Chris Brown: AMAs Address Michael Jackson Tribute Cancellation
Chris Brown is finally getting an answer from the American Music Awards. The R&B singer claimed that the award show pulled his Michael Jackson tribute to honor the pop icon’s 40th anniversary of Thriller from Sunday night’s (Nov. 20) show.
On Saturday (Nov. 19), Brown shared a video of himself dancing with backup dancers and rehearsing his 2019 song “Under the Influence.” The video since gone viral on TikTok. In the same video, the “Under the Influence” beat transitions into Jackson’s “Beat It.” The singer captioned the video, “U SERIOUS? [face palm emoji]” and clarified his caption to fans in the comments.
“WOULDVE been the ama performance but they cancelled me for reasons unknown. [shrug emoji],” he wrote.
In a statement to Entertainment Tonight, a spokesperson for Dick Clark Productions said that their creative direction had changed. He noted that it wasn’t Chris Brown’s fault.
“Live shows change all the time, it’s the nature of this business; unfortunately, this element of the AMAs didn’t come together as we couldn’t align on the performance, to no fault of Chris Brown,” the statement read.
On Monday (Nov. 21), Ciara jumped into the conversation when she shared a video of her in the same rehearsal space as the “Go Crazy” singer as they both did the choreography to “Thriller.” Fans were led to believe that she was also slated for the canceled tribute. The “Promise” singer also was seen dancing to Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”
“MJ thank you for the inspiration you’ve given us all! Thriller 40th Anniversary. @ChrisBrownOfficial you’re a rare breed of this generation. Always fun to rock with you [dance emoji],” the “Level Up” singer captioned the rehearsal footage.
A source told the publication clarified the singer’s involvement in the Michael Jackson tribute. “Ciara was confirmed to perform with Chris as part of the Michael Jackson tribute,” the source told ET. “No reason was given as to why it was pulled.”
