BET Awards Pay Tribute To Michael Jackson

The BET Awards in Los Angeles last night (June 28th) were overshadowed by Michael Jackson with a host of acts paying tribute to the star.

Michael Jackson dominated pop music in an unprecedented fashion. The singer emerged as a child star before striking out on his own. Hooking up with Quincy Jones the pair worked on the 'Thriller' album which remains the best selling album in pop music history.

An idol to millions, Michael Jackson died on Friday morning (June 26th) just a few days before he was due to begin a massive residency at the O2 Arena in London. A lavish ceremony, the BET Awards were hastily re-arranged in order to pay tribute to the star.

A chorus of superstar acts paid homage to the singer. Michael Jackson's father Joseph joined acts such as Kanye West and Beyonce at the event, but it was his younger sister Janet Jackson who elected to speak on behalf of the family.

“My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful, and they elected me to speak to all of you,” she told the crowd.

“To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family, and he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, and thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much.”

The BET Awards were hosted by Jamie Foxx, who himself performed three times at the event. As a finale the singer covered the Jackson 5's hit 'I'll Be There' alongside R&B star Ne-Yo.

"No need to be sad. We want to celebrate this black man ... We gonna go through all of Michael Jackson," he said.

Ciara, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z were amongst the other winners at the event, with Jay-Z debuting his new song 'Death of Auto-Tune' in a stunning performance. A number of artists paid tribute to Michael Jackson at the awards, with Lil Wayne name checking the star in his acceptance speech.

Before the ceremony, Michael Jackson's father told reporters that his family had questioned about the star's death. Stating that they had "a lot of concerns" the family have called for a second, independent autopsy into the singer's death.