Like Usher, Chris Brown was also a no show at the BET Awards. Oh, he was ready to put on a fantastic Michael Jackson tribute, but at the last minute, Chris was axed from the show. Rumors have it that both Al Sharpton and Jay-Z weren’t happy with Chris Brown being part of the show. It’s said that Jay-Z told BET execs that he and Beyonce would not perform if Chris Brown was on the stage. And Al Sharpton made such a ruckus to BET executives that they gave in, telling Chris to.. beat it.

Chris Brown is “furious” telling friends that he was confirmed for the awards and was told something else just before show time. However BET and Chris Brown’s publicists are saying he was never confirmed. No surprise Chris Brown’s people would take BET’s side. If he’s going to make any kind of comeback in the future he will need BET’s help. Let me add, women seem incredibly upset that Jay-Z would do this. I suspect they are the same women who defended Chris Brown, even as Rihanna’s lumped up mug stared them in the face.

Did you really think Chris Brown was going to be freely bouncing around stages and mingling with folks in the industry like nothing ever happened? This is the first time, with many more to come.

On Friday, BET President Debra Lee announced that Usher and Justin Timberlake would be last minute additions to the BET Awards/Michael Jackson tribute. Obviously that didn’t happen. Justin Timberlake didn’t give an explanation, but Usher issued a statement explaining that he was overseas and couldn’t make it to the awards in time.

“It is with regret that I was unable to participate in the BET Awards Tribute to Michael Jackson on June 28. When the BET Awards producers and organizers reached out to me to participate in the tribute, I was extremely flattered and humbled by the opportunity to pay tribute to the world’s greatest musical icon. Unfortunately I am currently overseas and would not make it back in time to the Awards show.”

Usher plans to work on a tribute to Michael Jackson when he returns home.

The 2009 BET Awards airing this Sunday was already going to be a big show: Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Maxwell, and The-Dream are all set to take the stage. Michael Jackson’s passing will definitely take the energy to another level. As we speak, Jay-Z and Beyonce are preparing a Michael Jackson tribute. In fact, it’ll be an all out Michael Jackson festival. Expect—the unexpected, as all the big names in music clamor to join the celebration. Jamie Foxx is hosting the show. Yesterday at a BET press session, Jamie Foxx stopped to talk with Sam Sylk about the plans for the show: lots of MJ remixes, dancing, just a positive send off to honor the legendary, influential King of the game.

I’m sure someone is going to break into a moonwalk during one of the tributes; been there, seen it..

Someone needs to get on this robot.

Poplock for extra credit.

Michelle Obama was happy during Barack Obama’s run for president. When they weren’t together on the campaign trail, Michelle would occasionally speak at another event in the state; holding it down and promoting the cause for Change. Now that Barack Obama is the Commander in Chief, The Washington Post is reporting that Michelle Obama is wondering what exactly she’s supposed to do with this First Lady thing ..

“Although Obama’s job-approval ratings have soared, the first lady—a Harvard-educated lawyer—wasn’t satisfied with coasting. For weeks, Michelle Obama had been telling her staff and closest confidantes that she wasn’t having the impact she wanted. She is a woman of substance, with a background in law, public policy and management, who found herself relegated to role model in chief. The West Wing of the White House—the fulcrum of power and policy—had not fully integrated her into its agenda. She wanted more.”

She got rid of her Chief of Staff, hired someone tuned to her wavelength and is getting to work on issues of ‘importance.’..

“She is hiring a full-time speechwriter and has instructed her staff to think “strategically” so that every event has a purpose and a message. She doesn’t want to simply go to events and hug struggling military families, she said; she wants to show progress.”

“Her desire is to step out more and have deliverables,” said communications chief Camille Johnston. “It’s about things that are coming up that we want to be a part of: child nutrition reauthorization act, prevention and wellness for health-care reform.”

Can you blame her? Four years of ‘doing nothing’ would be insufferable.

- “A First Lady Who Demands Substance”

The wave of reflections about Michael Jackson’s passing is likely to shut down the internet: Google news stories in the upper thousands; Twitter admins on server alert. Lenny Kravitz broke Twitter’s 140 character limit to reflect on Michael Jackson’s legacy in this very thoughtful multi-part Tweet I recombine for your reading pleasure..

~ Lenny