Better Late Than Never - A Rant

Friday night, I decided against my best judgment to watch the B.E.T. Awards. It originally aired at the end of June right after Michael Jackson passed away, so it was suppose to be kinda like a tribute show to him, right? Well, here's my opinion on that...

It was a hot mess overall.

First thing first, wtf Jamie Foxx??? MJ belonged to us?!?!? Last time I checked, he was a human being not a dog or cat or any other kinda pet. Yeah he might have broken down race barriers when he was a part of the Jackson 5 or early on in his solo career BUT he's an international superstar with fans from here to Timbuktu. Just because he's a black man doesn't mean we "own" him. If that's the case, I could say that I "own" AJ, Meagan, and Jermey because we all went to State.

And the performances (the standouts to me)....

There were the really goods...

Maxwell performing "Pretty Wings"...I melted at this performance. His vocals, the sound, everything was just about perfect. I could argure that it was the best one of the night.

Ne-Yo...what can I say, the man's got talent. Love the duet he did with Jamie, one of the couple MJ tributes I could actually see.

Mary-Mary...always liked them, so this is a little biased. But what can I say, they get me praising anytime I listen to them. I'll admit, it seemed a little odd to see them perform on this particular show being that they're in the gospel arena.

There were the bads...

Ciara...When she first started singing I thought it was a little boy trying to sing. Then I realized it was her. I'm glad that she did an MJ song, but did it have to be so somber?

Jamie Foxx and T-Pain...it was flashy, it was bright, it was mediocre at best. I don't understand why Jamie had the need to use Auto-Tune. He can hold his own singing wise. T-Pain, however... However I will say that I was glad to see that Travis Barker was looking much better.

Beyonce...firstly, I thought she had an okay voice but didn't really like it tonight. I'm a big fan of the song "Angel" by Sarah McLaughlin. She did not do it justice. Secondly, WTF was she wearing?!?!?!? Last time I checked "Ava Maria" was a revered spirtual song. A long, dramatic dress would have been much more appropiate instead of looking like a slutty tooth fairy.

And there were the uglys...

Soulja Boy...I will be the first to admit, I fell for the act. But this performance was HORRENDOUS. He's dead to me. End of story.

Drake and Lil Wayne...Not a huge fan of Drake but it wasn't too bad. I'm callin out Lil Wayne. How in the HELL do you perform a "song" about f*cking ("loving") every girl in the world and you have girls dancing on the stage who look like they MIGHT be high school freshmen. Tacky, distasteful, and just down right wrong in every sense.

WTF was up with the "movie trailer"?! I didn't see the point in it. They mighta been funny characters on their respectable shows (Martin and In Living Color) but I didn't find them really funny. Also thought it was outta line and pretty forgetable.

And the MJ "tributes", if it can be called that, were okay at best. I mean they couldn't put together a montage of some of his biggest hits. He was a dancer so they could have had some of the best dancers (might sound cliche but there's Usher, Justin Timberlake, and to an extent Ne-Yo) do a dance montage. Something more than just wearing high-watered pants with socks, a shirt with his picture, or a glove on one hand.

Overall, I felt that the show was thrown together, unorganized, disgraceful as a "tribute". It felt like it lacked a passion for MJ. I had really just stopped watching BET years ago...yes, during my teenage years. I was reminded why I did. It's not what I stand for personally. All the "best" acts are just middle of the road to me for the most part. Most of the songs revolve around sex, drugs, and violence. And maybe it wouldn't be quite as bad if it wasn't so crude, in your face, vulgar, and disrespectful.