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The World Music Awards 2006 are surrounded by controversy, due to Michael Jackson failing to perform his best selling single Thriller. The performance was to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of Thrillers release, which is the world’s best selling album of all time. He also attended to receive the Diamond Award, which is awarded for selling over 100 million albums. This award has been given to celebrities such as Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, and Bon Jovi. Many other stars praised Michael during the awards. Beyonce, Enya, Andrea Bocelli, and Chris Brown all gave testimonials on Michael's positive influence in their careers. The rest of the awards were pushed aside in the news, as the press concentrated on the unanswered questions revolving around Michael's planned performance and the unusual circumstances regarding his exit from his performance of We Are The World.
The fans were disappointed Wednesday when the much anticipated
performance by Michael Jackson was fleeting at best. It is not clear why his performance was cut
short. Fans were expecting him to
perform Thriller, but instead they were greeted with a few lines of We Are The
World that he wrote in 1985 with Lionel Richie to benefit famine relief in
Ethiopia. He appeared to look
uncomfortable and to be having difficulty singing, according to many news
stories, but this might have been caused by the sound to his microphone being
cut off unexpectedly. His voice did not
have the normal quality of sound fans have come to expect from the King of
Pop. While watching, it appears that his
microphone just stopped working, so he made the best of it without sound. There are many differing opinions as to what
happened, but nobody seems to know exactly what occurred.
Despite his glowing appreciation for their support throughout his career, many of his fans were upset because the much-anticipated Thriller performance was not sung by Michael, but by newcomer Chris Brown. It has not been released why this switch was made, but it was devastating to the many fans that purchased tickets to see Michael perform Thriller in his first live performance in Britain since 1996. The 1996 performance was controversial, as well, due to Jarvis Cocker storming the stage in protest to the Christ-like act staged by Michael. British fans were jaded and disappointed because the King of Pop flopped at the finish line for no apparent reason. While in London, Jackson was also awarded eight Guinness World Records for his performance history. They included awards such as, "Youngest Vocalist to Top the US Singles Charts," "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time," "Highest Paid Entertainer of All Time," "First Entertainer to Earn More Then 100 Million Dollars in a Year," and "First Entertainer to Sell More Than 100 Million Albums outside the US.” This triumph is overshadowed by claims that his career is winding down, despite thousands of cheering fans chanting his name. Many in the press consider his career beyond repair because of the child molestation scandals. Whether his career is too damaged to be successful is somewhat doubtful, just because he is such a figure in music. It is unclear if he even intends or desires to revive his singing career at this time. The Awards are also being criticized by many who claim they were very poorly organized. This claim is backed by the long waits between performances, as well as poor planning in who would announce what award. The hostess, Lindsay Lohan, was heckled by the crowd on several occasions when she apparently flubbed her lines. Some of the other winners that have largely been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Michael Jackson are Madonna, Nelly Furtado, Nickleback, Beyonce, Kanye West, Shakira, Bob Sinclair, and James Blunt. These artists all won prestigious awards, as well, but the media is concentrating on the unusual events surrounding Michael Jackson yet again. It is unfortunate for the other artists to be in the shadows, but once again Michael took the headlines |