The BET awards for 2009 took place last week. And al always we got some performances. Some good, some bad and the overall smell of shit you can some to expect from BET these days. What really enevloped the award show this year was the passing of the King of pop. The musical legend and pioneer that is Michael Jackson. So last minute additions in the forms of tributes and a huge audience turn out in his honour made this award show that bit bigger and that bit more memorable.
To see the performances in full and to watch a crack head dance in a tasselled waistcoat. Keep on goin...
New edition - Jackson 5 medley
The best part of this performance was seeing P. Diddy clearly mouth "Bobby Brown!!!!" when he realized the crack head n***a was also on stage. I wasn't a huge fan of this performance though. Something about it just didn't sit right with me for some reason. I know New edition were hugely influenced by the Jackson 5. But this tribute was kinda whack. It served it's purpose though, which was to keep people in the crowd singing along, and remind everybody how Jackson 5 had HITS in the bag.
Keri Hilson - Turnin' me on & Knock you down
Downers of Michael's passing aside, Keri delivered that big, loud, eye catching performance of the night. And she showed her love to the king of Pop by rocking the white socks and loafers, and looking hotter than she should have wearing 'em. Keri sounded really shaky. But the on stage theatrics kept things entertaining. The chorepgraphy was hot and Keri's swagger was there in spades. Gotta give it to the girl. (And boy, would I give it to her!) It's a shame Ne-Yo and Kanye didn't join her on stage to deliver their verses, as they were both at the event. But I guess Keri didn't want n***a's to outshine her as they did on the song.
Keri should've thrown some controversy up in that performance, just to take it over the edge. She should've spat her remix verse of "Turnin' me on". Just to make bitches in the crowd feel uncomfortable. And that when she dropped the "And you came in, and knocked me on my face" line for "Knock you down", she should've had Chris Brown actually knock her down, and have her DJ mix in "Disturbia".
Ne-Yo - Lady in my life
BAD!!! Ne-Yo f**kin' SMACKED IT with this performance. Michael Jackson has been an undeniable influence on Ne-Yo's music and style. And whilst I can't speak for the king himself, I feel he did him proud with this performance. Say what you will about Ne-Yo, but ain't no denying his live vocal ability.
"Lady in my life" wasn't a song I played often on Thriller. It being the last song on the album and me constantly flicking between "Wanna be startin' something", "Human nature" and "P.Y.T" have always had me lock the album off before it comes around. But Ne-Yo made me like this song a heck of a lot more because of his rendition of it. The only thing that spoilt it was seeing Joe Jackson. The guy's face looks like that of an an Action man that's been left behind a radiator on 5. I don't know the dude personally, but he just seems like a right arsehole to me. Whilst he's the man responsible for making Michael the star he is, I think he's also the reason Michael was so messed up. But I won't go into that. To rope it back to Ne-Yo, he did an amazing job with this song. One of my fave performances of the night. I'm in awe every time I listen to and watch this.
Jamie Foxx featuring Travis Barker, Snoop Dogg & T-Pain - Blame it
The night needed a performance like this that people could just get loose to, and this was the one. I love "Blame it". Don't nothing knock in a club like it. Jamie was clearly miming most of his verses, but most people in the crowd were to busy wil'ing out to even care. The performance itself wasn't that great. But the live instrumentations were hot. Blink 182's Travis Barker on the drums was an odd inclusion, but he rocked it. It's good to see he's in good health after his being caught up in a threatening accident last year. I got love for Travis Barker, 'cause I dig his Famous Stars and straps T-shirts. Whenever I wear 'em people ask where I got them. I gotta get me more of those, but they're so hard to find! The shops I bought them in originally either closed down, or they don't stock 'em anymore.
Keyshia Cole featuring Monica - Trust
Monica made Keyshia look like a back-up singer when she came onto the stage. She was hitting notes and swaggin' like she was headlining. She sounded great and looked nice. What she was styling in looked hot on the stage; but she looked a thugged out Morticia Addams mess when she wore similar get-up on the red carpet. I like how Keyshia is finally starting to dress with more class and femininity. It took her long enough. She also made damn certain to tame those titties in that jumpsuit too. Because those who've seen the "Shoulda let you go" video know she's got a rack and a half on her. I wasn't feeling the Monica Lewinski wig. But she did look nice and tamed the hood in her.
I'm not too into Monica or Keyshia, but this was a really nice performance which did a great job of highlighting them both. It was a good look for Monica. She needs to be letting people know she's still around and can still sing. Unless she wants another flop album to tally, and to end up cleaning Clive Davis' house for money.
Janet Jackson's words | Ne-Yo & Jamie Foxx - I'll be there
That performance was beautiful and moving. I almost welled up upon watching and hearing this. Ne-Yo and Jamie sounded great together. Great performance.
My heart was breaking for Janet before she even said a word, because I've always loved Janet. I'm actually a bigger Janet fan than Michael. And I know her and Michael were really close. Janet said it best with the one powerful line: "To you he's an icon, to us he's family". In the midst of many of us talking about how shit we feel and how we're so hurt, we forget about those who are devestated the most by Michael's passing: his family. None of us knew him eprsonally. We can still listen to his music, watch his music videos and admire him from a distance as we always have, and it'll be enough. But for his family, it won't be. They won't get to talk to him, touch his face, hold his hand, hold him in their arms. His children won't get to spend time with their father - and this is what we forget sometimes.
Keith Sweat, Guy & Bell Biv Devoe
BET threw it BACK! I was never too keen on Keith Sweat's music. His voice always got on my nerves. I wasn't up on Guy neither. But Bell Bev Divoe!? HELL YEAH! "Poision" is just one of those jams that never gets old. Plus, of all 3 acts they were the ones who hit the stage looking the least outdated and like they were struglling to keep up. The dance moves made me cringe a little. But it was all in the name of nostalgia. "Poison" is just such a hot song, that no dance on earth can ruin that song for me now.
Beyoncé - Ave Maria / Angel
As always the Beyondroid had to go and take a song that's 3 minutes and stretch it into a 10 minute extended mix by taking one f**king word in the song and proceeding to sing it for an additional minute. She outstayed her damn welcome on that stage with that mess. Her performance was stunning though. Say what you will about her, she sounded amazing. Shit sent shivers up and down my spine. She looked great, performed a nice song (which I know her arse did NOT write despite what the inlay says) and surprised everyone. I certainly didn't expect her to sing "Ave Maria" of all songs. But in the memory of Michael Jackson's passing, it was a nice, respectful nod him without her actually singing one of his songs. Especialy with the inclusion of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel".
Ciara - Heal the world
I know a lot of fans were probably hoping that Ciara would drop some Michael Jackson moves in a (even more) MJ inspired rendition of "Love Sex Magic". But this was a nice change of pace for Ciara. You could never put Ciara in the same bracket as the Beyondroid vocally, but she did sound nice doing this song. Well...some of the time. She hit a lot of notes flatter than her own titties, plus them P's were so loud they sounded like 808's. But overall she sounded alright. She did a better job of this song than she did Diana Ross's at her tribute. Diana should've went upside Ciara's head for f**kin' up "Upside down".
Jamie Foxx featuring Ne-Yo & Fabolous - She got her own
Hot. This song is still growing on me. I was so sprung on "Miss independant" like I kinda just pushed "She got her own" to the side. But me, clubs and radio having played "Miss independant" to death - this performance has me liking it much more now. Not sure what much more I can say about Ne-Yo. Dude can't put a foot wrong live. He sounds better live than he does on studio CD recordings.
Maxwell - Pretty wings
Dude does not get enough shine for his vocal skills. But the most talented ones in the game never do. Just look at Tank! He runs circles around dudes in the game vocally, but he's the one that can't catch a hit.
This performance is one of my faves because the song is a winner and it was just a nice performance from start to finish. I love how Keri was swayin' to the song like "...Ooooooo, chil'! He needs to bring his low cut cesar over here and break me OWWWF!" I hope this performance helps momentum for his upcoming album, dnd that it schooled people on what is REAL R&B. I know it's difficult to tell right now with all these pop records masquerading as R&B joints these days. I love most of these pop songs. But let's call a spade a spade, and a pop record a pop record.
The BET awards weren't amazing. They never are. We got a couple of good performances and it was nice Michael Jackson got some nice tributes. A lot of people are hating because the show wasn't all about Michael. I'm not mad at BET for that, because this is the BET awards. Save the Michael Jackson tribute show for another day, when BET, MTV, VH1 (or whoever can actually dedicate a show to him) and the artists have more time to put together more elaborate performances and fitting tributes. Plus, you can't rely on BET for shit these days anyway. This is as much of an MJ tribute as you gon' get from BET. So let's see what MTV and VH1 can cook up.
Overall the show was crap. I'm not even gonna sugar coat because of Michael's passing. The BET awards were mad boring. If anything, the tributes to Michael Jackson were the only thing's that saved it had me watching.
To see the performances in full and to watch a crack head dance in a tasselled waistcoat. Keep on goin...
New edition - Jackson 5 medley
The best part of this performance was seeing P. Diddy clearly mouth "Bobby Brown!!!!" when he realized the crack head n***a was also on stage. I wasn't a huge fan of this performance though. Something about it just didn't sit right with me for some reason. I know New edition were hugely influenced by the Jackson 5. But this tribute was kinda whack. It served it's purpose though, which was to keep people in the crowd singing along, and remind everybody how Jackson 5 had HITS in the bag.
Keri Hilson - Turnin' me on & Knock you down
Keri should've thrown some controversy up in that performance, just to take it over the edge. She should've spat her remix verse of "Turnin' me on". Just to make bitches in the crowd feel uncomfortable. And that when she dropped the "And you came in, and knocked me on my face" line for "Knock you down", she should've had Chris Brown actually knock her down, and have her DJ mix in "Disturbia".
Ne-Yo - Lady in my life
BAD!!! Ne-Yo f**kin' SMACKED IT with this performance. Michael Jackson has been an undeniable influence on Ne-Yo's music and style. And whilst I can't speak for the king himself, I feel he did him proud with this performance. Say what you will about Ne-Yo, but ain't no denying his live vocal ability.
"Lady in my life" wasn't a song I played often on Thriller. It being the last song on the album and me constantly flicking between "Wanna be startin' something", "Human nature" and "P.Y.T" have always had me lock the album off before it comes around. But Ne-Yo made me like this song a heck of a lot more because of his rendition of it. The only thing that spoilt it was seeing Joe Jackson. The guy's face looks like that of an an Action man that's been left behind a radiator on 5. I don't know the dude personally, but he just seems like a right arsehole to me. Whilst he's the man responsible for making Michael the star he is, I think he's also the reason Michael was so messed up. But I won't go into that. To rope it back to Ne-Yo, he did an amazing job with this song. One of my fave performances of the night. I'm in awe every time I listen to and watch this.
Jamie Foxx featuring Travis Barker, Snoop Dogg & T-Pain - Blame it
The night needed a performance like this that people could just get loose to, and this was the one. I love "Blame it". Don't nothing knock in a club like it. Jamie was clearly miming most of his verses, but most people in the crowd were to busy wil'ing out to even care. The performance itself wasn't that great. But the live instrumentations were hot. Blink 182's Travis Barker on the drums was an odd inclusion, but he rocked it. It's good to see he's in good health after his being caught up in a threatening accident last year. I got love for Travis Barker, 'cause I dig his Famous Stars and straps T-shirts. Whenever I wear 'em people ask where I got them. I gotta get me more of those, but they're so hard to find! The shops I bought them in originally either closed down, or they don't stock 'em anymore.
Keyshia Cole featuring Monica - Trust
Monica made Keyshia look like a back-up singer when she came onto the stage. She was hitting notes and swaggin' like she was headlining. She sounded great and looked nice. What she was styling in looked hot on the stage; but she looked a thugged out Morticia Addams mess when she wore similar get-up on the red carpet. I like how Keyshia is finally starting to dress with more class and femininity. It took her long enough. She also made damn certain to tame those titties in that jumpsuit too. Because those who've seen the "Shoulda let you go" video know she's got a rack and a half on her. I wasn't feeling the Monica Lewinski wig. But she did look nice and tamed the hood in her.
I'm not too into Monica or Keyshia, but this was a really nice performance which did a great job of highlighting them both. It was a good look for Monica. She needs to be letting people know she's still around and can still sing. Unless she wants another flop album to tally, and to end up cleaning Clive Davis' house for money.
Janet Jackson's words | Ne-Yo & Jamie Foxx - I'll be there
That performance was beautiful and moving. I almost welled up upon watching and hearing this. Ne-Yo and Jamie sounded great together. Great performance.
My heart was breaking for Janet before she even said a word, because I've always loved Janet. I'm actually a bigger Janet fan than Michael. And I know her and Michael were really close. Janet said it best with the one powerful line: "To you he's an icon, to us he's family". In the midst of many of us talking about how shit we feel and how we're so hurt, we forget about those who are devestated the most by Michael's passing: his family. None of us knew him eprsonally. We can still listen to his music, watch his music videos and admire him from a distance as we always have, and it'll be enough. But for his family, it won't be. They won't get to talk to him, touch his face, hold his hand, hold him in their arms. His children won't get to spend time with their father - and this is what we forget sometimes.
Keith Sweat, Guy & Bell Biv Devoe
BET threw it BACK! I was never too keen on Keith Sweat's music. His voice always got on my nerves. I wasn't up on Guy neither. But Bell Bev Divoe!? HELL YEAH! "Poision" is just one of those jams that never gets old. Plus, of all 3 acts they were the ones who hit the stage looking the least outdated and like they were struglling to keep up. The dance moves made me cringe a little. But it was all in the name of nostalgia. "Poison" is just such a hot song, that no dance on earth can ruin that song for me now.
Beyoncé - Ave Maria / Angel
As always the Beyondroid had to go and take a song that's 3 minutes and stretch it into a 10 minute extended mix by taking one f**king word in the song and proceeding to sing it for an additional minute. She outstayed her damn welcome on that stage with that mess. Her performance was stunning though. Say what you will about her, she sounded amazing. Shit sent shivers up and down my spine. She looked great, performed a nice song (which I know her arse did NOT write despite what the inlay says) and surprised everyone. I certainly didn't expect her to sing "Ave Maria" of all songs. But in the memory of Michael Jackson's passing, it was a nice, respectful nod him without her actually singing one of his songs. Especialy with the inclusion of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel".
Ciara - Heal the world
I know a lot of fans were probably hoping that Ciara would drop some Michael Jackson moves in a (even more) MJ inspired rendition of "Love Sex Magic". But this was a nice change of pace for Ciara. You could never put Ciara in the same bracket as the Beyondroid vocally, but she did sound nice doing this song. Well...some of the time. She hit a lot of notes flatter than her own titties, plus them P's were so loud they sounded like 808's. But overall she sounded alright. She did a better job of this song than she did Diana Ross's at her tribute. Diana should've went upside Ciara's head for f**kin' up "Upside down".
Jamie Foxx featuring Ne-Yo & Fabolous - She got her own
Hot. This song is still growing on me. I was so sprung on "Miss independant" like I kinda just pushed "She got her own" to the side. But me, clubs and radio having played "Miss independant" to death - this performance has me liking it much more now. Not sure what much more I can say about Ne-Yo. Dude can't put a foot wrong live. He sounds better live than he does on studio CD recordings.
Maxwell - Pretty wings
Dude does not get enough shine for his vocal skills. But the most talented ones in the game never do. Just look at Tank! He runs circles around dudes in the game vocally, but he's the one that can't catch a hit.
This performance is one of my faves because the song is a winner and it was just a nice performance from start to finish. I love how Keri was swayin' to the song like "...Ooooooo, chil'! He needs to bring his low cut cesar over here and break me OWWWF!" I hope this performance helps momentum for his upcoming album, dnd that it schooled people on what is REAL R&B. I know it's difficult to tell right now with all these pop records masquerading as R&B joints these days. I love most of these pop songs. But let's call a spade a spade, and a pop record a pop record.
The BET awards weren't amazing. They never are. We got a couple of good performances and it was nice Michael Jackson got some nice tributes. A lot of people are hating because the show wasn't all about Michael. I'm not mad at BET for that, because this is the BET awards. Save the Michael Jackson tribute show for another day, when BET, MTV, VH1 (or whoever can actually dedicate a show to him) and the artists have more time to put together more elaborate performances and fitting tributes. Plus, you can't rely on BET for shit these days anyway. This is as much of an MJ tribute as you gon' get from BET. So let's see what MTV and VH1 can cook up.
Overall the show was crap. I'm not even gonna sugar coat because of Michael's passing. The BET awards were mad boring. If anything, the tributes to Michael Jackson were the only thing's that saved it had me watching.
Love the review J! You forgot to talk about Monica/Keyshia Cole's performance though :(
ReplyDeleteI agree with Buddha fully, especially with the Monica/Keyshia performance where Monica basically set out to out sing Keyshia.
ReplyDeleteSHAME! I forgot all about that performance. Thanks for the reminder. I'll add it in a bit...
ReplyDelete