Over forty thousand mostly British Michael Jackson fans gathered in Cardiff for this weekend’s Michael Forever tribute concert. Despite criticisms from Jackson’s estate and some of his family (including sister Janet) that the timing, coinciding with the ongoing manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, was disrespectful, the concert went on as planned, and drew no shortage of Jackson devotees. Furthermore, cancellations by American pop stars—including Black Eyed Peas (thanks to “unavoidable circumstances”), Jennifer Hudson (“major production issues”), and Chris Brown (whose visa was denied thanks to a memorable 2009 assault charge on his criminal record)—had little effect on the enthusiasm of fans more excited to see British pop stars like JLS, who performed “Blame It On The Boogie” with the Jacksons present:

A taped Beyoncé performance introduced by Jackson’s three children and a great rendition of “Dirty Diana” by Christina Aguilera (who, The Fab Life notes, was not exactly looking her best) were the best-received of the performances by American artists who did come through for the show.

Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Ne-Yo Defy Naysayers at Michael Jackson Tribute Concert [Rolling Stone]

[Image: Getty Images]

If we ever become wealthy enough to have a personal physician, the #1 thing we would least want the doctor to say might just be “Does anyone know CPR?” And yet this is exactly what Michael Jackson’s head of security Faheem Muhammad testifies that Dr. Conrad Murray asked on the day of Jackson’s death. Muhammad took the stand yesterday in the manslaughter trial against Murray, and provided his recollections of that day for the prosecutors. The real emotional gut-punch is his description of Jackson’s children, in the room at the time. “Paris [was] on the ground, balled up, crying. And Prince was just standing there, and he was just, he had a real shock, just slowly crying.”

The prosecution’s eyewitnesses are, in essence, testifying that Murray consistently failed to take necessary decisive action, except when it pertained to protecting himself from being held responsible. Today, Jackson bodyguard Alberto Alvarez took the stand and repeated his recollection, first shared at a preliminary hearing, that Murray told him to hide vials of propofol before calling 911. These staff members were not generally permitted into Jackson’s bedroom, so their immediate observations comprise the majority of prosecutors’ eyewitness evidence.

Michael Jackson insiders describe death chaos [CBS News]

[Image: Getty Images]

Janet Jackson has finally weighed in on the controversial tribute concert planned for her late brother in October, potentially putting the already imperiled Michael Jackson tribute in further jeopardy. In a one-sentence statement to the Associated Press, she wrote, simply, “Because of the trial, the timing of this tribute to our brother would be too difficult for me.”

The criminal trial to which she refers is that of Dr. Conrad Murray, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Her statement echoes that of siblings Randy and Jermaine Jackson, who issued a statement the day the concert was announced explaining that they would not support a tribute concert scheduled to take place during Murray’s trial.

Janet’s lack of support is the latest in a series of setbacks faced by Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert, scheduled for October 8 in Cardiff, Wales, since it was first announced, at a press conference in July, by Jackson’s mother Katherine and siblings Marlon, Jackie, Tito and La Toya. The tribute has booked a lineup including Ne-Yo, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Smokey Robinson, Leona Lewis, Alien Ant Farm, Craig David, and, via satellite, Beyoncé; will be broadcast to 30 countries (in 3D where available); and will raise money for the AIDS Project and other charities. Nevertheless the tribute has not received the support of Michael Jackson’s estate, and had furthermore come under fire from both the estate and MJ fans for initially including Kiss on the lineup in the face of negative comments Gene Simmons has made about Jackson.

Janet Jackson Not Attending Michael Jackson Tribute Concert [AP]

[Image: Getty Images]