Chris Brown paid a tearful tribute to Michael Jackson with an emotional performance at the BET Awards on Sunday night.
The star sang and danced through a medley of the late King of Pop’s hits at the awards show, turning tearful during “Man in the Mirror” and drawing a standing ovation from the audience at the Shrine Auditorium in LA – and kudos from Twitter.
“Wow @ChrisBrown did such an amazing MJ tribute,” Kim Kardashian Tweeted. “Amazing job!”
“WOW Chris Brown Congrats Bro, U KILLED THAT GREAT JOB MY brother,” Sean Kingston Tweeted.
Access Hollywood‘s Shaun Robinson, who was on hand at the awards show on Sunday night, was also impressed.
“Everyone here in the audience is talking about how amazing he was,” Shaun said. “I used to love him, then I stopped liking him after [the] Rihanna [incident], but now I’m ready to forgive him. He was great.”
In the wake of his altercation with Rihanna in February 2009, Chris kept a low profile at awards shows that year – including skipping the 2009 BET Awards, which offered a number of tribute performances following the Jackson’s passing.
“Michael Jackson is the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer,” Chris said to Access in a statement following Michael’s death on June 25, 2009. “I am devastated by this great loss, and I will continue to be humbled and inspired by his legacy. My prayers are with his family. Michael will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. He’s the greatest… the best ever. No one will ever be better.”
The show also featured a stage comeback from Kanye West, in his first awards show performance since his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards – and one from T.I., who had been absent from the stage thanks to serving a prison sentence.
One star who didn’t light up the stage was the absent Justin Bieber, who earned a surprising nomination for Best New Artist.
“This show [in Milwaukee] was booked before the nominees came out, and i dont cancel shows,” he Tweeted on Sunday. “I would never cancel and a show and let down the fans unless I had to.”
He added that he was, however, honored by the unlikely nomination.
“Why did we not plan for the BET Awards?? Well b honest people, not many of u thought the white boy from Canada was gonna b nominated. But just goes to show that Music is COLOR BLIND!! It is the Universal Language and good music brings us all together…the way it should be,” he Tweeted.
Queen Latifah hosted the annual show, which also featured a tribute to Prince and performances by Alicia Keys, Drake and more.
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