August 30, 2002 - Artist of the Millennium

At this year’s MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, held on September 7 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, Michael received the award “Artist Of The Millenium” (Artist Of The Millenium). At the start of the ceremony, Britney Spears came on stage to present the gift. Since that day was also Michael’s birthday, a huge four-tier white birthday cake decorated with black musical notes and golden stars was brought onto the stage as well. A silver award was placed beside the cake. Britney Spears began her speech with these words:

"I’m so excited to be here with you in New York on such a special night. The importance of tonight is even greater because it’s the birthday of a very special person. This person has been an inspiration to me—and to almost everyone in this room—and to the entire world. I call him the Artist of the Millennium. He’s a true innovator who has led the way in real music, broken countless barriers, and whose music has sold more than that of any other artist to date. So happy birthday, my dear friend, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson."

Then Michael, accompanied by the music Billie Jean, walked onto the stage. The audience stood up and cheered. Michael hugged Britney, picked up the award from the table, and went to the microphone:

"Thank you Britney Spears, you’re amazing. If someone had told me back when I was a little boy in Indiana that one day I would receive the award “Artist of the Millennium” as a music artist, I wouldn’t have believed it. It’s really incredible. I can’t believe it. Thank you so, so much! But there are a few people I need to thank for making this possible. First, I want to thank God for making everything possible. My mother, Katherine Jackson; Joseph Jackson. Trudy Green, Howard Kaufman, John McClain—genius—John Branca, Barry Gibb, Diana Ross, Glideys Knight, Quincy Jones. I love you. And I want to thank… James Brown—I think he’s a genius. And all my fans around the world, I love you. God bless you. Thank you."

Then Michael flashed the peace sign to the crowd, took the award, looked once more at the cake, and left the stage.