A decade has nearly passed since George Michael died on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53. On September 27, the MTV Video Music Awards used its broadcast from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles to revisit his catalog, assembling an eclectic slate of vocalists to run through selections from his solo career.
Orville Peck began the segment by framing Michael's legacy for the audience. Michael had tasted global fame by nineteen, Peck reminded the crowd, but he did not rest on that early pop celebrity. Instead, he channeled it into work that combined massive radio hits with pointed challenges to the establishment. Peck's introduction set up a sequence of four songs meant to reflect the breadth of Michael's solo output.
Sombr started the performances by reaching back to 1987, the year Michael released his solo debut, Faith. Taking on two tracks from that record, Sombr worked through the title cut before slowing things down for Father Figure. Placing the two songs together recalled the aesthetic Michael built for that breakthrough, moving easily between acoustic strums and tight rhythmic arrangements.
RAYE took the stage next, singing I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), the duet Michael cut with Aretha Franklin in 1987. The broadcast opted against finding a substitute partner for the track, choosing instead to run Michael's original isolated vocal through the house speakers. That choice left RAYE to trade phrases directly with his recorded performance, grounding her live delivery against Michael's familiar tone.
The tempo shifted again when Teddy Swims stepped up for Careless Whisper. Swims kept the arrangement faithful to the original, letting its prominent saxophone line guide his vocal work on one of Michael's most recognizable melodies. The segment then turned into a group celebration when Adam Lambert walked out unannounced to lead Freedom! '90. Lambert pushed the uptempo track forward, eventually pulling MNEK, MEEK, and Saint Harison onto the stage to turn the finale into a full ensemble performance.
Michael had plenty of history with the VMAs over the years. He earned four of the network's trophies during his lifetime, most notably receiving the Video Vanguard Award from Madonna in 1989. Madonna was back on the broadcast herself on September 27, giving her first performance at the event in twenty three years. The ceremony also marked a milestone for Taylor Swift, who premiered the visual for Patient Zero and became the most decorated artist in VMA history.
The performance in Los Angeles coincided with fresh activity surrounding Michael's personal vault. Earlier this year, his Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley spoke about Michael's catalog, arguing that the songs still resonate with listeners across different generations because they touch fundamental human feelings.
Audiences will soon get a closer look at the era that defined that catalog. The television tribute comes just ahead of George Michael: The Faith Tour, a concert film built around two 1988 performances at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris. Filmed during the European dates of the Faith tour, the concerts were shot on 35mm film using fourteen cameras. The footage was thought to be lost for years before the reels were located, restored, and remastered. The project includes an eighteen track live album featuring previously unreleased material due in November, with the feature length film arriving in cinemas this December.
