The BET Awards was billed as an all-night tribute to the King of Pop. The show even was extended by 30 minutes, and awards were given out to some winners on the Red Carpet to allow more time during the actual show to pay homage to Michael Jackson, who died of cardiac arrest at the age of 50 three days before while preparing for a comeback. Iconic singer Janet Jackson saved the night when she made her first public appearance at the end of the show to mourn her big brother.

During the live broadcast, there were no magnificent tributes or eccentric dancing, unless you count the doo-wop routines of New Edition and the O-Jays, who performed their own hits “Back Stabbers”, “For The Love of Money” and other songs after being awarded BET’s Lifetime Award.

The show looked more like The Funk Fest with the O’Jays, BBD, Guy and Keith Sweat performing their old hits.
Host Jamie Foxx wore throwback MJ gear throughout the show and moonwalked across the stage earlier in the broadcast. He continually remarked that the night belonged to Michael Jackson while simultaneously plugging his own upcoming Las Vegas concert.

The best performances of the night had nothing to do with Michael Jackson. Best New Artist Keri Hilson, Soulja Boy Tell’ Em, Jay Z, Keisha Cole and Monica had rocking performances of their own songs. Even Foxx’s performance of his hit “Blame It” was electric with Blink 182’s Travis Barker banging on the drums.
Maxwell looked dapper while singing his new single, “Pretty Wings”, and feathers fell from the ceiling and onto the L.A. Shrine Auditorium audience as he closed the song. Beyonce sang “Ave Maria” beautifully in English and Spanish wearing a sheer white umbrella-like ballerina dress.

But why didn’t B sing one of her more popular songs? Someone on Twitter wrote that his niece was disappointed that Beyonce didn’t perform “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” in which she wears a shiny metallic glove reminiscent of MJ’s glittery glove. She accepted awards for Best Female R&B Artist and Viewers Choice, and she thanked Michael Jackson and also the legions of fans who posted their own version of her “Single Ladies” routine on YouTube.
Singer/pianist Alicia Keys and producer Wyclef Jean received Humanitarian Awards. Wyclef said no one has an excuse because he started out in a hut in Haiti and moved to the projects and now lives in a mansion. Alicia lavished praise on Michael Jackson, who had 14 No. 1 hits and 13 Grammys, and she remarked about all of the energy in the atmosphere.
Too bad none of the energy was used for MJ-inspired dance sequences.
What happened to the all-night performance tributes to the man who inspired them all? The man who Best Male Hip Hop award winner Lil’ Wayne said paved the way for all of the artists before his profanity-filled song about hooking up with a bunch of females while underage-looking girls pranced around the stage.
Where were Usher, Chris Brown and Justin Timberlake — all electric singers and dancers who have made a career of copying Michael Jackson? Ciara, another MJ singing-and-dancing machine, sat on a stool to wail the King of Pop’s humanitarian anthem, “Heal the World,” while wearing a Jackson-inspired military jacket.
BET’s tribute was mainly in the first 30 minutes of the three-and-a-half hour show with New Edition’s rendition of The Jackson 5’s hits, Jamie Foxx’s brief “Beat It” routine and moonwalk across the stage, and Ne-Yo holding his composure while sitting on a stool to sing MJ’s “The Lady In My Life”.

Foxx and Ne-Yo closed the show with a duet of “I’ll Be There”. Mariah Carey would have been more appropriate considering she brought The Jackson 5’s 1970 No. 1 hit back to life with her 1992 version that became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts.
Most of the show kept Twittering-viewers wondering when an artist was going to perform a memorable Michael Jackson routine.
The show got weird when the cast of BET BlackBuster movie Baby Boy, which included Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, Transformers co-star Tyrese Gibson and Ving Rhames, argued with each other while in character. Then, Rhames turned to the audience and told them to repeat over-and-over something about guns. MJ fan and multiple Grammy Award winner Kanye West, who had a front row seat with model girlfriend Amber Rose, looked stunned and squirmed in his seat.
How embarrassing for this to be part of a tribute to the greatest performer of our time while the world is watching.
Up until the show’s final six minutes, Twitter folks wondered when Chris Brown was going to perform. But Janet Jackson rescued the show by taking the stage in her first public appearance since her big brother’s death to thank everyone for their support.
“My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful,” Janet said while holding back tears. “So they elected me to speak with all of you. To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family. And he will forever live in all of our hearts.”
View the final minutes of BET Awards, including Janet Jackson’s appearance and Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx’s “I’ll Be There Duet”.

The family patriarch Joe Jackson sat in the front row during the entire show, and he had to be disappointed, especially after Lil’ Wayne, Young Money and Canadian rapper Drake’s profanity-laced performance in which whole verses were bleeped out, right before Janet walked up to pay tribute to her brother and bring the Shrine Auditorium audience and viewers on Twitter to tears.
The BET Awards would have been satisfying if it hadn’t been billed as an all-night MJ love fest. So it ended up taking a Jackson to fulfill the promise of properly honoring the late legendary Michael Jackson.

By Teneshia LaFaye

Buy a limited edition I Was There, King of Pop Commemorative Journal featuring many of these stories to remember the positive side of Michael Jackson’s life. The journal went on sale at the pop icon’s public memorial in L.A., and a limited supply is left over. Don’t let this moment pass you by. Get the journal while supplies last as a keepsake for MJ’s passing with spaces for your personal experience and pictures.

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