VIDEO! Here is the video of Janet Jackson’s incredible 2009 VMA performance, a tribute to Michael Jackson including SCREAM. Janet Jackson’s 2009 VMAs performance was stunning, powerful, and coupled with a brilliant speech by Madonna.

Madonna called Jackson The King. The Material Girl said she took to YouTube after Michael’s passing to remember his gift, his talent, that will forever live on in video:

“In a desperate attempt to hold onto his memory, I went on the Internet to watch old clips of him dancing and singing on TV and onstage and I thought, ‘My God, he was so unique, so original, so rare. And there will never be anyone like him again.’ He was a king. But he was also a human being and alas, we are all human beings and sometimes we have to lose things before we can truly appreciate them. I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, age 9 and 4, are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There’s a whole lot of crotch-grabbing and moonwalking going on in my house, and it seems like a whole new generation of kids has discovered his genius and are bringing him to life again. I hope that wherever Michael is now, he is smiling about this.

Madonna said she was to perform the same arena as Jackson, just days apart. Yet she felt we had let him slip through the cracks:

“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. That we had abandoned him. That we had allowed this magnificent creature that once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career, we were all busy passing judgment. Most of us had turned our backs on him.

Watch Janet’s incredible video performance below from the 2009 VMAs.

• Comments(1)LALATE2

VIDEO! Watch video of Madonna’s Michael Jackson tribute from the 2009 MTV VMAs tonight. Madonna’s Michael Jackson tribute was an amazing speech, the full transcript released tonight.

Madonna and Jackson were born the same year, and at age six Madonna said Jackson lost his childhood and she lost her mother:

“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.

“I never had a mother, but he never had a childhood. And when you never get to have something, you become obsessed by it. I spent my childhood searching for my mother figures; sometimes I was successful. But how do you recreate your childhood when you are under the magnifying glass of the world for your entire life?

Madonna said years later in 1991 she asked Michael Jackson out for dinner; Madonna said the night the led to french fries and Jackson, at least for one night, feeling like a human being.

“I can’t say we were great friends, but in 1991 I decided I wanted to get to know him better. I asked him out to dinner: I said, ‘My treat, I’ll drive, just you and me.’ He agreed and showed up to my house without any bodyguards. We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out, but he was still wearing sunglasses. I said, ‘Michael, I feel like I’m talking to a limousine, do you think you could take off those glasses so I could see your eyes?’ He paused for a moment, then he tossed the glasses out the window, looked at me with a wink and a smile and said, ‘Can you see me now, is that better?’

“In that moment, I could see both his vulnerability and his charm. The rest of the dinner, I was hell-bent on getting him to eat French fries, drink wine, have dessert and say bad words, things he never seemed to allow himself to do. Later, we went back to my house to watch a movie and we sat on the couch like two kids, and somewhere in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine. It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance and I was happy to oblige him. And in that moment he didn’t feel like a superstar, he felt like a human being.”

For the complete transcript of Madonna’s incredible speech, CLICK HERE

For continuing coverage of the VMAs on LALATE click here: http://news.lalate.com/category/vmas.

Watch below the video of Madonna’s Michael Jackson tribute from tonight’s MTV VMAs.

• Comments(0)LALATE2

Madonna has a new column in Yediot Ahronot, Israel’s biggest daily paper. Madonna’s Yediot Ahronot column will be as an international correspondent.

While her biceps are all the talk today, Madonna’s fingers have penned for Friday her first article “How My Life Changed”. Today that article is previewed briefly in the paper.

This and future articles will be written by Madonna in English - who has studied Jewish mysticism and taken the Hebrew name of Esther - and then translated by editors into Hebrew.

Madonna nor publication hasn’t expressed how long the run will last, nor how frequently articles will be published.

• Comments (0)

Love tapes of Madonna’s messages left for Jim Albright are on sale. Madonna’s Jim Albright tapes, answering messages left by the pop singer for her reported ex boyfriend Albright, are among 500 celebrity items on sale this week in New York.

The auction lot includes Jimi Hendrix and Muhammad Ali items. Hendrix’ $1 contact and Ali’s robe are in the auction listings.

The Madonna Jim Albright items include two micro cassette tape recordings, faxed love letters,  and  a 15-minute “very personal and intimate video” that Madonna gave Albright. In total, there are 21 faxes. In one fax, Madonna writes in 1993:

“[Despite a bad photoshoot's] pathetic camera work, my … [rear] looked good and you should see how good it looks in person.

“It would be sooooo nice. Send me a fax. I’ll be in my bed waiting for you.”

The tapes alone are expected to bring in $40,000.

• Comments (0)

VIDEO! Here is the Madonna Michael Jackson tribute YouTube video. Madonna’s Michael Jackson tribute was during her O2 performance last night.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Jackson was to take the stage just weeks after Madonna. Madonna had said of Jackson’s passing:

“I can’t stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson… The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever!…

“My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family… God bless.”

The two have been close for decades. In 1991 Jackson and Madonna attended the Oscars together.

• Comments (1)

Catch a new Madonna Michael Jackson tribute song. Madonna’s Michael Jackson song hits an O2 stage this July 4th weekend.

According to Madonna’s rep Liz Rosenberg says Madonna will debut the new song-and-dance tribute to Michael during her July 4th O2 performance. Jackson was to take the stage just weeks after Madonna.

The two have been close for decades. Madonna had said of Jackson’s passing:

“I can’t stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson… The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever!…

“My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family… God bless.”

In 1991 the two attended the Oscars together.

Madonna released to press today on Madonna.com the above photo showing a dress rehearsal with a dancer appearing as Jackson.

• Comments (0)