 3 of Loved yet. I’ll be working on it today after work, though, so I’m crossing my fingers that I can finally deliver something tonight.
Also, did you hear that Billy Mays, the OxyClean guy passed away of a heart attack? That sucks so much. He, too, was just 50. Such a shame. I used to call him “Home Improvement” (after the old TV show) and it was so sad to hear that he was gone. So much death in the last few days; it makes me appreciate life a lot more.
I now leave you with an image of Janet Jackson from last night.
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Tuesday, 30 June, 2009 at 13:43
Awww..I felt so bad for Janet. :'( No matter how annoying/frustrating they can be, I can’t imagine how horrible I’d feel losing one of my brothers. I didn’t catch MTV’s, but the VH1 vids were nice, too. My little cousin was watching it with me and he’d never seen much of MJ, so it was kinda funny, and a little bittersweet, seeing him there with his eyes bugged going “Wow! This guy can dance!” and trying to mimic it, remembering that I thought and did (moonwalk? I don’t know anyone who DIDN’T try it out) the same thing when I was little. It really sucks that he’s gone. I was so excited for the comeback.
I came across this, if you wanna check it out: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/06/an-artistic-homage-to-michael-jackson/
Artists from different parts of the world paying tribute to him. Its really pretty.
Hope all is well with you and that you’re in better spirits. I think BET had the right idea celebrating his life and his music, and it was nice that they did that for him.
…and yeah. Keri Hilson IS pretty stank.
Just saying >.>
Tuesday, 30 June, 2009 at 15:03
AM!
Thank you so much! I loved the website and saved several of the artworks from it. That first pic is just AMAZING. It’s nice to see such an outpouring of love for him. If you listen to the media, they would have you believe that the majority of the world hated him, but it’s the complete opposite. I was looking at the website for the Daily News (NY paper) and they had a slideshow of the memorials that have sprouted all over the world. It was a sight to behold and it’s a reminder of just how many lives he touched. He was a living legend, and now, an angel.
They’re holding a public memorial and viewing at Nevrland Ranch and I can’t think of anything more fitting. I wish I could go, but I’ll be watching on TV. The BET awards, well, they could have done more for Mike, and overall, they put on the shoddiest show of all the different awards shows (I know from watching so many times), but they tried and they made it more of a celebration than a mourning.
And hooray for the kiddies lovin’ on some Mike! I was a bit quiet about my hero worship, but I indulged in MJ all the time. He and Janet are #1 and 2 in my book, respectively. So needless to say, I was devastated by his passing. But I’ve spent my weekend fattening my already massive MJ collection and flooding my iPod with all of the videos I didn’t have on there. It’s not the same as knowing he’s alive and okay wherever he is, but at least he’ll always be with me in some way.
And who the heck is Keri Hilson, ya know? I mean, this girl was sucktacular, to say the least, and then to learn that she bad mouths other artists? ::snort:: Reminds me of fandom, ne? Lots of people trashing other writers and artists, but when you look at their shit, you’re like o_O “No… it’s in your best interest to shut up. Now.” lol.
Wednesday, 1 July, 2009 at 2:33
Enjoy the MJ love while you can, because you just know skeletons will be coming out of the closet when it’s will reading time. His family and friends failed him spectacularly while he was alive, and I doubt they’ll be any better now that he’s died. Mark my words, it’ll be worse than when the tabloids incited his former employees to make up stories about him during the first molestation investigation. It’s not something I’m looking forward to.
Wednesday, 1 July, 2009 at 11:41
Tell me about it. It’s already starting. He wasn’t gone 2 days before a former “nanny” was selling stories to The Sun, saying that she had to have his stomach pumped “many times” because he ate too little and took too many meds. It stems back to the dancing. I didn’t even know he had suffered a broken leg after falling off of a stage, and you just know with those moves he put a lot of wear and tear on himself. *sigh*
The Apollo was outrageously jammed, and how I wish I could go to Neverland for his viewing. But I think CNN is going to show it, so I’ll watch (and cry) there. I’ve cried every, single day since it happened. I just can’t believe it. I really can’t. I’ve basically turned my comp into a shrine: wallpaper, all of teh ideos, interviews, etc. I had a lot of them already, but I wanted a few concerts and the oprah interview, plus the alt. videos for “They Don’t Care About Us” (the prison one) and “Who Is It?” (the one with the hooker).
Btw, the will was already read. It was from 2002 and he left everything to his kids, his mom, and a couple of charities. Nothing for that asshat, Joe. Can you even believe how he was plugging his record company during interviews? I despise that man and all the horrible things he’s said and done to Mike. I think he’s VERY responsible for how introverted and reclusive he turned out to be.