Chris Brown and Michael Jackson Essay Example for Free

Chris Brown and Michael Jackson Essay Chris Brown and Usher are two contemporary hit music performers. Both men display a remarkable similarity in their lives. Each artist came from poor families. Each artist has made it to the top of the Top 40 music charts, more than once. Each artist has had the opportunity to work closely with Michael Jackson and has been tagged as potentially being the next â€Å"King of Pop. † Chris Brown and Usher, through their music have entertained hundreds of thousands of faithful fans. Though Chris Brown and Usher share similar music backgrounds, each has a unique music style which gives to us, the fans, the gift of their exquisite talent, with all of its strengths and joys. Tragedy struck both of their lives on June 28, 2009, upon learning of the death of Michael Jackson. Each of them described Jackson’s death as tragic and untimely. Chris Brown related this experience during the BET Music Awards on June 29, 2009. Usher expressed himself in his last CD released entitled â€Å"Raymond V. Raymond. † Although both expressed the great loss of Michael Jackson, the way that each depicted the incident was distinct. Chris Brown emotionally let loose on the stage at the 2009 BET Awards. He was very emotional and expressed his mourning with long comments, always keeping his tense present. Chris also chose words that were sure to get an emotional response from the fans that he and Michael Jackson have shared for the last several years. For example, when talking about how Michael Jackson invited him to the Neverland Ranch when he was just getting started in the industry, Chris Brown said, â€Å"I was just beginning to get materials together for my 2006 self-titled debut release, when I got a call from Michael Jackson expressing interest in my work. He invited me to the Neverland Ranch and helped me organize what became my first certified platinum album. † An illustration of more words from Chris Brown in reference to Michael Jackson can be found in the August, 2009 edition of Rolling Stones Magazine. He speaks of losing one of the mentors of his music career and speculation from the media that he could be the next â€Å"King of Pop. † The style and choice of words Chris Brown used made the reader aware that he was in mourning, but was indeed ready to step up to the plate to replace Michael Jackson as the â€Å"King of Pop. † Usher expressed his emotion in a more â€Å"unemotional† tone via â€Å"Raymond V. Raymond,† his latest CD release and on a limited edition DVD that was included in the first 100,00 copies of the CD sold. Usher used past tense, which told his fans that while he was mourning Michael Jackson and that Jackson was the King of Pop, that reign was gone, but not forgotten. His words were free of the severity of the loss. The words came off as harsh to his many fans. Instead of trying to elicit a particular emotional response, Usher was mourning in his own way, somewhat cold and detached. He didn’t even show up for the Michael Jackson Tribute at the 2009 BET Music Awards, claiming that he was too torn up over the loss. For instance, having given an account of his history with Michael Jackson on the DVD, he said, â€Å"I felt like I had lost my own life for just a moment in time. † The viewer felt his pain for a moment in time, however, the brevity of the emotion made his fans wonder about the sincerity of the emotion. Chris Brown, on the other hand, openly expressed himself over the loss of Michael Jackson with true sincerity, Usher explains, â€Å"he felt like he lost his life for a moment of time,† moving on like it was a sad moment, but eager to claim the title of â€Å"King of Pop,† as speculated by media. Chris Brown wanted the fans to feel with him. Usher wanted the fans to grieve for just a moment and move on to the next chapter. They achieved their objectives by directing the fan’s attention to a specific style of expressing their emotions, one more open, and the other, more cold. The emotional focus of Chris Brown’s response to the death of Michael Jackson was sincere. As I watched him mourn on national television and then read his story in the Rolling Stones Magazine, I felt like I lost one of my best friends, too. I looked back at my first concert experience, which was Michael Jackson’s Thriller Tour, and got teary-eyed. Chris Brown never let go of his love for the King of Pop and was never really concerned about replacing Michael Jackson as the new King of Pop. On the other hand, Usher’s mourning is short-lived. It was clear that Usher was going to step up to take the thrown of King of Pop the day after Michael Jackson died. He concentrated less on the mourning of Michael Jackson and more on the idea of being the next King. It would be impossible not to address the ways in which both men studied under Michael Jackson at one time or another. Chris Brown got some good training from Michael Jackson prior to the release of his very first CD. Usher was semi-discovered by Michael Jackson’s people and spent a lot of time at the Neverland Ranch with Michael Jackson. My most powerful emotional response throughout watching both of these celebrities mourn their mentor was one of incredible sorrow. When I look at both Chris and Usher’s overall reaction to the death of Michael Jackson, I felt the tremendous weight that sadness and despair can fold around a heart. I wanted to offer comfort to them both, however, by the end of the mourning period, I only wanted to comfort Chris Brown. It was obvious that Chris Brown’s wound was still cut open and bleeding. Chris Brown and Usher are extremely good recording artists. From each we receive a rare gift. As Chris Brown showed on the stage at the 2009 BET Music Awards, he was really torn over the loss of Michael Jackson. Usher showed us that he had ulterior motive.