I was wrong about the Forever Michael tribute that happened in the UK on October 8th, 2011. I was wrong about how it was all going to come about. When I went on twitter and facebook that day, I was reading updates on the concerts and I was shocked that people were stating that the concert was actually good, even solid.
So, I decided to read a few articles about the tribute. I wanted to read articles that simply discussed the concert and what happened in the concert. Here is one article I read about the concert -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/08/michel-forever-michael-jackson-concert_n_1001414.html
So, maybe that would explain why the concert was done during the manslaughter aka first degree murder trial but it isn't one because of certain donations that certain law firms and companies closely connected to the trial gave - because maybe some of the family members wanted people to focus on Michael instead of the horrible trial for just a while - a while. Even though that could be a reason why the concert happened during the time of the trial, it is still inappropriate timing.
Leona Lewis singing I'll Be There -
3T singing Why (a song that the did with their uncle that was on their debut album back in 1995) -
Gladys Knight singing Believe in Yourself -
Michael's children introducing Beyonce -
Christina Agulera performing Smile -
Cee-Lo performing "I Can't Help It" -
You are probably wondering whatever happened to those 33 Michael Jackson websites that were doing a petition to cease and desist the Michael Forever tribute? I have no idea but those websites, from my knowledge, did not release any statements regarding the aftermath of the event. I wonder why. I have to admit, I supported the petition because of the timing but I soon realized, after reading a tweet from Taj Jackson -
http://twitter.com/#!/tajjackson3/status/113366278613368832
and yes, it is possible for the family and fans to focus on the murder case and do a tribute to Michael around the same time. I think the fans that were against the tribute failed to understand was that the media was not going to focus on the Michael the entertainer and the human being. The media will focus on the "circus" that they created. The media wanted to focus on Michael being the supposed "drug addict" who doctor shopped and relied heavily on doctors and not the musical genius and humantarian that he was. A great example of this was when the audio conversation Michael was having with Conrad Murray in which he talked about building the Michael Jackson Children's Hospital and that it was his calling to help the children of the world. The media either ignore that part of the tape and focus on how he sounded or they played that part of the tape and did not make an remarks about the state that he was in and even in that state, he still cared about the children. This is what the media was going to do to Michael regarding the trial and some of the Jacksons probably did not want people to focus on the negative. Maybe the family felt that doing the tribute during the murder trial would have made people focus on Michael's impact and legacy for a while, in a way, to take a break from the trial and focus on what made people love Michael in the first place. After the tribute, life was back to normal for the Jackson family and LaToya was tweeting and watching the trial on television and Katherine was at the court proceedings watching everything unfold. Overall, maybe the only real reason why some of the Jacksons wanted to do the tribute because they wanted the public to be reminded of how great Michael was to all of us.
Links:
Article:
"'Michael Forever' , Michael Jackson Tribute Concert in Wales"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/08/michel-forever-michael-jackson-concert_n_1001414.html
Twitter:
The text came from Taj Jackson, @tajjackson3 (verified) twitter account.
Video:
The video of the performances were from youtube.com and the video of LaToya Jackson's interview was from thatgrapejuice.net blog.
Picture:
A picture of Michael when he was young from my personal harddrive.
So, I decided to read a few articles about the tribute. I wanted to read articles that simply discussed the concert and what happened in the concert. Here is one article I read about the concert -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/08/michel-forever-michael-jackson-concert_n_1001414.html
Chart-toppers, soul singers and three generations of Michael Jackson's family – including his children – celebrated the King of Pop at an energetic tribute concert Saturday, urging fans to focus on the late star's music rather than his death.
The run-up to the "Michael Forever" concert was overshadowed by the Los Angeles manslaughter trial of Jackson's doctor, and marred by fan criticism, sluggish ticket sales and dissension within the Jackson family. But once the four-hour show started, Jackson's musical genius, and the warm tributes of friends and family, carried the night.
So, maybe that would explain why the concert was done during the manslaughter aka first degree murder trial but it isn't one because of certain donations that certain law firms and companies closely connected to the trial gave - because maybe some of the family members wanted people to focus on Michael instead of the horrible trial for just a while - a while. Even though that could be a reason why the concert happened during the time of the trial, it is still inappropriate timing.
The Black Eyed Peas, probably the biggest act on the bill, pulled out of the lineup this week, citing "unavoidable circumstances."
They were the biggest acts in the bill???? The were even bigger than the Jacksons? Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson? What good would their performance be? Think about it - what MJ song can the Black Eyed Peas do? "I Wanna Be Where You Are"? "Smooth Criminal"? "Speed Demon"?
"It's not about the controversy," said R&B star Ne-Yo, who kicked off the show with a rendition of "Billie Jean," complete with some passable moonwalking. "It's not about the trial. It's not about his death. It's about celebrating his life. It's about celebrating his music."
This is a great counter-act to that," said Motown great Smokey Robinson, who gave a soulful rendition of "She's Out of My Life." "And it gives people something happy to do, rather than thinking about what's going on in the trial."
Yeah, it was a great counter-attack of the trial until Monday October the 10th came along and the trial had to resume once again. Reality hit like a ton of bricks. BTW, has anyone ever noticed that Marlon has not came to an court proceedings? What is more important than supporting his family in their crusade to get justice for his beloved brother???? I am just asking. Randy and Rebbie came to every (they probably missed a couple) court proceedings. These are just things that I have been observing.
The show mined a rich trove of Jackson hits. Leona Lewis crooned "I'll Be There," Beyonce delivered the early single "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and Jamie Foxx performed "Rock With You." Aguilera sang Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" – one of Jackson's favorite songs.
"Tonight is a history lesson," Foxx told the crowd. "We're going to cover five decades of greatness."
I could only imagine. I wonder if this concert would be on television in the near future. Knowing how the media rolls, I doubt it. The Michael Jackson Estate would be against it and the media always do what the Estate tells them.
I was trying to watch some of these performances - Ne-Yo, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, JLS (BTW, those three musical acts all got their start from the UK version of the X-Factor) Yolanda Adams, Cee-Lo, Beyonce, Christina Agulera, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, LaToya Jackson, 3T, the Jackson brothers and the Jackson family - on youtube but I do not know where I can find the performances. Let me see what I can find......
Oh, look - I found some performances. Awesome.
The Jacksons featuring JLS performing Blame It On The Boogie
Smokey Robinson singing She's Out of My Life -
Leona Lewis singing I'll Be There -
3T singing Why (a song that the did with their uncle that was on their debut album back in 1995) -
Gladys Knight singing Believe in Yourself -
Michael's children introducing Beyonce -
Christina Agulera performing Smile -
You are probably wondering whatever happened to those 33 Michael Jackson websites that were doing a petition to cease and desist the Michael Forever tribute? I have no idea but those websites, from my knowledge, did not release any statements regarding the aftermath of the event. I wonder why. I have to admit, I supported the petition because of the timing but I soon realized, after reading a tweet from Taj Jackson -
http://twitter.com/#!/tajjackson3/status/113366278613368832
we can't do both? “@Melvy_MJ:@tajjackson3 is NOT the time to make a tribute ,MJ Fans us fight for JUSTICE ,”
and yes, it is possible for the family and fans to focus on the murder case and do a tribute to Michael around the same time. I think the fans that were against the tribute failed to understand was that the media was not going to focus on the Michael the entertainer and the human being. The media will focus on the "circus" that they created. The media wanted to focus on Michael being the supposed "drug addict" who doctor shopped and relied heavily on doctors and not the musical genius and humantarian that he was. A great example of this was when the audio conversation Michael was having with Conrad Murray in which he talked about building the Michael Jackson Children's Hospital and that it was his calling to help the children of the world. The media either ignore that part of the tape and focus on how he sounded or they played that part of the tape and did not make an remarks about the state that he was in and even in that state, he still cared about the children. This is what the media was going to do to Michael regarding the trial and some of the Jacksons probably did not want people to focus on the negative. Maybe the family felt that doing the tribute during the murder trial would have made people focus on Michael's impact and legacy for a while, in a way, to take a break from the trial and focus on what made people love Michael in the first place. After the tribute, life was back to normal for the Jackson family and LaToya was tweeting and watching the trial on television and Katherine was at the court proceedings watching everything unfold. Overall, maybe the only real reason why some of the Jacksons wanted to do the tribute because they wanted the public to be reminded of how great Michael was to all of us.
LaToya Jackson being interviewed by the blog thatgrapejuice,net.
Michael from the 1970s.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Links:
Article:
"'Michael Forever' , Michael Jackson Tribute Concert in Wales"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/08/michel-forever-michael-jackson-concert_n_1001414.html
Twitter:
The text came from Taj Jackson, @tajjackson3 (verified) twitter account.
Video:
The video of the performances were from youtube.com and the video of LaToya Jackson's interview was from thatgrapejuice.net blog.
Picture:
A picture of Michael when he was young from my personal harddrive.
