Michael Jackson 2014 Billboard Performance: 'Xscape' Singer's Awards Show Hologram Performance Stirs Controversy
Almost five years after his death, Michael Jackson stole the show at Sunday night's 2014 Billboard Music Awards.
A real-looking hologram of the late King of Pop was used in a performance of his new song "Slave to the Rhythm" from his posthumous album "Xscape." Jackson's hologram image was also joined on stage by a bevy of both virtual and real dancers.
Although some audience members seemed to enjoy the performance, the camera showed others wiping away tears at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, reports the Washington Post. Viewers who watched the telecast at home voiced mixed reactions to the high-tech performance on social media.
"Uncomfortable, odd and eerily interesting," wrote public relations agent Simon Smalls in a tweet. "Not quite sure what to feel. #MissingMJ"
"He's baaaccck!" Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, tweeted about Jackson's hologram, along with an Instagram video.
One fan under the handle @berddistheword seemed to be overwhelmed by the performance. "I'm crying. Michael lives on. #kingofpop #BBMAs," they wrote.
There were also many strong opinions expressed on Facebook soon after the performance.
"It's kind of creepy. I didn't like it. I thought it was bad way to honor him," one user wrote, according to ABC News.
Another wrote, "That was way too realistic. I mean to the point where it was almost like he was always alive and was in hiding."
One viewer wrote "amazing...but really really creepy. i wonder how his kids felt about that"
The highly anticipated hologram performance almost didn't' happen. According to the LA Times, a federal judge made a last minute decision on Friday to toss out a lawsuit from tech companies alleging the hologram would violate their patents. The companies claimed that a competing business was using their product to create the spectacle.