Whilst looking for something on my laptop, I dug up this review I wrote on the 2006 World Music Awards, which I attended here in London. Written, initially, for placement on a Michael Jackson site, I thought to share it with you guys. Enjoy.

I’m gonna cut straight to the chase…

Linsay Lohan sucked as a host…badly. She did no skits or entrance and essentially read off the auto-cue. Terrible.

Beyonce opened the show. She tore that motherf**ker down. She is a natural…it was effortless. She did the dance break from Ring The Alarm first (which I did not expect) and then went straight into Deja Vu. She performed again, didn’t see much of it though…I’ll get to why in a minute…

Even if I tried, I can’t remember a lot of the ‘world’ acts that performed. So I’ll jump straight to Nelly Furtado, who sang her new single ‘Why Do All Good Things Come to an End’. She did really good and was generally received well.

After (and sometimes during) every segment the whole arena would chant ‘Michael Michael Michael’, sing his songs etc. I’m talking from the rafters to the standing section where I was. Say what you want about him, but the man has loyal fans and could pack out most arenas across the world.

Anyway…

Paris Hilton got booed so hard, I felt sorry for her. Once she realised how bad it was, she just played up to the role of ‘spoilt show-off’.

Now the standing area was packed and I was fortunate enough to be roughly third row(ish) back there. Inevitably pushing started, I was having none of it and had words with a few people. Nonetheless I was no longer comfortable and was squashed. With no water being passed out until later, I was starting to feel the heat, yet was still anxious to see Michael etc. At the very moment I said to myself ‘imagine paying all that money to come here and faint’, I started to get woozy headed…everything turned into a blur and then it went black…all I could hear was ‘is he ok?’, ‘he’s fainted’ etc. So with that, the people I came with had to escort me from my 3rd row view to the very back of standing where I passed out on the floor…damn.

The announcer then said ‘please welcome back Beyonce’. One of the girls I went with grabbed the camera and ran. So much for looking after me (lol, I would have done the same thing…not missing **** for nobody lol). ‘To the left, to the left’ rang out and Beyonce performed again, while I was now recovering on the floor. I shook myself out of it though, drunk two Red Bull’s and woke the hell up. I was not missing Michael Jackson.

I eventually ‘excuse-me-ed’ my way close to where I was standing before. Beyonce came out AGAIN (talk about recycling the same stars) and introduced Michael Jackson as the recipient of the Diamond Award (over 100 million Thriller albums sold). I have NEVER, EVER, seen a crowd go wild like that… EVER. People were randomly bursting out in tears…genuinely in awe of him. Can’t no one say that the ‘Michael Jackson effect’ of the 80s doesn’t exist no more. It was in full effect last night. Most of you know the deal with MJ acceptance speeches…he begins to talk…gets drowned out by the crowd appreciation…says ‘I love you too’…etc lol.

Poor Rihanna…she came on straight after MJ (we were all expecting him to go straight into performance), but, no, it was her. When they announced her name…a lot of people booed. Not because they hated her, but they wanted Michael. Anyway, she sang Unfaithful. I won’t lie; the girl can, indeed, sing and has definitely developed a stage presence. Still, her voice is a little too whiney and nasal for my liking. Anyway she got a big applause after, yet seemed pissed (bitch, please) and went straight off stage…didn’t wave or acknowledge the audience at all.

The opening of Thriller started…people were expecting it to be Michael. Yet Chris Brown appeared and did a really good tribute…full red ensamble and everything. Like Rihanna his voice was a bit too whiney and pre-pubescent, however he nailed the Thriller choreography. Chris did a very respectable job. Good stuff. This, though, left the audience in a state of confusion; what was Michael to perform, if CB did Thriller?

A choir of teens filed onto the stage. They sang (mimed) 3/4 of We Are The World to the backing track and then MJ arrived. Here’s where people were a little PO’ed (after the show, might I add). He basically walked up and down the stage collecting posters, flowers etc and mumbled a few words of the song – and then left. I was told by a relative who watched the news that MJ said that he wasn’t performing and was there to collect the award. That explains why the whole We Are The World performance looked so hastily arranged. As you all know, this was built up to be his ‘comeback’ performance…in fairness to him there was never any ‘official official’ word on him performing. Rather rumors and hearsay snowballed and hyped everyone up for a Thriller-esque performance that was never going to happen. MJ and/or his people have to take slight blame for this…people bought tickets expecting him to perform…this could have been cleared up with a press release or something beforehand. It kind of leaves me a bit worried about the people MJ still has around him; surely clarifying his role at the awards beforehand would have left people in no doubt of what they were paying to see. However sitting back and letting people think it will be this show-stopping ‘comeback’ performance and then it not happening is like MJ shooting himself in the foot. Now the media over here are having field day.

I was interviewed by GMTV. I did it to, primarily, counter-act much of the negative interviews disgruntled fans were giving (and to get on TV). It wasn’t shown. The one’s aired showed fans heated and angry and nothing really positive. No surprises there.

Personally, I had a great time, mainly due to seeing Michael Jackson in the flesh for the first time as well as the spectacle that was Beyonce. The award’s itself was very badly organised, though. Long queue waiting hours, huge gaps in the show, among other things, left a very salty taste in my mouth.

With how yesterday went down, it is IMPERATIVE that Michael shows everyone why he is the superstar he is. He will forever be the King of Pop, but it seems the mainstream media as well as the general public need to be reminded. Remind them then Michael.

Any thoughts on the review?
With the season premiere date of the new Making The Band drawing ever nearer, the official trailer has surfaced. Needless to say, this looks like it’s gonna be good:

On a side note, did anyone else notice barely notice Shannon? The show first episode will air on MTV on January 28th at 10pm.

Will you be watching?

Martin Lawrence stars alongside Mike Epps, Mo’Nique and Cedric The Entertainer in his new movie ‘Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. Check out the film’s trailer below:

Though, I’m getting the vibe that all the best parts were in the trailer, I may just go out and see this one. ‘Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins’ hits theatres across the US in February.

Will you be seeing ‘Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins’

Lil’ Kim stopped by G-Unit Radio recently to discuss a number of things including her on-going beef with Remy Ma. This is kinda getting a little tiresome, yet she’s going at her (Ma) real hard lol…listen.

Your thoughts?

A shocking report, released yesterday, by The Times Union of Albany implies that famed musicians 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Timbaland, Wyclef Jean and renown author/ playwright Tyler Perry may have received or used performance enhancing drugs. Check out the Fox News report below:

Music-big names like Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean came up in connection with an Albany, N.Y.-based steroid investigation, The Times Union of Albany reported.

Citing unidentified sources, the report alleged that the above-mentioned music stars, along with award-winning author and producer Tyler Perry, may have received or used performance-enhancing drugs.

Grammy-winning singer Blige blasted the report when reached for comment by the New York Daily News.

“Mary J. Blige has never taken any performance-enhancing illegal steroids,” the singer’s spokeswoman Karynne Tencer told the News.

Ken Sunshine, a spokesman for Perry, declined to comment to the Associated Press.

Law-enforcement officials have said evidence does not indicate the celebrities broke the law. For now, at least, officials are focusing on the doctors, pharmacists and clinics providing the drugs.

Whilst some of these aren’t really a shock (no names mentioned), the appearance of others are kinda surprising. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of this all…

Your thoughts?
Mary J. Blige - 'Hurt Again'It has been confirmed – as per Mary J. Blige’s PR team, that the singer will be releasing the Dre & Vidal produced ‘Hurt Again’ as the next single from her already-Platinum ‘Growing Pains’ CD. The song replaces ‘Work That’ (the previously announced follow-up to ‘Just Fine’) as the LP’s 2nd single. Though I really like the song, I’m not so sure about it how it’ll do. To be honest, I’m kinda baffled as to Mary’s single choices this go round.

Are you feeling ‘Hurt Again’ as the next single?
Ashanti - The Way That I Love You

The full version of ‘The Way That I Love You’ by R&B star Ashanti surfaced today. Remember, a snippet of the track was posted in early December. The LT Hutton produced track has been confirmed as the lead single from Ashanti’s forthcoming album ‘The Declaration’ – and not ‘Hey Baby (After the Club)’ as previously stated by the singer and her label.

Upon hearing the track in it’s entirety, I’m thinking Ashanti really has a shot at hitting the top with this one. It’s easily her best single in a long while. Welcome back Ashanti… {Thanks Melissa }

Hit or Miss?

 

 

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The 1st Annual BET Honors were held this past Saturday in Washington D.C. Homage was paid to celebrated blacks from differing fields of work. The honorees were Tyra Banks (Media), Alicia Keys (Entertainment), Dr. Cornel West (Inspirational/Education), Richard Parsons (Corporate), the Honorable Maxine Waters (Government) and CEO Janice Bryant Howroyd (Entrepreneur).
Actor / comdian Cedric The Entertainer hosted the show which will air on the network on February 22nd. Performers on the night included, Ne-Yo, Jill Scott, John Legend, Wyclef, and Raheem DeVaughn.
What do you think of the pics?
Leona Lewis Covers Harper BaazarUK singing sensation Leona Lewis graces the cover of Harper Baazar’s February issue. Looking great I must say. Having already dominated both the single and album charts here in the UK over the past few months, Leona’s debut album ‘Spirit’ is set to hit the US on March 18th.
What do you think of the cover?
Raz-B Calls Into Hot 97Controversial former B2K member Raz-B called into New York radio station Hot 97 this morning. Raz, real name DeMario Thornton, thanked everyone for ‘the love’ – yet opted to not directly address the allegations he made. Knowing Miss Jones (the host), she wasn’t going to let him off like that lol.. Check out the interview….

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Solange and Baby Daniel

In an interview with WENN, Beyonce’s younger sister Solanage offered advice to 16 year old Jamie Lynn Spears – the pregnant sister of troubled pop star Britney Spears:

“I have been so blessed that my son is the coolest kid ever. Of course, that first year of not sleeping and just being dedicated to him had tough parts but that’s fine. It’s been a blast for me. A lot of people have doubts, but when you have a child I think it takes a really non-emotional person not to have a blast, no matter what age. I’ve heard stories of people who were 14 that had kids and basically snapped into it and got into the groove of motherhood. I think that emotional attachment, there’s nothing out of it that you could regret. {Source}

Your thoughts?
Check out this remix of Snoop Dogg’s latest hit ‘Sensual Seduction’ featuring the Queen Bee, Lil’ Kim. As ever, Kim is her raunchy self and it’s pretty good version of the song.
Hit or Miss?

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