On the BBC interactive (red button) news service it quotes Jermaine as saying that he has asked 'famous friends' to take part in the tribute. This pretty much confirms to me that this will be a disappointment.
As great as people like Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder are, I personally feel that if it is to be remembered as being a great celebration and tribute to the King of Pop, it needs to have a lineup of mostly contempory acts.
They're saying there will be about 10 acts. That hardly hints at a show which artists are falling over themselves to be involved with. As with all of Jermaine's other projects, this is probably going to fall on it's ass and be an embrassment to MJ. IF it does go ahead it will still be an embarassment to MJ.
The world wants to see todays heavy hitters paying tribute to the King of Pop, not a line up of older artists like Liza Minelli, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Bee Gees etc. they may have been great in their time but I believe Mike's legacy requires an outstanding show of support from CURRENT stars to reinforce that he was still important to people today.
If at all possible the line up should include artists like Beyonce, Kanye West, Justin, Fall Out Boy, Usher, Ne yo, Akon - big stars of today.
The stage show should be magnificent with special effects and graphics. I don't believe Jermaine or the World Awards guys are capable of putting on that kind of show and I don't think they would have the funds to do that anyway. The recent world awards ceremony that Jermaine attended looked far from being the right show for Mike and yet Jermaine has chosen the same people to do the tribute. the location isn't particularly good for a show like this either. That's why an AEG produced show at the O2 would have been perfect. They had dates free. London is where he arranged is last shows. AEG had already paid out money for settings and effects, so the financial outlay would be minimal. They had a very experienced, professional director who is hot right now - Kenny Ortega. I wanted to see personally what Miek was putting together and it won't be the same in the cinema or on DVD.
I hope they announce more details about the tribute soon because I'm not willing to spend money on buying tickets before I hear all the details, and if that means I miss out then so be it.
