Chris Brown says his Michael Jackson tribute was cut from the 2022 AMAs

It seems Chris Brown will not be hitting the stage to perform at the American Music Awards this weekend. The singer broke the news to his fans on social media Saturday morning (Nov. 19).

Obviously disappointed by the change of plans, Brown took to Instagram to show his followers the dance choreography for the performance. “You serious?” Brown captioned the video before following up with remarks in the comments. “Would’ve been the AMA performance but they canceled me for reasons unknown,” he shared.

In the rehearsal footage of the seven-minute performance, Brown revealed he and his dancers were expected to kick off the presentation with his viral hit “Under the Influence.” From there, the show would’ve transitioned with a performance of Michael Jackson’s records “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin” and “Thriller.”

The 33-year-old is nominated for Favorite Male R&B Artist at this year’s ceremony, airing live from Los Angeles on Sunday (Nov. 20) at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Breezy’s love for MJ is well-known, having previously paid tribute to the King of Pop at the BET Awards in 2010. The show-stopping performance saw Brown tearfully sing “Man in the Mirror.” He later revealed to Billboard that he was overcome with emotion when he reflected on his last opportunity to see Jackson.

“A lot of people don’t know, I was going to see Michael Jackson the day he died. I was on my way to the Staples Center that day,” he said. “When I heard ‘Man in the Mirror,’ it just touched me. It wasn’t fake. I know people were trying to put extras on it, but everything was genuine. That was my ultimate apology, hands down.”

The Indigo artist has sparked comparisons to the late music icon throughout his career. From his global status as an entertainment star to his undeniable records and passion for performing, many have debated whether Brown shares the same trajectory as Jackson.

Akon recently echoed those sentiments when he appeared on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast. “In this day and age, the only person, in my opinion, that could’ve achieved just as great of a legacy, to me, would’ve been Chris Brown,” he said. “I just believe that Chris Brown wasn’t surrounded by the circle of creative people that [Michael Jackson] was surrounded by. Because Chris got the talent, he just needed the direction.”

Watch Chris Brown’s rehearsal footage for his scrapped AMAs performance below.