Michael Received Another Award from Billboard

Although Michael couldn’t attend the Billboard Awards ceremony held on Monday night in Las Vegas in person, he received his special award at home Neverland via a live satellite link. The award, given to mark the 20th anniversary of his album Thriller, was presented to him by Chris Tucker (the actor from Rush Hour). Chris read a list of Thriller’s achievements, including 37 weeks at number one on the charts (more than any other album in Billboard history), 7 songs in the top 10 of the day’s best-selling songs, 8 Grammy Awards, and the first album to simultaneously top both the pop and R&B music charts. The two joked about how Chris wanted to keep the award next to him for a few days—and about how long he planned to stay at Neverland!

In his remarks, Michael thanked Chris Tucker, Billboard magazine, and his fans. “I’m so honored, I’m so happy. I’m grateful to all my fans around the world. Without you, I wouldn’t be here!” The audience stood and cheered for him.