Halle Berry, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake and more have had their moments.
By Kyle Anderson
Chris Brown performs at the 2010 BET awards on Sunday
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/ Getty Images
Despite the triumphant TV returns of Kanye West, T.I. and El DeBarge at Sunday night's 2010 BET Awards, the big headline from the show was Chris Brown's moving tribute to late superstar Michael Jackson. Brown flawlessly executed all of Jackson's most classic dance moves (including a scorching moonwalk), but when it came time to lend his voice to Jackson's "Man in the Mirror," Brown broke down in tears and could not sing, apparently overwhelmed by the emotion of the situation.
Crying in public is hardly a new phenomenon in the world of popular culture. Brown joins the list of some of the biggest stars in the world who have also broken down on television.
Halle Berry When Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress at the 74th Annual Academy Awards in 2002 (for her work in "Monster's Ball"), she became the first African-American woman to take home the prize. That, combined with the overwhelming experience that was making the emotionally-charged "Monster's Ball" and the huge standing ovation she received, threw Berry into hysterics during her acceptance speech. "This moment is so much bigger than me," she said.
Kelly Clarkson When Kelly Clarkson won the very first season of "American Idol," she was initially in a state of shock. Unable to express how she was feeling to the television audience who voted her the victor over Justin Guarini, she moved on to her performance of "A Moment Like This." When she hit the lyric, "I can't believe it's happening to me," she finally broke. She managed to get through the song, but to continuously apologized for her emotion.
Justin Timberlake Ashton Kutcher's hit MTV show "Punked" certainly pushed a lot of his famous friends to the brink, but few had a reaction like Timberlake. When Kutcher's crew of actors pretended to be federal officers seizing most of his possessions for failure to pay back taxes, Timberlake flipped out and wept. Usually, Kutcher's reveal at the end of the episode throws the celebrity in question into laughing jags or fits of anger, but Timberlake was clearly just filled with relief.
Tonya Harding Athletes cry all the time, but it's usually because of the overwhelming thrill of victory or the agony of bitter defeat. Rarely do they weep during a particular competition, but that's exactly what Harding did at the 1994 Winter Olympics. After dealing with her connection to the attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan in the run-up to the games, Harding took the ice only to realize that a lace on one of her skates had broken. In between sobs, she pleaded with the judges to allow her to get new laces and start over. They allowed it, though Harding still only finished eighth.
Crystal Bowersox The season nine "American Idol" runner-up had an extremely emotional run to the finals (including a harrowing health scare), but it took merely the presence of her father and a particularly heartfelt song to push her to tears. Bowersox slipped a handful of sobs into her performance of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions' "People Get Ready" during Inspirational Week on the show. It was one of the many performances that put Bowersox in the discussion of the best "Idol" contestants of all time.
Tracy Morgan The always unpredictable star of "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" has had a tough life and a challenging career, but the mere mention of co-star Tina Fey sent Morgan on the crying train when he visited with Oprah Winfrey on an episode of her show back in April. "She's my friend. Tina is my friend. I love her," he told Winfrey as he was fighting back tears.
"Crying Girl" There are an awful lot of "American Idol" moments on this list, aren't there? Ashley Ferl gained notoriety during the show's sixth season not as a contestant but as a particularly emotional audience member. The 13-year-old Ferl was so taken with "Idol" contestant Sanjaya Malakar's take on the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" that she sobbed uncontrollably, earning herself a great deal of screen time and the privilege of becoming an Internet meme for a while.
Did we miss any? What is the best incident of celebrity crying? And what did you think of Brown's performance? Let us know in the comments!
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California state investigators will not file charges against seven other doctors who treated the late star.
By Mawuse Ziegbe
Michael Jackson
Photo: Getty Images
Seven doctors who treated the late Michael Jackson will not be charged in the singer's death. According to The Associated Press California officials said Wednesday (July 28) that they will not file charges against the doctors who were under scrutiny as part of an investigation launched by the state's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.
Jackson passed away in June 2009 after suffering cardiac arrest. His personal doctor Conrad Murray — who was not one of the seven doctors included in the investigation — has been charged in his death and pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter after allegedly giving the star the potent anesthetic propofol.
"I am very disappointed," said Brian Oxman, an attorney for Michael Jackson's father Joe Jackson. "The misuse of medications by Michael Jackson in the last years of his life was excessive and to fail to bring that to the public eye is ignoring reality." Oxman is serving as Joe Jackson's lawyer in a wrongful death suit against Murray.
Bureau spokesperson Christine Gasparac told the AP that one of the doctors who was under investigation was referred to the California Medical Board for prescribing drugs to one of Jackson's aliases, however, a spokesperson for the board did not confirm the referral. A spokesperson for the Drug Enforcement Agency told the AP that it has also dropped its investigation into Jackson's doctors.
Murray lawyer Ed Chernoff has maintained that the doctor did not administer a fatal dose of propofol and has suggested that either Jackson gave himself the anesthetic or another person may have supplied the late star with the dose. However, an anesthesia expert has said the possibility of Jackson administering the drug himself is unlikely.
A preliminary hearing in the Jackson manslaughter case is slated for August and Murray faces a sentence of up to four years in jail.
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Glam rocker tackled the legendary 1970 Led Zeppelin song for 'American Idol' rock night.
By Gil Kaufman
Adam Lambert performs "Whole Lotta Love" on "American Idol" on Tuesday
Photo: R. Mickshaw/Getty Images/ Fox
Imagine a freight train speeding toward you at midnight. Or a rockslide barreling down a hill as you try to outrace it. That's the feeling of the ominous, chugging Jimmy Page riff that kicks off Led Zeppelin's 1970 Stonehenge of rock, "Whole Lotta Love." And that's before singer Robert Plant leans into one of the nastiest, ecstatic rock screams this side of the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again."
That's the song Adam Lambert chose to sing on "American Idol" rock night Tuesday (May 5), and, needless to say, it was a challenge that the eyeliner-loving Los Angeles stage veteran was more than up for, hitting a series of high notes and rock screams that would have made Plant proud. It was a risky maneuver that paid off for Lambert, who chose a tune that came in at #75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004.
The legendary British rock act recorded the tribute to Chicago blues icon Willie Dixon during their second U.S. tour after working it out in their live show, including it on their 1969 classic album Led Zeppelin II. Like many of the songs Zeppelin performed early in their career, "Love" was a blues standard turned on its head with a heavy dose of crunching psychedelic guitar and thundering drums, courtesy of late drummer John Bonham. The song was based on a 1962 tune by another blues forefather, Muddy Waters, called "You Need Love," which was penned by Dixon.
For Zeppelin's version, Plant customized the lyrics by adding some lyrical quotes from a few other songs Dixon wrote for Howlin' Wolf, "Back Door Man" and "Shake For Me," nailing the tricky vocal in a single take. It was also inspired by 1966's "You Need Loving" from the British rock group the Small Faces, for whom Zeppelin had great affection, but they also did not credit Dixon for his part in writing the original lyrics. The song became Zeppelin's first U.S. single and their only U.S. top 10 hit. Though their manager would not let them release singles in the U.K. because he thought it cannibalized album sales, the song was finally released as the band's only British single in 1997.
Dixon sued Zeppelin over the song in 1985, claiming it borrowed too heavily from his "You Need Love," and Zeppelin reached an agreement with him, with Dixon using the money he received to set up a program that provided musical instruments for schools. A cornerstone of heavy rock, the tune -- which was the theme song for the long-running British countdown show "Top of the Pops" in the 1970s and '80s -- has been covered by dozens of artists over the years, from Tina Turner and Ben Harper to Prince, Slash, Leona Lewis, Train's Pat Monahan, the London Symphony Orchestra and Jane's Addiction.
Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
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Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death.
By Gil Kaufman
Dr. Conrad Murray
Photo: Toby Canham/ Getty Images
More than a year after Michael Jackson's death, the pop icon's former personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was in court Monday (August 23) where a judge finally set a preliminary date of January 4, 2011, in the cardiologist's involuntary-manslaughter trial.
TMZ reported that Murray's legal team won a request to get a fluid sample from Jackson as part of their defense strategy questioning the accuracy of levels of the surgical anesthetic propofol found in Jackson's body. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office determined that Jackson, 50, died as a result of acute propofol intoxication.
Murray has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and has admitted to giving Jackson propofol, a strong anesthetic usually used during surgery but allegedly employed by chronic insomniac Jackson as a sleep aid. Murray's lawyers have said the physician did not administer any drugs that "should have" caused Jackson's death. The investigation into his death was equally lengthy, lasting more than eight months, after which Los Angeles prosecutors charged that Murray gave the King of Pop a lethal combination of propofol and other painkillers and sedatives in the hours before the singer was found dead in his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25, 2009. Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
After hearing from both sides in the case at the January court date, the judge, Michael Pastor, will determine if there is enough evidence to mount a full trial.
Jackson's mother and father, Katherine and Joseph, were in court on Monday, according to Radar Online, sitting in the front row as Judge Pastor set the preliminary hearing date. Pastor granted a protective order covering all evidence in the criminal case, meaning it cannot be released to anyone other than the lawyers, paralegals and investigators in the case.
Murray's defense team reportedly asked for access to three fluids collected by the coroner's office, including ones taken from syringes and an IV tube to re-examine test results. Pastor ruled that the coroner's office must preserve the samples, and if defense attorneys and prosecutors cannot agree on the request, he will schedule a hearing on the matter.
After court let out, a group of Jackson supporters gathered and sang an impromptu verse that featured the lines, "Conrad Murray is a cold man," while holding up signs that read "Justice for Michael Jackson" and "Love Unites Us, Peace Drives Us, Judgment Day 4 All."
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