Michael Jackson at the World Music Awards (2006)
On November 16, 2006, Michael Jackson would make an appearance at the 18th Annual World Music Awards. At the show, the King of Pop won the Diamond Award (award for artists who have sold over 100 million albums during their career) for Thriller, which sold over 50 million copies worldwide since its release.
Similarly to the 2003 Radio Music Awards, Jackson was introduced and awarded by Beyoncé. As he arrived to the stage, the crowds went wild. During his speech, Michael thanked his fans, family, children and said "i love you" to the ex-Destiny's Child member.
Afterwards, alongside a choir, Michael Jackson went on to perform "We Are the World". This would be not only the last televised but also public live performance Jackson gave during his lifetime. The next time he'd be on stage would be during the This Is It tour rehearsals.
Criticism[]
After the award ceremony, Jackson recieved backlash, as people felt disappointed with his long awaited live stage comeback. According to articles at the time, people felt as though the performance was done with very low effort, since Michael had barely sang or danced at all. Some of them even began calling him a "flop", claiming the King of Pop is perhaps a thing of the past.[1]
For a long time, it was also rumored, that the artist was "booed off stage", although this was debunked and in fact it was Rihanna getting booed at, as many in the audience waited for hours to see Michael only.[2]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Prior to Jackson recieving the award, Chris Brown performed Thriller in the classic red leather outfit.[3]