This year's BET Awards ceremony was reformatted at almost literally the last minute, when planners decided to turn the event into a nearly four-hour Michael Jackson tribute.
The award presentations themselves were only footnotes on a night that was entirely consumed with honoring Michael, and rightfully so - nobody's going to remember who won a BET award 20 years from now, but our grandchildren will know Michael Jackson's music. They'll dance and hit high falsettos just like we try to do to this day. Just this morning I saw two kids trying to moonwalk at Starbucks. So what if they hit the display rack and dozens of shitty CDs scattered across the floor? They were honoring the man.
Here's our collection of the best - and worst - moments from this year's BET Awards.
Good: Jamie Foxx hosted the ceremony this year, but he was also a nominee and a performer - his jokes were reserved but funny ("I loved the old nose and the new nose"), and his live performance of the hit “Blame It On the Alcohol” was a well-placed moment of levity in the night. Jamie's moonwalk attempt wasn't half bad, despite tripping over himself at one point. Disagree? I'd like to see you do better.
The group insisted they be shot from at least 30 feet away.
Good: New Edition took things back to the ‘70s, which Jackson thrived in with his brothers as a child star. Rather than a medley of all Jackson's career hits, the closest we came were Jackson 5 hits such as this. Bobby Brown was looking a bit on the chunkalicious side, but it was good to see him hitting his cues and not cracking out on Whitney.
Bad: The same can't be said for Jay-Z's "surprise" performance his new single “D.O.A.,” presumably off his upcoming Blueprint 3 album, due out later this year. The performance was said to have been a replacement for a possible planned Chris Brown-led tribute to the fallen icon. BET execs reportedly felt that Brown's presence would be a distraction, so they replaced him with Hova, who did a fine job with a mediocre song (let's face it) but a self-promoting song about murdering anything seemed largely out of place in a night devoted to honoring a deceased legend.
Good & Bad: Beyonce's presentation and performance was as overblown and lavish as the hype surrounding her (you've heard the "successor to the throne" talk, haven't you?), with a tiara and a wedding dress supplemented by a wind machine. Fortunately, her medley of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" and the classic "Ave Maria" were tear-jerkingly beautiful renditions.
Bad: The Young Money performance was, to put it mildly, a bloody disaster. Lil Wayne and newcomer/ apparent golden child Drake took the stage for the song "Every Girl," a track that essentially documents Lil Wayne's sexual escapades with girls around the world. They ended the performance with a gathering of dancers that looked to have a combined age of 19 - including Weezy's pre-teen daughter.
Bad: Soulja Boy was there. Not only that, but he also performed the shiteous "Turn My Swag On" track, which I recently had the extreme displeasure of watching spread like wildfire through the impressionable, corn-fed alabaster herds of Southeast Michigan.
Good: The fake movie trailer “Skank Robbers,” which found Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence revisit their famed female alter-egos Wanda and Sha Nay Nay turning out a performance that looks better than half the movies we're supposed to be getting excited about this summer.
Good & Bad: The endless Don Cornelius rant. “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius appeared on stage to present an honorary award to the O’Jays, but managed to shift the conversation his own way and stretch his introduction out to great lengths. “Wow, Don, that was very short!,” The O’Jays said when accepting the award. “He’s always been that slow." But then again, "Soul Train" broke half the acts sitting in the room that night, so he's got a right to talk for an hour straight if he wants to.
Good & Bad: The performances weren't lip-synched, a clear siren call for respectability and authenticity in the industry. As a result, however, almost every singer or performer was slightly flat or off-key. Best New Artist winner Keri Hilson was the sole exception, tearing off a searing medley of "Turnin' Me On" and "Knock You Down".
Bad: The running time. The Oscar-length running time of this year’s BET Awards was 3 hours, 45 minutes. Sure, it was a heartfelt tribute, but by the third hour of the show I was ready to give Michael a break and change the channel.
Good: Janet Jackson made a brief appearance at the end of the show, addressing the audience as a representative of the entire Jackson family: "To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael was family, and he will live forever in our hearts....thank you. Thank you." Then Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo performed a spot-on, tear-jerking duet of the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There.” It was a beautiful finish to an off-balance but well-intentioned broadcast that will be remembered as a successful tribute to the fallen King Of Pop.
The winners:
• Male R&B Artist: Ne-Yo.
• Female R&B Artist: Beyonce.
• Group: Day 26.
• Collaboration: “Blame It,” Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain.
• Male Hip Hop Artist: Lil Wayne.
• Female Hip Hop Artist: M.I.A.
• New Artist: Keri Hilson.
• Gospel Artist: Mary Mary.
• Video of the Year: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” Beyonce.
• Video Director of the Year: Benny Boom.
• Actor: Will Smith.
• Actress: Taraji P. Henson.
• Female Athlete: Serena Williams.
• Male Athlete: LeBron James.
• Centric Award: Jazmine Sullivan.
• Viewer’s Choice Award: “Live Your Life,” T.I.
• Humanitarians of the Year: Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean.
• Lifetime Achievement Award: O’Jays
