Janet Jackson Honors Michael With Dance Tribute at VMAs

With the Jackson family looking on from the audience, Janet Jackson kicked off the 2009 Video Music Awards with a tribute to her brother, Michael. Before Janet took the stage however, Madonna emerged on the darkened stage to reminisce about her experience knowing Michael, drawing comparisons between their difficult childhoods and the King of Pop's everlasting impact on music.

"There is no question Michael Jackson was one of the greatest talents the world has ever known," Madonna said to a standing ovation. "We allowed this magnificent creature that once set the world on fire to slip through the cracks... He was so unique, so original, so rare and there will never be anyone like him again. He was a king."

Check out the 2009 VMAs' most memorable moments.

After Madonna concluded her tribute, the MJ performance began with a pack of dancers streaming onto the stage to reenact the famed "Thriller" dance while the song's classic video projected on the giant screen. According to reports, dancers, choreographers and Janet herself were involved in hours of intense rehearsals in preparation for the tribute to an artist who helped put MTV on the map. "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" next featured in the dancers' compilation of Michael's most memorable moves, with the performers all donning some of Jackson's trademark outfits.

Then, as the opening notes of Jackson's collaboration with his sister "Scream" played over the speakers, Janet Jackson smashed through the set to recreate her duet with her brother. The performance was meticulously coordinated, with the siblings dancing in unison; Janet on the stage, Michael on the screen. Cris Judd, a.k.a. Jennifer Lopez's ex-husband, and Tina Landon, Janet's longtime choreographer, were among the dancers who joined Janet for the performance that was a moving moment and a fitting way to start the evening.

More VMAs:
• Michael Jackson's This Is It Trailer Premieres at VMAs
• Read Madonna's VMAs Speech Dedicated to Michael Jackson
• Photos: 2009 VMAs Red Carpet

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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