Sunday after noon, I recieved a text message from a friend:

Watch the Billboard Music Awards tonight… the Michael Jackson hologram is going to be amazing. Way better than Tupac’s at Coachella.

I haven’t enjoyed a great watch on the sofa for a while. And it was Michael Jackson, the greatest entertainer of all time. I couldn’t miss it.

It was a night full of celebrities finely put together, musical performances from different artists and genres, and of course awards. But all I was looking forward to was the MJ performance. I can’t wait for another great tribute, I thought.

However, skepticism out grew the excitement as I kept watching the previews and reminders announcing the performance by Michael Jackson.

But it wasn’t Michael Jackson. It was a hologram. The way they were announcing it was already bothering me.

Then the time came. The hologram performance was far from amazing. Watching it just saddened me, a tad of anger was mixed in there too.

It didn’t feel right. People were amazed at how real it looked. But to me, everything about it was fake. The dance moves, his voice — it wasn’t authentic.

MJ loved performing, he loved the stage. He would’ve conquered it and every single person’s emotions in that building, with his striking moves and powerful vocals, as he always did.

I appreciated MJ’s sincere recognition from the host (Ludacris) and two other celebrities before the performance, but it didn’t match up. The hologram was disappointing. It just reminded me of all  the rest of  the impersonations I’ve seen.

I wanted the real MJ performing on that stage. That’s why I was so disappointed.

No one compares to MJ.