Black Eyed Peas Cancel Michael Jackson Tribute Concert

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For some unknown reason, the Black Eyed Peas have pulled out of Saturday's Michael Jackson Tribute show. Maybe their Tron outfits didn't come in time.

Organizers of the event say that the group had to cancel due to "unavoidable circumstances."

Chris Hunt, CEO of Global Live Events, said in a statement: “It is with regret that we announce the removal of Black Eyed Peas from the Michael Forever bill, but I look forward to a great night with other earth-shattering artists.”

F-ck You is a catchy tune, but I don’t know if I'd call Cee Lo Green "earth-shattering."

Christina Aguilera, Leona Lewis, Smokey Robinson, LaToya Jackson and some of the Jackson brothers are also set to perform. Janet Jackson and Jermaine Jackson, however, have decided to sit this one out because they think it's inappropriate to hold the event while Dr. Conrad Murray is on trial.

Between all this and the Gene Simmons thing, this tribute has drama written all over it. It's time to axe the whole thing and just start over.

The band's reps confirmed the cancellation but didn’t give a specific reason. But according to RadarOnline.com, a source confirmed:

"The band advised on Tuesday that they would not be performing and returned the deposit they were paid. Everyone involved in the event is in shock."

Event organizers said: “It was confirmed yesterday and no reason, sadly. Everyone else is rehearsing and it looks amazing.”

But according to another production source, the Black Eyed Peas butted heads with organizers over two issues: the rights to some of Jackson's songs and the use of the band's content on the social networking site Facebook.

"There were major issues," the source told RadarOline.com. "The Peas have been duking it out with organizers since the Facebook deal was announced."

I can't imagine what those issues would be. They want them to play at a Michael Jackson tribute concert but don’t want them to play any Michael Jackson songs? Color me confused.

Michael Forever is set to be a pay-per-view show available on Facebook. In September, Black Eyed Peas front man Will.i.am said, "We all owe Michael such a lot." The two had worked together before Jackson's death. The singer said that Jackson's songs "have been an inspiration to my whole life and certainly formed the soundtrack to my childhood."

Gene Simmons was originally slated to do the show, too, but after Simmons' past criticism of Jackson's child molestation allegation was revealed, the KISS member decided to drop out.