Don’t Call it a Comeback: How Chris Breezy Made it Look So Easy

During Sunday night’s BET Awards, Michael Jackson was finally given the tribute fit for a king that he deserved—one year after his death, by the only performer who could do him justice. Now, you may be asking “what about Usher? Or JT?” No disrespect…but only one artist could truly pull this off, and that guy happened to be barred from performing last year, due to a perpetually public legal situation. Given a fresh chance, on a stage he once ruled, with an introduction from the Jackson brother who was always at Mike’s right, Chris Brown returned to the spotlight. And wow…what a return it was.

Taking to the stage for the biggest audience he’s seen since the Rihanna incident, Chris Brown tore through classic MJ material from “The Way You Make Me Feel”, to “Remember the Time” to, “Smooth Criminal”, to “Billie Jean”. Dressed in the some of same iconic get ups, and hitting Mike’s signature moves with such precision, we were quickly reminded why this kid drew immediate comparisons to the King (no, not of Pop—the King of Music) from the time he emerged on the scene. But it was what came next that would have everybody chiming in on. As the music to “Man in the Mirror” began to play alongside a very Mike-like montage of the less fortunate of the world (including wildlife affected by the oil spill in the Gulf), Chris began to go into the first verse…but couldn’t quite do it. Choked up with emotion, the former “16 year-old phenom” broke into tears, in what is sure to be a heavily-debated scene—a scene that looked as real as real life, but as scripted as a reality show. Everyone watching collectively asked the same question: “Is Chris Brown really crying?” Now, of course he was emotional—he’d finally got to perform at a music awards show again, finally got to perform his tribute to Mike, and to close the set with a song that is so cherished worldwide, so introspective, and was obviously relevant to his situation and clearly struck a chord with him, was genius—for him as a person and for his career. I mean, the lyrics to the chorus say it all:

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror/ I’m asking him to change his ways/ And no message could have been any clearer/ If you wanna make the world a better place/ Take a look at yourself, and then make a change…”

Sure, it couldn’t have been written any better: He got to not only pay homage to the man he patterned his career around, but he also got the opportunity to redeem himself in front of his peers and fans. Plus, it was a tribute commemorating the one year death anniversary of the greatest entertainer who will ever live. Emotions were high all around—onstage, offstage and in our living rooms. Were the tears a PR stunt? Again, that can be debated. But when you are doing so, you have to pull up the video, and unless you’re just hating, I think what you’ll clearly see is this was just a situation that I like to call The Perfect Storm. Did the tears help him garner sympathy? Absolutely. Were they part of some master PR plan? Doubtful. But again, they definitely didn’t hurt—in fact, they helped. Like, really helped. Being in the PR industry makes us even more cynical than average. We create crisis management plans, and script crisis communications messaging for our clients when necessary. But as we also very well know, sometimes you get lucky and are given a rare chance that can turn the tide completely. Chris Brown had the chance—and he seized the moment. Guess who’s back?

Tony Balasandiran | New Media Specialist