Janet Jackson, Madonna & Dancers Pay Tribute To Michael Jackson

This is the 2nd of 4 installments today about the VMAs.

It's hard to believe that Janet Jackson is in her 40s. Her involvement in the Michael Jackson tribute was pretty unreal. It had the grand entrance that MTV can promise for those special moments, but her ability to move the way she did was wild. She danced along to the video of Michael dancing behind her perfectly. It was close to flawless. Much of the tribute was filled with no-name dancers paying their respects to the one and only great Michael jackson. Though they did a fantastic job, there was still a quiet wait for something else. And Janet Jackson brought it.

Madonna provided a pretty good speech about Michael. The speech began with Madonna's ability to always lapse into being...Madonna, and talking about herself. She could be the first person to talk to aliens in the middle of Superman battling Doomsday on Christmas morning, and she would still somehow find a way to talk about how she burned her tongue with coffee that morning.

However, even though, at first, it initially appeared that she would go her usual way, Madonna turned it into a rather observational and good-spirited (but slightly uncomfortable) joke: "Michael Jackson was born in August, 1958. so was I. Michael Jackson grew up in the suburbs of the Midwest. So did I. Michael Jackson had eight brothers and sisters. So do I. When Michael Jackson was 6 he became a superstar and was perhaps the world's most beloved child. When I was 6 my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick."

Observing a transcript from MTV, Madonna told a cute story about a time they hung out in the early '90s, but Madonna also continued to battle between the topics of total sincerity regarding Michael and involving herself in the speech.

Total Sincerity: "There is no question that Michael Jackson was one of the greatest talents the world has ever known. ... That when he sang a song at the ripe old age of 8, he could make you feel like an experienced adult was squeezing your heart with his words. ... That the way he moved had the elegance of Fred Astaire and packed the punch of Muhammad Ali. ... That his music had an extra layer of inexplicable magic that didn't just make you want to dance but actually made you believe that you could fly, dare to dream, be anything that you wanted to be. Because that is what heroes do. And Michael Jackson was a hero."

Total Sincerity: "He performed in soccer stadiums around the world, he sold hundreds of millions of records, he dined with prime ministers and presidents. Girls fell in love with him, boys fell in love with him, everyone wanted to dance like him, he seemed otherworldly, but he was also a human being. Like most performers, he was shy and plagued with insecurities."

Involving Herself: "But I had a childhood, and I was allowed to make mistakes and find my own way in the world without the glare of the spotlight. When I first heard that Michael had died I was in London, days away from the opening of my tour. Michael was going to perform in the same venue as me a week later. All I could think about in that moment was that I had abandoned him."

Involving Herself: I felt his pain. I know what it's like to walk down the street and feel like the whole world has turned against you. I know what it's like to feel helpless and unable to defend yourself because the roar of the lynch mob is so loud that you are convinced your voice can never be heard."

In closing, Madonna said, "Yes, yes Michael Jackson was a human being, but dammit, he was a king. Long live the king."

[Photo Credit] - Janet Jackson

[Photo Credit] - Madonna