Negative media is of course nothing new to Michael Jackson or his fans, however, when certain media outlets claimed that it “appeared a struggle” for him to sing on stage at the World Music Awards, certain fans who attended were left confused.

The sing along with We Are The World suddenly cut short just as Michael started to sing a few lines of the charity hit he penned with Lionel Richie in the 80’s.

I was standing watching Jackson perform… and suddenly he stopped,” said Julius Just, head of Public Relations for the awards. “They cut the sound on one of the greatest living artists in the world.” Almost embarrassed, Just went on to tell the BBC, “It’s the first time anything like this has happened in 18 years of the World Music Awards.”

Earl’s Court organisers deny they cut the song short, “We accommodated the show and the show’s organisers,” said spokesman Jeremy Probert.

The assembled teen choir who were on stage with Michael also found it strange that the song had been cut. “We were rehearsing to sing the whole song - so we were a bit confused because we never got to the actual song. The music was just cut off,” said Paulo Mariani, a 17-year-old who was handpicked last week for the choir. “I can see that fans might have felt let down, but for us it was amazing.”

Mariani said his appearance alongside Michael was the “best experience of (his) life” and that the choir hadn’t even rehearsed with the greatest entertainer of all time, just with a choreographer that day. We got there at one o’clock on the day of the show and basically rehearsed in a room with a choreographer for a couple of hours.”

Since the Awards ended, media have been heavily (and harshly) critical of Michael’s apparent performance at the event. However, he did actually deny that he was ever meant to perform while on the red carpet entering the event, saying that it was a “misunderstanding” and “a rumour.” Michael Jackson (nor any member of his management team) never actually confirmed that a performance was to take place in the run up to the show.

Source: MJNI