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Just a few performances I was able to find from the awards show. These videos all pay homage to Michael Jackson in some way. All live performances can be found here.

Ne-Yo “Lady In My Life” (Michael Jackson Tribute)

Amber Rose, Kanye West

Keri Hilson

Taraji Henson

Beyoncé

Alicia Keys

Joe Jackson

The BET Awards are undergoing “a total overhaul” as the show is retooled as a tribute to Michael Jackson, the network said Friday. The telecast is being lengthened, performers are being added to the lineup and additional guests are expected to attend, said Debra L. Lee, Chairman and Chief Executive of Black Entertainment Television.

“We’re adding on,” Lee said from the Shrine Auditorium, where the awards will be presented Sunday. “We’re trying to do the numbers we had already planned and we’re trying to add on, so it may be a longer show than we anticipated.”

At least 30 minutes will be added to the broadcast, she said. Jamie Foxx is set to host the show.

Jackson died Thursday afternoon at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his Los Angeles home.

Meanwhile, artists such as Beyonce and Ne-Yo, who worked on their performances for weeks, scrambled to change them last-minute to honor the King of Pop, said producer Stephen Hill.

“To change it up in three days is something that’s not easy but they’re all willing and looking forward to it,” Hill said. “There’s a direct line from Ne-Yo to Michael Jackson. There’s a direct line from Beyonce to Michael Jackson. There’s a direct line from Jay-Z to Michael Jackson. I think they’ll want to pay tribute in their own way.”

Other artists who had not planned to attend Sunday’s show, such as Usher and Justin Timberlake, are rushing to Los Angeles to participate, Hill said.

“This is going to be the first gathering of people who really cared for and were influenced by him since his death,” he said. “It’s a tall order for us but we have every intention of paying respect to Michael Jackson.”

Lee said she expects the evening’s acceptance speeches to be dedicated to Jackson’s memory and his influence on music and popular culture.

“There’s no artist that’s going to want to get up there and talk about themselves. They’re going to want to talk about Michael,” she said. “We want to give out the awards, we want them to have their moment but it’s going to be more geared toward Michael Jackson.”

Lee said Jackson was a longtime friend of the network, which is airing special programming in his honor all weekend. Jackson will also be remembered at Lee’s annual pre-party in honor of the awards, where Foxx, Sean Combs and Vanessa Williams are among expected guests.

Hill, who wore a yellow Jackson 5 T-shirt Friday, said seeing the band perform in 1971 inspired him to go into the entertainment business. He still keeps a poster of the group in his office, he said.

“Michael Jackson was my first real hero,” Hill said. “I don’t think that this first public outpouring could be left in better hands.”

“There will be another awards show, so if this one changes, that’s fine,” he said. “There will not be another Michael Jackson.”

French cosmetics giant, L’Oreal, who has hired Beyonce and other African-American personalities to front their products is in hot water. It’s ok for us to peddle their products but not ok for us to work behind the scenes. The highest court in France determined that executives at Garnier, L”Oreal’s beauty products division, intentionally created an all-White sales teams to promote their shampoos throughout the country, according to TimesOnline.com. Blacks, Asian and Middle Eastern women were hardly ever considered for hostess positions.

In fact, a fax was issued into evidence that requested hostesses must be between 18-22 years old, wear a European size 38-42 and be BBR. Apparently, BBR stands for “bleu, blanc, rouge” or French for “blue, white, red” the colors of their French flag which is also code for white people. This ends a three-year legal battle for the L’Oreal bosses who apparently were “disappointed” by the court’s decision. They will now have to pay 30,000 Euros in fines and another 30,000 in damages.

The diva has returned. Not only do we know that Whitney Houston’s album is going to have a worldwide release on September 1, 2009 on Arista Records. But now we know the album is going to be called “I Look To You.”

This is Houston’s seventh studio album since her 1985 self-titled debut. She is one of very few artists in the world to generate 170 million combined worldwide sales of albums, singles and videos.

For years, comedians have made Michael Jackson a punch line. In deference to the beloved pop star’s family and fans, though, many treated his death differently. For still others, it wasn’t “too soon.”

Universal Pictures’ “Bruno” screened in Los Angeles on Thursday night with a scene involving Jackson’s sister La Toya Jackson cut from the movie. A spokesman for Universal said the decision was made by the filmmakers “out of respect for the Jackson family.”

The news of Jackson’s death broke just after or during the tapings of most of Thursday’s late-night shows. Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night” on NBC made a point of the timing, using a graphic at the top of the show to announce that the show had been taped at 5:30 p.m. EDT.

Jay Leno, the comic who did the most to turn Jackson into a late-night staple, doesn’t return to the air until fall. His spokesman said he was unavailable for comment.

Comedian-magician Penn Jillette found himself in an awkward spot Thursday. He was a guest on a radio program promoting the return of his Showtime series when the news of Jackson broke. Jillette found himself thinking back to John Lennon’s death.

“I was really upset by it — as upset as I could be by someone dying outside of my family and friends,” said Jillette. “And I remember the people who were flippant and joked about it in any way really kind of broke my heart.”

Added Jillette: “I have a lot of respect for what music does for people and the connection you get with an artist.”

Jackson’s death was badly timed for CBS’ David Letterman and Craig Ferguson. Both taped their Friday show in advance and are dark next week. It also was too late for NBC’s Conan O’Brien, who’ll have a chance to discuss it on Friday’s “Tonight” show.

Jimmy Kimmel, who does his ABC show live, didn’t appear to be in the mood for a joke about Jackson on Thursday — until the punchline.

Said Kimmel: “What’s especially sad is that most people of a certain generation only know Michael Jackson as a crazy guy who had a lot of plastic surgery — whereas the truth is, he was not only an unbelievably talented, groundbreaking performer, he also helped break down the racial prejudice in this country. He was an extremely powerful symbol: a black performer who whites could relate to and then later in life, a white performer who blacks could relate to.”

Other comedians were more irreverent despite the news being so fresh.

Michael Ian Black, a comedian who rarely avoids sensitive material, wondered in a message on Twitter if the autopsy of Jackson would reveal Tinkerbell inside, alluding to his Peter Pan nature.

Comedian Rob Corddry, former “Daily Show” correspondent, turned the joke back on TMZ, which had the scoop on Jackson’s death. Corddry tweeted: “I wish it had been Michael Jackson that broke the story of TMZ dying. I can almost hear the high-fives.”

The Onion also didn’t lose any time. In a tweet Thursday, it reported: “BREAKING: Last Piece of Michael Jackson Dies.”

The satirical newspaper followed that up Friday with a brief story on its Web site with the headline: “King of Pop Dead at 12″ — suggesting Jackson always remained childlike.

Megan Ganz, associate editor of the Onion, said the paper’s Manhattan office felt almost like a “real newsroom” Friday, with its writing staff rushing around to produce copy on Jackson’s death.

Ganz acknowledged the Onion had received complaints from readers who said their Jackson stories were insensitive.

“It’s kind of funny to me that people are saying `too soon, too soon’ about these jokes because people have been making jokes about Michael Jackson for the last 20 years,” said Ganz. “We really tried to think of something that was somewhat meaningful about his life — that wasn’t just one more joke at the expense of Michael Jackson — because he’s weathered quite a few.”

The comedian widely acknowledged as being the first to joke about Jackson — Eddie Murphy — declined to comment on the singer’s death. It was Murphy who in his 1983 classic standup special “Delirious” famously said Jackson “ain’t the most masculine fellow in the world.”

Murphy reminisced about the joke recently as a guest on “Tonight”: “That was the very first of what turned into a tsunami of Michael jokes.”

Rapper Coolio has pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to felony cocaine possession in a deal that requires him to spend 18 months in rehab.

District attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison says the 45-year-old rapper, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey, entered his plea Friday in Superior Court.

Coolio was arrested March 6 at Los Angeles International Airport. He allegedly grabbed a screener’s arm to prevent a search of his luggage.

As part of the plea deal, misdemeanor charges of battery and possession of a smoking device were dismissed.

A judge ordered Coolio to enter an 18-month drug rehabilitation program. He can request the judge dismiss his case if he successfully completes the program.

He’s due back in court Sept. 28 for a report on his progress.

Doctors completed an autopsy on the body of Michael Jackson on Friday but said they could not immediately establish a cause of death for the “King of Pop” as speculation centered on his use of prescription painkillers.

“The cause of death has been deferred, which means that the medical examiner has ordered additional testing such as toxicology and other studies,” Los Angeles County Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey said.

“Those tests we anticipate will take an additional four to six weeks.”

Speaking to a throng of reporters outside the coroner’s office, Harvey said, “There was no indication of any external trauma or indication of foul play to the body of Mr. Jackson.”

He said his office expected to determine what killed Jackson, 50, when the tests were complete.

The body would be released to family members after they chose a mortuary to handle the funeral arrangements, Harvey added.

Celebrity website TMZ.com, citing an interview with an unidentified “close member” of the Jackson family, reported the superstar singer was injected with Demerol about half an hour before he went into cardiac arrest.

‘HE’S NOT RESPONDING’

Police searched Jackson’s rented mansion in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles and planned to interview his personal physician, who was with the entertainer at the time of his death.

TMZ, citing family members, said Jackson received a daily injection of Demerol, a narcotic painkiller. The family believes his death was caused by an overdose of the drug, TMZ reported.

An unidentified man called a 911 emergency phone line from the mansion at 12:21 p.m. local time, saying Jackson was unconscious and not breathing.

In excerpts from the call played on television, the man said the doctor was the only other person present and was performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the unconscious Jackson without results.

“He’s pumping, he’s pumping his chest but he’s not responding to anything, sir, please,” the caller said.

A senior law enforcement official told ABC News that Jackson was “heavily addicted” to the painkiller Oxycontin and was injected daily with that medication, along with Demerol.

Lawyer Brian Oxman, a Jackson family spokesman, told CBS’ “The Early Show” he had been concerned about the prescription drugs Jackson took due to injuries suffered while performing.

“I do not want to point fingers at anyone because I want to hear what the toxicology report says and the coroner says but the plain fact of the matter is that Michael Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal at all times,” Oxman said.

THE OFFICIAL MICHAEL JACKSON TRIBUTE MIXTAPE
100% MIXED BY DJ NO PHRILLZ

Pop giant Michael Jackson, who took to the stage as a child star and set the world dancing to exuberant rhythms for decades, died on Thursday, TMZ website reported. He was 50.

There was no official confirmation of the reported death and spokespersons for Jackson could not be reached for comment.

“We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died,” TMZ said.

“Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back,” the entertainment site said.

It added, “A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived.”

Earlier, the Los Angeles Times said the singer had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital by fire department paramedics who found him not breathing when they arrived at the singer’s home.

The newspaper said paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene before taking him to the UCLA Medical Center hospital.

Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.

The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.

His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.

He lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation.

There were concerns about Jackson’s health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.

CHILD STAR TO MEGASTAR

Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael — first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.

Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released “Thriller” in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.

The next year, he unveiled his signature “moonwalk” dance move while performing “Billie Jean” during an NBC special.

In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley’s only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.

Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.

Michael Jackson has been rushed to the hospital, a fire department official told the Los Angeles Times. Capt. Steve Ruda said Thursday that Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.

L. Londell McMillan, a lawyer for Jackson, did not have any information. Messages left for other Jackson associates were not immediately returned.

The hospitalization was first reported by the Web site TMZ.

The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson’s rented home, was roped off Thursday with police tape.

News trucks were gathered, helicopters flew overhead, and orange cones were laid out to redirect traffic.

“We have no statements as far as transporting Michael Jackson,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales said.

Actress Janet Hubert is probably best known as Aunt Vivian on the Will Smith sitcom, ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air.’

The 53-year-old actress was fired from the show in 1993 and replaced by actress Daphne Maxwell Reid.

Now the twice-married, mother of one has penned a memoir, ‘Perfection Is Not A Sitcom Mom’ that is slated to be released early in 2010.

In the book, Hubert lashes out at Smith and accuses the then-hip hop superstar of sabotaging her and other talented actors who worked on the 30-minute NBC comedy.

In one excerpt from the tome, given to BV Buzz exclusively, Hubert writes: “Smith had people around him who made sure no one outshone him. I was happy to see Don Cheadle become the quality actor that he is, and often wondered how he made it past one episode, as Hilary’s boyfriend, being such a fierce actor. No one could be on ‘The Tonight Show,’ that first season, except Will. And I mean no one.”

In an effort to drive the point home, Hubert also recalled an incident where another actor was cut from a guest spot on the show after being too impressive at an early rehearsal for that episode.

“I recall the lovely and incredibly talented Countess Vaughn coming to guest star. Oh my God! The day of table read, she was pee-in-your-pants funny. The writers were howling, we were howling, so I knew she was history – banished into the cornfield. Many years later, after she had her own show, I had to tell her when she asked me why. ‘Miss Janet why did I get cut from the episode,’ she asked? Simply, my darling, you were too good,” she recollected.

Hubert also vividly details her termination from ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air,’ something she claims to have never anticipated.

She writes: “My agent called; it was time. He had a very funny sound to his voice, not the usual wonderfully funny Michael that I knew. ‘Jaaaannnet,’ he said, ‘I got the offer and you’re not gonna like it. They offered you 10 episodes.’ Now, to the layperson who doesn’t know what this means, each show is an episode, and the usual amount is 22, with perhaps two extra. But the show was a hit so they would order 26, with each show taking a week to shoot. I remember swallowing very, very hard. [My son] Eli was only three and half months old. That meant a cut in salary of more than $100,000.”

“We had a new house, a new baby, I had just opened a new exercise studio, signed a 3-year lease, and my ex wasn’t working at the time. And they knew this,” the excerpt continued. “‘That’s not all,’ Michael said. ‘They don’t want you to work on any other shows. You can only do two guest starring roles.’ What? Who? I stammered. I couldn’t breathe. What do we do, Michael? What do we do? ‘We pass,’ Michael said. ‘This is a dirty deal, and they know it.’ OK, I trust you, I said. Michael had been my agent for more than 20 years. ‘OK sweetie, I will call you back,’ he said.”

In the last of the passage, Hubert describes just how the news that she was being replaced was delivered, an ordeal she likens to a murder.

“My mind was going in a million places. OK, I thought, they will come back; this is how they do it. They always come back. I started into the kitchen where Rayna – my friend, housekeeper and nanny was. She was doing dishes as baby E was enjoying a swing. I knelt down, kissed his head, and waited for the next round of negotiations. They never came. The next time Michael called he said, ‘They are going to recast your role.’ There was a beautiful stained glass window that I designed in the bedroom, and the windows were open, so my neighbors probably heard me scream. And that beautiful window probably has many cracks in it. Time of Death: approximately 3 pm. The real Vivian Banks was murdered,” the excerpt closed.

Since being replaced on ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air,’ Hubert has had guest turns on ‘Gilmore Girls,’ ‘One Life To Live,’ ‘Friends,’ ‘NYPD Blue’ and ‘The Jamie Foxx Show.’

“For over 20 years I have been dealing with untruths as to my departure. I have decided to defend myself now. If I am going to be a part of the witch hunt this time, the witch is going to fight back,” Hubert told BV Buzz.

Jennifer Hudson’s fiancé David Otunga made his television debut on Florida Championship Wrestling,
an official developmental territory of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Under his new moniker Dawson Alexander, the former ‘I Love NY 2′ star defeated wrestler Troy Jackman with a finishing move called The Verdict.

Otunga’s wrestling alias is based off his real life background as a graduate of Harvard Law School.

When asked why he decided to become a professional wrestler, Otunga declared it was because he was a fan of the sport.

“There’s a love of this game. There’s a love of this sports entertainment field,” he told wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes.

The 29-year-old wrestler-in-training got engaged to his 27-year-old Oscar-winning girlfriend after proposing on her birthday, Sept. 12, 2008.

The ‘Dreamgirls’ star, who is expecting the couple’s first child before the summer’s end, returned the gesture by proposing to him on his birthday five months later.

According to TMZ, singer, and rapper Nas’ soon-to-be ex-wife, Kelis claims she is flat broke and needs her hubby to cough up some funds. “I have run out of money,” the pregnant singer claims.

Kelis recently filed legal papers requesting Nas pay spousal support, child support and pregnancy-related expenses, including her medical bills.

The ‘Milkshake’ singer wants $3,500 for a baby nurse after the child’s birth, and $20,000 baby supplies, including a stroller, crib, etc.

“My survival is based on [Nas'] will at this time. If he does not want to pay for an expense, it does not get paid,” Kelis said.

The singer filed for divorce from her rap star husband in April. The couple began dating in 2003 and wed in a private ceremony in 2005.

Kelis is due to give birth to the couple’s first child together any day now.