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“World Music Awards” (2006)

Date confirmed on ticket (Image 001) (“15 Nov 06”)

Michael Jackson, speech transcript

To the World Music Awards and all my fans around the world, ladies and gentlemen, I am greatly humbled by this award. I'd like to say, when Quincy Jones and Bruce Swedien and Rod Temperton and myself created the "Thriller" album, it was my dream that "Thriller" would become the biggest selling album ever… and God has answered my prayers. Twenty-five years later, "Thriller" has become the biggest selling album of all time with 104 million sold. I thank God and you for the success. And there have been so many who have loved me and stood by me throughout the 42 years that I have been in the entertainment business. While I cannot name all of them, I would like to thank my wonderful children, Paris, Prince, and Blanket for your unconditional love and support. My mother, and my father Joseph Jackson and my brothers and my sisters... my entire family for their love and support. I thank you, I love all the fans from the bottom of my heart. I love you.

Chris Cadman’s “Michael Jackson the Maestro”

There were reports that Michael would be performing at the awards show, but he had made it clear when talking to reporters on his arrival that it wasn’t the case.

“Oh I'm receiving an award, it’s not a performance, it is a misunderstanding"

Roberto Cavalli, fashion designer, “Vogue“ (August 23, 2013) (archived)

"He came to me and said, 'Roberto, I need you to give me a new look. I'm tired of the moccasins, I'm tired of the white socks.' So I created a fantastic jacket for him, it took months to make," Cavalli told us, laughing. "I remember when he got on stage, there were thousands of people in the audience yelling, 'it's too hot for the jacket.' So he threw it into the crowds! I couldn't believe it. I said to myself, 'I am never making him a jacket again.'"

Raymone Bain, general manager, The MJCast, Episode 44 (Charles Thompson Interview/Special)

Raymone Bain: Well, Melissa Corken, who knew Michael for many, many years, reached out to me and said that they wanted to honor him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was very honored. He knew Melissa, because he had appeared at the World Music Awards some years earlier... [Editor's Note: in 1996] He knew Melissa very well, and this would have been his second public appearance after having been acquitted, so he was a little nervous. At first, he was a little apprehensive, but he agreed to do it, and he had a nice time.

Charles Thompson: Why do you think he was apprehensive?

Bain: Well, he had not been in the public for a while. The only thing he had done was to go in and out of court for six months, as you know. He had been in Bahrain, but pretty much to relax and to get himself back to the level that he had been prior to the case, having been litigated. And, like I said, [this] was his second public event, the first was in Japan earlier. This is his... first in Europe, but his second overall after having gone through litigation for six months.

Thompson: So how did you convince Michael to go ahead with the appearance?

Bain: Well, his fanbase in Europe is extremely loyal to him, and he has some wonderful fans there in London particularly. And he shared a very special relationship with them, and, in fact, I hope all of them are doing well. And, with that in mind, and with the fact that he was getting the Lifetime Achievement Award. You're always apprehensive, that's a part of life, but Michael was the world's greatest performer, he was the King of Pop, and he always rose to the occasion, no matter what. I think those of us who were around him were a little bit more nervous, and a little bit more apprehensive most of the time than he... And he looked at this award as having been special, and then with his relationship with Melissa, and his relationship with the fans in Europe, and in London, that weighed heavily on him, and he decided to do it.

(On Michael being barred from hotels because of fans)

Bain: It was disappointing on one hand, but it made Michael feel really good on the other, because there were several hotels that Michael would traditionally stay in, one of which was the Dorchester. So when I called over to the Dorchester and I spoke to the general manager, he was very polite, but he said, "Well, Ms. Bain, I'm sorry, but we're not gonna be able to accommodate Mr. Jackson at this time." And I said, "Well, why? Are you all booked?"

He said, "No. He has such loyal fans, our hotel can't accommodate the numbers of fans that would converge on it, both inside and out. We don't have the capacity to bring in that kind of security that we need and has cost us quite a bit of money in the past for you all to stay here. From a security point of view and with the park being outside and our landscaping, we have had to spend a lot of money for our upkeep when you all are here, and we just can't afford for you all to stay at this time."

Well, we were told that by three or four other hotels. And we were kinda surprised, and Michael was very surprised, he says, "You're kidding!" and I said "No" and then it happened, I guess Melissa Corken, she spoke to one of her friends who had opened a new hotel, which was the Hempel there, and he called and invited us to come and stay. We did.

But that was a funny, warm story because Michael does have wonderful fans, and they are some of the most loyal and some of the kindest that I have ever seen around an entertainer. While it was an inconvenience on one hand, it was heartwarming on the other, to know that his fans, who loved him and supported him to the point that we couldn't find a hotel to stay in  in London because they were afraid that they would be overrun by so many fans.

(On countering the reports that Michael would perform):

Bain: There was never a performance, and I don't care who's saying otherwise, that's just not true. There was never a performance, he was never gonna sing. He never rehearsed, he didn't have an orchestra, together, a band, and I personally told many of the journalists there that Michael Jackson was not singing. Melissa Corken told them he was not singing. We even had a press release sent out of my office stating he was not performing, and the World Music Awards sent out a press release. I don't know who said what initially, but the days leading up to the World Music Awards, there were many press releases disseminated indicating that Michael Jackson was not singing or performing. And there was no reason for there to be any confusion. An artist on the level of Michael Jackson doesn't just pop up and perform without rehearsing or without a band, or without  a music director, or any of that, and he had just, as I've said, ended extensive litigation, and he was working very hard and putting together his organization again. There were a number of things that he was confronted with. Refinancing the loans so that he would not lose his publishing, refinancing Neverland, getting his life back together personally and professionally, and spending time with  his wonderful, brilliant, beautiful kids. And that was Michael Jackson's priority. He was not rehearsing, so whomever decided that they were going to run with the story that Michael Jackson was going to be performing did it deliberately because they knew very well, and very clearly, unless they could not read or hear, that Michael Jackson was not performing.

(Charles Thompson explains that he found reports stating the opposite in fact)

(On her stance that the agreement was that Michael would not perform at the ceremony):

Michael Jackson was a perfectionist, you can't perform at the World Music Awards without a band, without an orchestra. We were told that they wanted Michael to surprise the choir that would be singing "We are the World" over his [deck?].

(On Beyonce being chosen as the award presenter at the last minute, because everyone else had refused)

Yes, there were a number of challenges, there were some downsides, the press coverage immediately after it, and the plans and preparations moving forward before it. And one of those things we had to deal with was the fact that none of the artists who the World Music Awards contacted would agree to present Michael his award, and sometimes that's culture [unintelligible]. People don't want to be around you when they perceive you as a loser or someone who's tarnished. Michael was very mature and very insightful and he understood that. It hurt him, but he understood human nature. We were told that some wanted to be paid exorbitant amounts of money to present him with his award, and we were told others flat out said no. They did not want to be associated with Michael Jackson. We then pondered who are we going to get to present the King of Pop with his award? Melissa Corken and Sir Philip Green were very concerned that the respective artists, and these were some people who Michael felt he was very close to, turned him down unequivocally, saying, "No, we don't want to do it." And so they approached Beyonce, and we never met such a nice, warm, wonderful individual as she, and it was my first time meeting her, and my first time Michael meeting her. He immediately fell in love with her. There were three women I think Michael Jackson would have walked fire for, that's his mother Katherine, his daughter Paris, and Beyonce Knowles. And it was so funny, after that, the next year, Sean Garrett wrote a song "Irreplaceable". Well, Michael Jackson would call me up and before he could say "Hello", he would sing, "To the left, to the left, everything you own in the box to the left". I mean, that was his favorite song. He loved her and he would have been so humbled by the tribute that she made to him at the Super Bowl last year [2016]. But more importantly, he knew that there were people whom he thought were his friends, who turned down the opportunity to present to him, and he was so grateful for an artist on the level of Beyonce, whom he had not met prior to that time, [had] agreed to present his award to him, and that started a love affair with Michael Jackson and Beyonce.

(On the fabricated reports that Michael was "booed off stage"):

We did our best efforts to try to neutralize the reports, and it took us a while, because it was as if there was some collusion that everybody who was writing decided that they were gonna write the same thing... It would've been good if one person had said, "Oh, he sounded awful and was booed" When everybody writes it, it's like, "Well okay, well, what is going on here?" Because there was no booing. And Michael Jackson was treated so warmly he became so emotional, he threw a $35,000 jacket in the audience. And it was like, "Well, wait, what the hell? Are they at the same event I'm at? Did any of them attend the same event? Even Rob Silverstein, who was there from Access Hollywood, the executive producer, said, "I don't get it. Were we not at the same event?" And with that having been reported that he looked horrible, he sang horrible, he was horrible, we could not believe it. And it was mean-spirited, and we went out of our way, sending out press releases here in the United States, and in Europe, the electronic media, and see, at that time, there was no Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, there was not. So I am sure, had there been Facebook, and Twitter, and Myspace, and Tumblr, his fans would have been able to counteract the erroneous reports. But none of that existed at that time. And if it did, it was just starting. Nobody was using it. So we had to use the old-fashioned way of trying to neutralize a story and turn it around, and that was through fax and email. And we were able to make some dent. There were some who, here in this country, again, seemed to just not want to respect and report anything nice about Michael Jackson. And, of course, they were very quick to pick up the tabloid reports that he was booed, and he looked horrible, and he acted horrible, and he sounded horrible, they welcomed the opportunity. So we had a double problem to try to mitigate the damages on. We had a crisis that we had to try to turn around, because we didn't want for people to come away with the idea that Michael Jackson just came over there, looking like a wreck, acting like a wreck, and sounding like one. And I think that, after 30-45 days we were able to turn some of it around.

(On the reason she thinks the media was able to twist the finale as a "performance"):

I think the problem was that there was a stagehand [that] put a mike in Michael's hand, and because he walked out with a mike, it almost confirmed what misinformation that had been disseminated in the papers, it kind of confirmed it, but I think if he had not been so up, and not so nervous, because this would have been his first appearance before his fanbase in Europe and London since his acquittal, he would have probably thrown the mike down on the floor. But he was already nervous about what acceptance he would receive, he wasn't thinking. And, in hindsight, I or him, or all of the people who were in the back of the stage with him, should not have accepted the mike, and just let him walk out.

(On the reports before the ceremony even began stating that it would be "a humiliating freakshow, which he will regret"):

He had said to me once, "Raymone, I've been out here so long until I'm immune to it now. I've become immune to the attacks." Now that's--when you look at it, it's admirable, because, as I said, he had a very strong, inherent spiritual fiber, but that's sad for someone to have to say, "I've been attacked, and I've been disrespected for so long, I have become immune to the attacks and the disrespect." When you really sit back and look at that, and analyze that, that's really a sad commentary, and they should be ashamed of themselves.

Harrison Funk, Michael's go-to photographer since the 80's, The MJCast, Episode 44 (Charles Thompson Interview/Special)

Harrison Funk: I arrived at Heathrow, went straight to Earls's Court with all my bags, went inside, went to scope out the stage and the setup of the venue and where I was shooting from, and I ran into Lavelle [Smith] and Adrian Grant and the Thriller Live dancers that were going to be dancing with Chris Brown. The dancers were rehearsing and Chris was rehearsing... It was a whole day thing, I was wiped, I had just flown in, jet-lagged, just trying to keep going. And... it was about early evening sometime, Raymone Bain was sitting in the middle of the floor at Earl's Court, completely empty, one of those fold-up chairs. And I walked over to her, she's on the phone with Michael, and at that point, Michael was pretty insistent. He didn't want to perform, because nothing had been rehearsed.

Charles Thompson: So you're at this dress rehearsal, you've had a phone call from the organizers, the organizers say, "Michael Jackson's gonna perform". You fly into London, get to the dress rehearsal, there's no Michael Jackson, no [Bad?], no dancers and Michael Jackson's on the phone, expressing not much interest in actually giving a performance. So at that stage, what is your mindset?

Harrison Funk: What a clusterfuck. [laughs] Sorry kids, for the language, but I just shrugged my shoulders and I said, "Ok, someone must have this under control." And I really thought that Raymone did have it under control, I mean I really thought that she was very cool, very calm, very collected, as she always is. And she hands me the phone, and she says, "Here, talk to your friend." And I said, "Michael, what's going on?" He said, "I'm being told I'm supposed to perform and I don't know anything about this." Basically, I'm paraphrasing because it's been ten years, but he was surprised to say the least. And I think that, judging from the response I saw in the people that had brought the dancers, we're queuing up the sound, and preparing this performance, honestly I think that there was a great deal of surprise that he wasn't performing. And he asked me, "Ok, so what tracks do they have?"

And he kind of decided on "We Are the World", he almost didn't come out and actually say it, but he did in the end. "Tell them I'll do 'We Are the World'". I said, "Just one?" And he said, "Yeah, we're just gonna do 'We Are the World'". I said, "Ok, are you sure you only wanna do one? Because the audience is gonna go nuts, they're gonna be- this is your comeback. This is your moment of return. They're gonna want to hear more." And he said, and don't quote me, because again, it's ten years ago, and I can't remember the exact words, but it was something like, "No, we'll just do 'We are the World'"

(On Michael's appearance at the World Music Awards):

Funk: He came out, people went nuts! The choir, the group of kids, was behind him, and he just took off from there. He walked past, and it's funny because as he walked past- I was on stage left, which is opposite where you [Charles Thompson] were. I'm gonna follow Michael from where he comes out down along that long runway. And this cable puller, for whoever's doing the TV recording, pulled her cable and it got between my legs, and it tripped me. Michael looked down, and he stifled a laugh, and he looked straight at me, and he just kind of gave me this look like, "Get up and get back" [laughs] And so I jumped up and I ran ahead, so I was a little ahead of him, and I followed him around, and he came around to the other side of the stage where you [Charles Thompson] were. It all happened so quickly, it was unbelievable... The difference between shooting Michael that night and shooting him on tour was tremendous, because it was nothing rehearsed, I had no queues to follow, I had no idea what was gonna happen, it was winging it. And Michael handled himself brilliantly, he walked down, he greeted people, he waved, he was in constant communication with the audience. His eyes never stopped darting back and forth between people. And that's one thing Michael had the ability to do was make people feel like he was performing to them, and I thought he did that brilliantly. Okay, he didn't sing through the whole song, I think he was just reveling in the fact that- he was reveling in the adulation, the thousands of people adoring him. I think it hit him at that point, that he had to come back, I think he saw that people really loved him.

I was just amazed how it went.The cheers just kind of went up, and it was infectious, it moved around the entirety of Earl's Court. I thought the place could've fallen down with all the cheering. And the stomping, do you [Thompson] remember how the floor was shaking from the stomping? I was next to audio monitors, I couldn't hear him speak. And I know he did, loudly and clearly, but it was just overrun by all the cheers, it was unbelievable. There was no mistaking the "King" is back.

(On the fabricated reports that Michael was "booed off stage"):

One of the things that amazed me about the press coverage was that there was even a mention of boos, there could have been a boo here or a boo there... I don't know, I didn't hear a single- anything other than cheers and complete adulation for Michael. I heard the cheers and I heard people stomping their feet, I never heard one single boo. I didn't hear anything that even sounded like "Get off the stage, Michael" or "Boo, Michael"... not a thing. And I'm sure this was your experience as well [referring to Thompson], it was complete and total- just adoration for Michael. It was "Holy cow, the 'King' is back! Here he is, he's on stage and he's singing". He pointed to specific people in the audience, and waved and made eye contact, and threw his jacket, and people were going nuts! It was wonderful. Here, the media was saying that Michael got booed off the stage, Michael didn't get booed off the stage. I don't know what people were looking at, I just couldn't imagine what the media was seeing. And listening to- all I heard was cheers and thumping... and all I saw was fans going crazy. I can show you pictures of fans going absolutely nuts. So I don't know what in the world they were seeing or hearing, but it certainly wasn't what was going on in Earl's Court that night. I just wonder whether this was, I don't want to say conspiracy, but some sort of collusion amongst the media, to make Michael look bad. Again, I can't imagine that, no matter how sensational media is, I can't imagine them wasting time to concoct something as ludicrous as this story about the audience booing Michael off stage. But, then again, here it was, in black and white, in at least three tabloids.

(On his visit with Michael the day after the ceremony, and Michael's unhappiness with the reports):

Michael was visiting friends the next day, and it was very social, and I think the basic idea was that his people, and the people around Michael, didn't want him to see the press reaction, 'cause I was told, "When you come to say hello, don't bring any newspapers". And, as it turned out, I think Michael found out immediately. He was very upset, he was not happy about this media coverage, he said to me on the phone the next day that he was shocked. Again, it was the same thing [that I said before], "What show were they at? I didn't hear anybody booing." It seemed like the entire time he was out there, he wasn't nervous. I think he was a little bit surprised, 'cause he didn't know where this was going. I think it would've been better for him to have rehearsed, for sure, or at least to have come out and seen the stage. But I think that the next day, to hear the press coverage, the way they did, I know Michael expressed complete and total surprise that the press would have lied like that, and that more than one outlet said the same as the others. Again, I say, where'd they get it from? So yeah, it was a very unique situation, I can't compare it to anything, I wish I could, I can't. There's nothing I can compare it to.

(For the MJCast special, journalist Charles Thompson, who attended the awards, reveals the truth on this event, describing the unparalleled, deafening excitement from the audience during Michael's appearances. He also interviews other attendees about their experience and counters the lies behind the fabricated stories that Michael had been “booed off the stage”)