Originally posted by T White: I agree with most of you guys. The show was awful. Michael Jackson helped shape the music and video that this network plays, and this is the best they could do? Really? I feel they were using his name and tragedy to boost ratings and did not organzie a proper tribute to the musical legend. Also it's not really meaningful when some rapper, who just completes a bunch of nonsense lyrics, yells out RIP MJ as he walks off stage. I'd rather hear a nice 15 minute tribute from people that actually knew and respected the man personally. Janet's speech at the end was moving.
I disagree that BET used it to boost ratings. People would've complained if BET aired the show and didn't mention his death, so you can't have it both ways.
Given the short notice, I think they did the best they could. I just think that they should have recognized his death during the show (not attempt to redo the entire thing), and then immediately announced plans to do a tribute special. That way, they would've acknowledged the tragedy during the show without delivering such a horrid "tribute."
They hyped the show up to be this great tribute to MJ but it really wasn't. So I think they did use his name for ratings. I'm also hearing from other boards that BET deliberately namedropped certain names to the media for hype (eg Justin Timberlake).
I agree with your second paragraph and that is what I would have done too. Acknowledge his passing on the show, and then do a REAL tribute show the next week with a whole week of perparing and organization.
Originally posted by syrus80: I was listening to Tom Joyner this morning and they were talking about this with Jawn Murray. According to Jawn, it was Jay-Z that got Chris Brown pulled. Jay-Z told Stephen Hill that if Chris performed the tribute, he would pull out of his performance. He also said how Beyonce pulled a diva act. She was suppose to open the show with a Jackson tribute. She wanted to perform "I'll Be There" but Stephen said he didn't want to open the show with a somber song and had suggested other more uptempo songs to get the crowd going. Beyonce refused and had threatened not to perform altogether. Jawn was saying how the producers didn't even know up until the last minute if she was still going to perform or not so New Edition was brought in to open the show.
If true (and that is a BIG if)...I say good for Jay-Z and boo for Beyonce (and generally I really enjoy her)
Why a boo? She wanted to perform something special for Micheal and not do "Ego" or "Diva". She would of been trashed down if she did do those songs, people would of been making a big o deal about it like people are now about Drake and Jamie Fox.
I'm guessing that's why she perfomed "Ave Maria" since it's something that she already knows (she performs that in her tour) and is kind of appropoiate for the show, though the costume might of thrown people off but I understand that it's hsrd to change a performance with 2 days notice and her being on tour all those two day and not have time to practice or pull together something good. She wouldn't of had time to go get a new costume, change the track of the songs (since they do intertwine) and all that.
She did the best she could with what she had and what people gave her. She did something classy and apropriate when compared to other people.
Here's the story that's going around
quote:
THIS IS THE ISIDE INFO ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AT THE BET AWARDS! READ THE FULL ARTICLE BELOW! (Amir7)
What's going on world. I haven't really blogged much since getting this account, save for putting my video work up, but after last nights BET Awards I had to say something. So many thoughts ran threw my mind last night after I watched the awards and here they are.
I did not work the BET Awards. I was there with the DP that I worked with on Girlfriends and I was there observing the show rehearsals from the control room. As you all know I go hard on twitter and the reason for a lot of my excitement was due to what I saw in rehearsal. I was one of the few people that saw the rehearsals prior to the show airing and for some reason or another a lot changed from what was originally supposed to air.
Here is what changed. Alica Keys and Wyclef were supposed to sing "Heal The World" after they accepted their humanitarian award. Beyonce was first going to sing Smooth Criminal then they changed it to I'll Be There/Halo and then she sang something from her own album the day of the show "Ava Marie". T-pain rehearsed signing "Rock With You" and that was on show rundown as well. I'm kinda glad he didn't sing that though. Then on top of all of this, of course there was the Chris Brown drama. As of Friday Chris Brown was slated to perform and he was going to sing "Man In The Mirror". I've heard a lot of rumors as to why he didn't the most talked about one being that Jay-z had him pulled from the show. Not sure if that's true but I will say this. Beyonce, Jay-Z, Al Sharpton, Joe Jackson and some of the Jackson family all sat in the front row in the same row. Jay-z and Al Sharpton have said publicly that they do not support Chris in this situation and that they sided with Rihanna. Entertainment is way more political than a lot of you may know and the mere fact that he did not perform caused such a big distraction could you imagine what may have happened if he did. This night should have been all about MJ.
With that said I would have tweeted during the show but my phone died and all I left you with was feelings of excitement about the show. I am a director but first and foremost I am a fan of a lot of these artists and I was sitting in the crowd enjoying great music like everyone else. If my phone didn't die trust me my messages would have been a lot different.
First off I love Jamie Foxx and I think he is an amazing talent. With that said I do feel that he promoted his concerts too much and him and Neyo performed way too many times. There are too many talented performers in the industry to have them sing three or four songs each. You can tell they didn't have much time to rehearse as he constantly asked if the feed was on and he walked off stage numerous times when he was supposed to be on stage. That's more of a timing thing and with two days to get ready I'll give them a pass.
In regards to the performances. I loved the old school soul music tributes with Guy, Keith Sweat and New Edition. I loved Beyonce, Jay-z, Maxwell, The Young Ojay's and the new Ojays. I thought Tevin Campbell was random as hell and I have no idea why he performed. I think that was supposed to be Chris Brown's spot because on the production schedule it just had special guest named in that segment.
Here is what I hated about the awards. In regards to the lack of the presenters announcing the nominees at the time I thought was warranted but looking back it seemed rushed and awkward. I hated Don Cornelius being anywhere near a mic and I also found it odd that so many people swore when they knew the show was live. The Baby Boy skit was in bad taste and Ving Rhames...I mean what the hell was he doing. There were way more MJ tributes and cover scheduled that for one reason or another just didn't happen. There was no news about The Game as much as they re-run the episodes and with them possibly acquiring the show I would have thought the cast would have at least presented an award. Why the hell did Young Money bring out all those kids when they where singing about ing every girl in the world? Jamie went to the top of the balcony and did a segment with the fans everyone seemed so ghetto. Everyone was mugging for the camera, holding up CD's and calling their boys, SMH These were the times during the show that I actually covered my face in embarrassment.
There were some positives. I love that BET honored people that weren't entertainers and celebrities doctors, mayors, lawyers etc. Our young people need to know that you don't have to be a rapper and an actor to be successful. A man proposed to his girlfriend during one of the commercial break, I wonder if it aired? Jamie Foxx was funny as a host and his MJ outfits were on point. Janet Jackson at the end. She was so strong for doing that. That alone made the show worth it.
All in all I am still a huge fan of awards shows, I mean, where else can you see 20 different performances in one night. I feel like BET tried to do too much and maybe they should have either dedicated an entire segment to Mike or did an entire show all about him. I definitely jumped the gun with my excitement for the show but if you would have saw what I saw then you would have said the same things I did. I so also think that it's a different experience seeing something live rather than on TV but it is what it is. I truly hope that BET steps there game up next time and they learn from this experience.
Thanks for reading
-Matthew "Mac" Cherry
Posts: 5522 | Location: Denver, CO | Registered: October 29, 2007
This Matthew Cherry has some nerve to question why Tevin Campbell performed. He should be questioning why Ciara was chosen to sing "Heal The World." Give me a singer any day over a backup dancer!
Originally posted by syrus80: I was listening to Tom Joyner this morning and they were talking about this with Jawn Murray. According to Jawn, it was Jay-Z that got Chris Brown pulled. Jay-Z told Stephen Hill that if Chris performed the tribute, he would pull out of his performance. He also said how Beyonce pulled a diva act. She was suppose to open the show with a Jackson tribute. She wanted to perform "I'll Be There" but Stephen said he didn't want to open the show with a somber song and had suggested other more uptempo songs to get the crowd going. Beyonce refused and had threatened not to perform altogether. Jawn was saying how the producers didn't even know up until the last minute if she was still going to perform or not so New Edition was brought in to open the show.
Originally posted by Brilliance inmorbid: Few Thoughts....
Loved Taraji P Henson's "So many people came up to me and said I should have won the Oscar". Who? Crackheads who didn't see any of the movies from the nominees?...
Hold up. I didn't watch the awards so I need some clarification please. Am I correct in understanding that Tajari won and then said that in her acceptance speech? If so, WTF?!
I don't have the exact quote, but I'm no more than a word or two off. I love the girl, but...
Congrats Kristen! All the PD haters can (SPOILER ALERT) Suck it!
OK, I finally watched all the performances from the BET Awards. A lot of them were boring. I will rank them from what I remember:
GOOD: Tevin Campbell (he looked good and sounded great) Ciara (it was nice to see her not dancing for once) Keyshia Cole & Monica (Monica upstaged Keyshia on that performance) Janet Jackson (highlight of the night) Maxwell (beautiful performance)
AVERAGE: Bell, Biv, DeVoe (BBD) Jamie Foxx Mary Mary & Queen Latifah Keith Sweat Trey Songz, Tyrese, Johnny Gill
BAD: Beyonce (ballads aren't her thing) Guy Keri Hilson (the girl is a terrible vocalist) Jay-Z New Edition Ne-Yo Soulja Boy 'Tell Em (this performance made me want to vomit )
Originally posted by Classof2006: Even if they only had 3 days they still could have did a much better job than that BULL****! They barely paid tribute to him at all and when they did it was crap! Beyonce was originally supposed to perform "I'll Be There/Halo" but I dont know what happened.
Ving Rhames ****ed me off. Who the hell told him to come on stage drunk as a skunk? A total embarrasment.
I also didnt like that Zoe Saldana mentioned that her co-presente, Nichele Nichols was in the ladies room and that's why she was late. That was very unprofessional and no one need to know that! I know it wasnt Zoe's fault but whoever's it was needs to be held accountable!
I think Beyonce would have done a much better job with "I'll Be There." There was no need for her to include "Halo." Up-tempo numbers are really Beyonce's thing. "Ave Maria" came across as so uninspiring.
I missed the Ving Rhames moment. Is there a clip of it? I agree that it was classless of Zoe Saldana to mention that her co-presenter was in the restroom. Talk about ghetto. Well, actually, the whole entire show was so unorganized.
Originally posted by Classof2006: Even if they only had 3 days they still could have did a much better job than that BULL****! They barely paid tribute to him at all and when they did it was crap! Beyonce was originally supposed to perform "I'll Be There/Halo" but I dont know what happened.
Ving Rhames ****ed me off. Who the hell told him to come on stage drunk as a skunk? A total embarrasment.
I also didnt like that Zoe Saldana mentioned that her co-presente, Nichele Nichols was in the ladies room and that's why she was late. That was very unprofessional and no one need to know that! I know it wasnt Zoe's fault but whoever's it was needs to be held accountable!
I think Beyonce would have done a much better job with "I'll Be There." There was no need for her to include "Halo." Up-tempo numbers are really Beyonce's thing. "Ave Maria" came across as so uninspiring.
I missed the Ving Rhames moment. Is there a clip of it? I agree that it was classless of Zoe Saldana to mention that her co-presenter was in the restroom. Talk about ghetto. Well, actually, the whole entire show was so unorganized.
I agree. Beyonce definitley would have done a great job singing "I'll Be There". Her singing "Ave Maria" didnt really fit well with the show. You can tell the audience didnt understand her performance and thought it was awkward.
Im not sure about the Ving Rhames clip but I'll see If I can find one. The whole show was an embarrasment to black people! It made us look TERRIBLE! I would go as far as saying the BET Awards was way worst than any of those Reality Shows that come on VH1. At least watching those you know their gonna be trashy,but you dont expect that from BET!
Ms Keri won Best New Artist, well deserved. HAHA!! Decatur stands up!!! ALL DAY!!!!
Maxwell was on it, the best performance by far.
Beside him, I enjoyed Keri Hilson and surprisely Ciara as well. Monica was good too.
.... Even if you are a million miles away, I can still feel you in my bed, near me, touch me, feel me and even at the bottom of the sea, I can still hear you inside my head, telling me, touch me, feel me, and all the time you were telling me lies
Posts: 4654 | Location: New York, NY | Registered: May 03, 2006
Originally posted by syrus80: I was listening to Tom Joyner this morning and they were talking about this with Jawn Murray. According to Jawn, it was Jay-Z that got Chris Brown pulled. Jay-Z told Stephen Hill that if Chris performed the tribute, he would pull out of his performance. He also said how Beyonce pulled a diva act. She was suppose to open the show with a Jackson tribute. She wanted to perform "I'll Be There" but Stephen said he didn't want to open the show with a somber song and had suggested other more uptempo songs to get the crowd going. Beyonce refused and had threatened not to perform altogether. Jawn was saying how the producers didn't even know up until the last minute if she was still going to perform or not so New Edition was brought in to open the show.
Originally posted by Classof2006: Even if they only had 3 days they still could have did a much better job than that BULL****! They barely paid tribute to him at all and when they did it was crap! Beyonce was originally supposed to perform "I'll Be There/Halo" but I dont know what happened.
Ving Rhames ****ed me off. Who the hell told him to come on stage drunk as a skunk? A total embarrasment.
I also didnt like that Zoe Saldana mentioned that her co-presente, Nichele Nichols was in the ladies room and that's why she was late. That was very unprofessional and no one need to know that! I know it wasnt Zoe's fault but whoever's it was needs to be held accountable!
I think Beyonce would have done a much better job with "I'll Be There." There was no need for her to include "Halo." Up-tempo numbers are really Beyonce's thing. "Ave Maria" came across as so uninspiring.
I missed the Ving Rhames moment. Is there a clip of it? I agree that it was classless of Zoe Saldana to mention that her co-presenter was in the restroom. Talk about ghetto. Well, actually, the whole entire show was so unorganized.
I agree. Beyonce definitley would have done a great job singing "I'll Be There". Her singing "Ave Maria" didnt really fit well with the show. You can tell the audience didnt understand her performance and thought it was awkward.
Im not sure about the Ving Rhames clip but I'll see If I can find one. The whole show was an embarrasment to black people! It made us look TERRIBLE! I would go as far as saying the BET Awards was way worst than any of those Reality Shows that come on VH1. At least watching those you know their gonna be trashy,but you dont expect that from BET!
I actually thought they would get Mariah to sing I'll be there,as she's recorded it and it was a hit for her.
I agree it was a ghetto mess.I have no respect for and question the actions of Debra and Hill.
I can't believe some of you posters are sitting here saying that Ciara was good.
I must be having an out-of-body experience or something. She sounded HORRIBLE! Maybe I need to watch the show again tonight because I must have heard a different performance.
Why Ciara sang "Heal The World" is beyond me. But it was horrendous. I don't see how anyone can say they thought it was good.
If Ciara ain't dancing, then she shouldn't be performing. It's sad, but I've seen this woman attempt to just sing too many times, and she never gets it right. "Heal The World" was no exception. She was off key, had no emotion, and her control was terrible.
Originally posted by MrTalented: I can't believe some of you posters are sitting here saying that Ciara was good.
I must be having an out-of-body experience or something. She sounded HORRIBLE! Maybe I need to watch the show again tonight because I must have heard a different performance.
Why Ciara sang "Heal The World" is beyond me. But it was horrendous. I don't see how anyone can say they thought it was good.
If Ciara ain't dancing, then she shouldn't be performing. It's sad, but I've seen this woman attempt to just sing too many times, and she never gets it right. "Heal The World" was no exception. She was off key, had no emotion, and her control was terrible.
OMG YES!!!! She sounded a hot mess...Ciara should NEVER sing live...but surprisingly, Keyshia Cole sounded worse than Ciara. Monica basically saved her performance, cause Keyshia's voice was cracking and she was hitting the wrong notes, as usual. I don't quite understand it...how can you have 3 successful albums (with a fourth one coming out this winter) and still not be able to sing on key...she kills me everytime. She looked absolutely FABULOUS!!!! But as soon as she opened her mouth, I realized why she hasn't won a Grammy Award...and it will probably be a while before she does, lol....
Originally posted by MrTalented: I can't believe some of you posters are sitting here saying that Ciara was good.
I must be having an out-of-body experience or something. She sounded HORRIBLE! Maybe I need to watch the show again tonight because I must have heard a different performance.
Why Ciara sang "Heal The World" is beyond me. But it was horrendous. I don't see how anyone can say they thought it was good.
If Ciara ain't dancing, then she shouldn't be performing. It's sad, but I've seen this woman attempt to just sing too many times, and she never gets it right. "Heal The World" was no exception. She was off key, had no emotion, and her control was terrible.
Exactly Mr.Talented. And these are the same people that think that much more talented singers cant sing!GET REAL! Ciara sounded a hot mess. She just doesnt have a good voice. And whoever said Keyshia sounded worse than Ciara is drinking what Ving Rhames had because NO ONE was worst than Ciara.
I agree that Monica sounded better than Keyshia though!
If it's any consolation, I will say that Ciara looked great despite her bad performance.
And of course Monica sounded better than Keyshia Cole. I don't think anyone expected it to be the other way around.
However, I thought Keyshia sounded great. I was pleasantly surprised by her performance (look, sound, everything!). It was my favorite performance of the evening (other than Maxwell & BBD).
This message has been edited. Last edited by: MrTalented,
I enjoyed Ciara's performance. She may not be the best vocalist, but her performance was WAY better than a lot of the other performances (insert names here). Keyshia Cole didn't sound that bad. She was just upstaged by Monica.
A special encore of the BET Awards will air today at 6:30 pm (EST). I will watch this since I missed some of the show on Sunday.
I enjoyed Ciara, she actually did a decent job and I was surprised.
I mean seriously, it bothers you that we're saying that we enjoyed her performance?
.... Even if you are a million miles away, I can still feel you in my bed, near me, touch me, feel me and even at the bottom of the sea, I can still hear you inside my head, telling me, touch me, feel me, and all the time you were telling me lies
Posts: 4654 | Location: New York, NY | Registered: May 03, 2006
Originally posted by chrisJames: I mean seriously, it bothers you that we're saying that we enjoyed her performance?
Get over yourself. I never said that I was "bothered." I said that I couldn't believe people were saying it. All she did was sit on a stool and sing, and she didn't sound good. That's just my opinion, so we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't think there was anything special about what she did.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: MrTalented,
Ciara has gotten a lot better vocally than people give her credit for. Of course, she still has major issues, but it's pretty obvious that her vocals have improved.
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