‘U SERIOUS?’: Celebs Call Out AMAs After Chris Brown’s Michael Jackson Tribute Was Reportedly Canceled Without Explanation
Fans are looking for some answers from the American Music Awards (AMAs) after news broke that they canceled Chris Brown’s performance, which included a tribute to late pop icon and legend Michael Jackson.
Brown uploaded a seven-minute video giving fans insight on what his performance would have looked like if the AMAs didn’t pull it.
@chrisbrownofficial/Instagram
The singer’s post featured him dancing to his popular hit “Under The Influence” which smoothly transitioned into a medley of a few of Michael Jackson’s popular songs such as “Billie Jean,” “Wanna be Startin’ Somethin,” and ended with “Thriller.” All three songs are a part of the king of pop’s sixth studio album, “Thriller.”
The album, which won Jackson numerous awards including two Grammys, recently reached its 40th anniversary, and it seemed as if Brown was going to honor this milestone during his performance on stage Sunday, Nov. 20.
Brown captioned his insta video, “U SERIOUS? [facepalm emoji]”
Chris Brown’s “Beat It” performance @chrisbrownofficial/Instagram
He made a second comment underneath his post stating, “WOULD’VE been the ama performance but they cancelled me for reasons unknown [shrug emoji]”
@chrisbrownofficial/Instagram
Many fans as well as other celebs showed their disappointment under his post, noting how amazing it would’ve been to see his performance.
Self-proclaimed King of R&B singer Jacquees commented, “Stop playing with Chris Brown bru.”
Rapper Dreezy also commented, “Y’all blacked out!!! Def would’ve been the best performance there!”
Other comments included, “No seriously it’s their loss!!! Because no one’s performance is going to be as good as yours would’ve been”
“When We” singer Tank went to the length of uploading a video calling out the music award show asking them why they canceled Brown’s performance.
“Dear @amas before we jump to conclusions we’d like an answer on why you canceled our brother @chrisbrownofficial #TeamBreezy,” he wrote as his caption.
This wouldn’t have been Brown’s first time doing a dance tribute to Michael Jackson. In 2010 the then-21-year-old performed “Man In the Mirror” at the BET Awards and broke down crying over his idol’s passing in 2009.
Some fans have equated Brown’s star quality to Jackson’s, which he notably shut down. However, singer Akon recently renewed the debate by saying Brown had the potential to reach a legacy as big as Jackson’s.
During a conversation with sports analyst Shannon Sharpe, Akon stated while he believed Brown would have reached those heights the Virginia native, unfortunately, “wasn’t surrounded by the circle of creative people that Mike was surrounded by. ’Cause Chris got the talent, he just needed the direction.”