She's Baaaaaaack!

(Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

Janet Jackson ripped the stage in a moving tribute to her brother, Michael Jackson, at last night's MTV Video Music Awards. Miss Janet dancing with her big brother one last time moved me to tears. You could see the passion and fire in her face. It was as if she was saying to all of the critics, "My brother is the King and you WILL respect my brother. PERIOD." It was a powerful performance.

And I loved her twist on MJ's one white glove! Cute!

Dontatella Versace Dresses The Jacksons

This shot is reminiscent of En Vogue's Funky Divas album cover.

(Photos: Getty Images)

As I watched Michael Jackson's Memorial Service on Tuesday, between the laughter and the tears, I couldn't help but notice how fabulously chic the Jackson family looked. The beautiful yellow silk ties the brothers wore, the sharp hats the sisters donned (Miss La Toya worked that hat!)...so classy and elegant. Well, the woman behind their ensembles was none other than Donatella Versace:

Why Donatella Versace Was Chosen to Dress the Jacksons at M.J.'s Memorial

by Kate Scheyer
July 8, 2009, 1:07 PM

The Jackson family’s grief may be personal, but if they were going to mourn in front of the world yesterday at Los Angeles’s Staples Center, they were going to do it in style. So Michael Jackson’s sister Janet Jackson contacted Donatella Versace and asked her to outfit the entire clan.

Donatella herself is no stranger to public mourning, having lost her brother Gianni Versace, founder of the Versace fashion house, in 1997. It was Gianni who first collaborated with Michael, back in 1983; the designer was still an up-and-comer, and the singer was already a superstar in need of an ensemble worthy of a duet with Paul McCartney (“Say Say Say”). The unusual black-and-white-checked tailcoat Gianni whipped up must have pleased Jackson, as he continued to wear Versace both on- and offstage throughout his life. Several of Michael’s iconic, military-inspired costumes, as seen in both the Dangerous and HIStory tours, were Versace creations. Michael also liked his women in Versace: Janet wore the label onstage during her recent Rock Witchu tour, and Lisa Marie Presley appeared in campaigns for Versace’s offshoot label Versus during her marriage to M.J.

For Tuesday’s memorial, Donatella created more fittingly somber numbers than the frogged gold jackets and bodysuits her brother designed for Michael decades ago. The Jackson men were outfitted in sharp black suits and subtly golden ties. When it came to the women, Donatella couldn’t help but add some Versace flair, apparent in the sassy wide brim of Latoya’s hat and the subtly revealing sheer panels of Janet’s black sheath. In a move that was both Versace flash and poignant homage, the men displayed a single white glove as they carried Michael’s fittingly flamboyant gold casket. (Source: Vanity Fair)

But I'm not surprised that the Jacksons were so well put together. Even in times of tragedy, we (Black folk) always put our best foot forward. I remember when my 102 yr-old grandmother passed, there were so many fur coats at her funeral, I thought PETA was gonna roll up in the church!

Never Can Say Goodbye....

MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON
THE KING OF MUSIC
(August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009)

"And when the groove is dead and gone
You know that love survives
So we can rock forever, on..."

--- Michael Jackson, "Rock With You"

Michael Jackson has always been a part of my life through music, movies and television. He, and his family, were like distance cousins that I've never met. That's why his death is very hard for me to digest. Life without Michael Jackson is hard to imagine.

I have so many good memories of Michael: The Jacksons television show, the Jackson 5 cartoon series, his Motown 25 performance, trying (and failing) to do the moonwalk, watching MTV for hours just to see the "Billie Jean" video, dreaming of him singing "Lady In My Life" to me at our wedding (LOL!), my friends and I doing the routine to "Thriller" and "Remember The Time". Good times. Good times.

As the song says, "I'll take with me the memories to be my sunshine after the rain", but this is one hell of a storm that I didn't expect.

Rest In Peace, Michael. I'm gonna miss you.