Jermaine at IIFA, fails to match Jacko

Jermaine was the first performer at the IIFA Rocks, held on Friday night at the Ricoh Coliseum. It was a fashion and music event held as part of the ongoing IIFA celebrations. The occasion was the eve of the second death anniversary of his younger brother Michael Jackson.

But despite Jermaine’s effort, MJ’s magic was missed by the audience.  After a short welcome by filmmaker Karan Johar, Jermaine took the stage, and belted out three of his numbers. He did little jigs and pelvic thrusts as male dancers swayed behind him wearing black hats a la those popularly worn by MJ. But none could compare the poise, the flexibility, the style and the enthusiasm of Michael, who died on June 25, 2009.

“Michael was of a different league. His moves were so amazing, his stage presence was unmatched. But it is really nice of Jermaine to have agreed to perform for a Bollywood show,” Sunita Arya, an Indian living in Toronto, said  after the  performance.

Jitendra Singh, another Bollywood enthusiast who came for the show, said: “The performance was good. When an international singer comes and performs at an Indian event, it just goes to show how far our Hindi film industry has reached. We are far from our country, but these small moments make us feel very proud.”

Jermaine, who sang three of his numbers including “Can you feel it”, also teamed up with Indian singer Sonu Nigam to present a tribute song for Michael and said it was a “special moment” for him to perform at the IIFA.

The duo performed a track- “This is it” - against a backdrop full of glimpses from Michael’s life. The song was written and composed by Niigaam following Michael’s death.

 Court to check MJ  rehearsal footage

‘King of pop’ Michael Jackson’s lawyers have won permission to show raw, unseen footage of the singer’s “This Is It” concert rehearsals in court on his second death anniversary, PTI reports from London.

Defence attorneys and prosecutors in the case against Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray were told they would be able to show clips in a bid to determine the singer’s physical condition in the days before he died, reported Contactmusic.

Murray’s defence team  hope the footage will show Jackson as a tired star, struggling with the daily grind of rehea­rsals. Prosecutors hope the footage will show the opposite.