Janet Jackson at the 2009 BET Awards on Sunday
Photo: John Shearer/ WireImage

LOS ANGELES — From New Edition's scorching Jackson 5 nod opening the show to host Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo's closing number, Michael Jackson's legacy was well represented at the 2009 BET Awards. But most of the stars in attendance at the Shrine Auditorium were in awe of Janet Jackson's touching words expressing her family's grief.

"It was very, very strong; it was very courageous of her," Ciara, who also paid tribute to MJ in song during the night, told MTV News about Janet's speech. "That's what it's about, being strong for your family and being strong, period. Unfortunately, this was unexpected, and you just kind of step up to the plate. I think it was great. They seemed to have a good relationship growing up. ... I'm sure they both used to have each other's back when they needed to. It was beautiful."

Lil Mama, Wale, Teyana Taylor and Gabrielle Union were among the many that echoed Ciara's sentiments about Janet's appearance.

"I was even crying," Taylor said of Janet's brief speech. "I looked up to him. He's the reason why I dress the way I dress today."

Lil Mama, whose mother passed away in 2007, said she identified with Janet's emotions during her appearance on the show. "It was very emotional," she said. "I couldn't imagine losing my babies. My brother's here with me tonight. We already lost our mother. To lose a brother, to lose any family member, it hurts. Right then at that moment, I knew it's really happening. Mike is gone."

While the shock of Jackson's sudden death left many in dismay over the news, "From G's to Gents" host Fonzworth Bentley said Janet's appearance gave everyone a chance to let out some emotions.

"It was a bittersweet show," Bentley told MTV News from the red carpet of the SRC/BET afterparty. "I think I got a chance to get a lot of emotion out. Janet Jackson is one of my favorite artists, period, and to see her literally raise the hair on the back of everyone's neck, what courage. What that says to give of herself and not go into seclusion — [she was saying], 'I know you wanna hear from us, I know you wanna see us, so I'ma come.' And it's a very important awards show, and Michael would have shown up. He did before. It was just an amazing experience."

Alicia Keys said that sitting in the audience, she felt a wave of goodwill throughout the night from those in attendance who were shouting, yelling or doing whatever else they had to do to express their feelings about Jackson.

"There is no way this should have happened without saluting Michael Jackson," Keys said. "This is his foundation. We all grew up on him. He's loved all over the world. You can feel a very high energy here. This show is really genuine and beautiful."

For complete coverage of the life, career and passing of the legendary entertainer, visit "Michael Jackson Remembered."

Share your Michael Jackson memories by uploading video and comments to Your.MTV.com or joining the discussion below.

• Ciara, Lil Mama Show Support For Janet Jackson
• The BET Awards Honor Michael Jackson
• Remembering Michael Jackson

• 2009 BET Awards Show
• 2009 BET Awards Red Carpet
• Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos
• Fans Mourn The Loss Of Music Icon Michael Jackson

• Teyana Taylor
• Wale
• Janet Jackson
• Michael Jackson
• Jamie Foxx

Teyana Taylor
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — For someone who touts Google so much, you'd figure Teyana Taylor would be hip enough to know that footage of her dancing in a leotard was bound to make it onto the Internet.

Think again.

The burgeoning artist recently mimicked Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" dance routine, and the video popped up all over the blogosphere.

"Oh my God, everybody has seen that!" Taylor told MTV News. "I didn't know it was gonna be like that. Everybody's been like, 'I seen you in the leotard.' It's crazy, because I just learned it that morning, 'cause it was just for fun. It was at the National Black Theater on 125th [Street in Harlem, New York]. My homegirl had a fashion show, and I hosted it for her. I told her I would do it for fun. Being that I was the host, I feel like I had to go all the way."

Taylor fashioned her hosting duties after former BET Awards host Mo'Nique. The plus-size comedienne entered the 2007 show with a full throng of dancers performing Beyoncé's "Déjà Vu." In 2004, Mo playfully mimicked the singer's "Crazy in Love" routine.

It's a good thing Taylor's been working on her moves. The Pharrell protégé is set to release her newest single, "I Feel Alive." The track will be the second selection from her forthcoming debut, From a Planet Called Harlem. Taylor said the uptempo track will "definitely show off more of my dancing qualities." The album is tentatively due in late April on Star Trak/ Interscope Records.

For From a Planet Called Harlem, Taylor has worked with Pharrell ("Kisser") and Eve on a track called "Young Girl."

Another collaborator she's working with is Lil Wayne. Despite all of Wayne's bravado, Taylor said she's not wary of working with him. In fact, she said her friendship with the Cash Money lyricist makes it easy, while it was Eve's contribution that made her nervous.

"That's my boy," she said of Wayne. "I'm cool with everybody I work with. I'm a social butterfly. I make friends with everybody. So nothing really intimidates me. But when you're cool with someone, it's more like, 'Oh, that's my boy.' If I didn't know him, yeah, I'd be [intimidated].

"When Eve got on my 'Young Girl' song, I didn't know her," Taylor continued. "And when I heard it, I was smiling mad hard. I couldn't stop smiling. Just, oh my God, I can't believe I got her on my song."

• Teyana Taylor
• Lil Wayne
• Pharrell Williams

Kid Sister
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — Where the ladies at? With Foxy Brown in jail, Remy Ma on trial and Rah Digga missing in action (not to mention Lil' Kim and Lauryn Hill making headlines for anything but new music), it seems that question has been asked over and over again in hip-hop circles. And the response is getting smaller and smaller.

Sure, Eve had a hit single last year, but then she never followed it up with an album. The project was delayed, then scheduled to include new tracks, and now the release date is back to TBD status.

But instead of looking for answers from the big names, maybe we should focus on the smaller ones. Then we'll finally see where the ladies are.

Lil Mama ushered in a breath of fresh air last year with "Lip Gloss," and her balance of rapping and singing seems to be a sign of the times for so-called "femcees" nowadays. Like her, Kid Sister and Teyana Taylor are both able crooners and rhyme spitters.

"It's hard to explain a style when it's just natural," Taylor told MTV News about her mix of singing and rapping. "Since I was little, I always wanted to dress myself, so I'd just throw something on and just do me. It's like when you shop, you just see something, and you just pick it up. And I like to collect things from different places, not just one set place. And same thing for my album — it's no set genre. It's from so many different places. So many different producers came through together to do it. So when you hear the album, you'll see what I'm about. I'm not big, so it's hard to explain what I'm about when no one has heard the music."

Taylor, who was first made famous in an episode of MTV's "My Super Sweet 16," is backed by Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes. Williams mixed his spacey beats with Taylor's unique sense of artistry for her debut, From a Planet Called Harlem, due May 20 on Interscope Records.

The first single, "Google Me," produced by Jazze Pha is already drawing a buzz. But Taylor said the Pharell-produced "Switch It Up" is likely to draw even more attention.

"It's crazy," Taylor said. "It's cra-zee. Like, it's so hype it's gonna make you want to move, breakdance or vogue, whatever it is. It makes you want to do it all."

Like Taylor, Chicago native Kid Sister got an assist from a big-name producer. Kanye West's DJ A-Track is Kid Sister's boyfriend, and 'Ye hopped on the remix to her hit "Pro Nails," taking the already rising star into a new stratosphere. The guest verse brought the attention of many hip-hop fans, and soon Kid Sister's sound broke out from the Windy City house-music scene and merged with downtown Manhattan's hipster-hop scene.

To hear Kid Sister tell it, her mixture of house, hip-hop and dance, is a natural representation of who she is.

"I come from a biracial family. My mom is white, my dad's black, and I like to reflect that in what I do creatively," Kid Sister told MTV News. "I think it would just be a disservice to myself to put out there anything that's not authentically me. So it's just me.

"My dad was in a Talking Heads cover band, a black man," she continued. "Wow. [Laughs.] And then my mom was into John Philip Sousa marches. And they [both] liked Paul Simon."

Her summer 2008 debut, Koko B. Ware (a nod to the professional wrestling she and her brother, Josh from Flosstrodamus, watched as children), will have danceable tunes, Kid Sister said, but she's also interested in a mix of music that may surprise some.

She recruited producers Infamous and Develop, who worked with Cam'ron's Diplomats crew, to man the boards on some records.

"The Dipset beats sound like something you can kill somebody to," she joked. "It's for the killers and the drug dealers. But, like, in Chicago, you can go kill somebody and then do the vogue dance afterward.

"Chicago house is like disco house," she added. "But the thing about it that's really interesting is that you could be the hardest dude, you could be so street and they're like, 'This is my cut!' "

Hopefully, these two ladies' future will generate more hits than headlines. Both admitted they try not to think in terms of gender, but with so few females artists in the industry, sometimes it's impossible not to.

"I feel pressure in that women get pegged, like, 'Kid Sister did my nails; Lil Mama did my lips,' " Kid Sister said. "People scrutinize women because there's so few of us doing what we do, so it's easy to pick on the meek and the few. But me, personally, I don't feel affected by anyone else. I feel like I have the freedom to do whatever I want to do."

Taylor agreed, adding that while she's trying to establish herself, she has one eye on the competition and hopes they have one eye on her too — but for support, not challenges.

"Anything that's creative, I'm down with it," Taylor said. "I support it. Especially another young broad coming from where I'm coming from, doing what I'm doing. I feel like it's dope. We need to support each other. We're all young.

• Kid Sister Is Chicago's Latest Hip-Hop Upstart

• Kid Sister
• Teyana Taylor

Total Finale Live: Press Room

• 50 Cent
• Taylor Swift
• Hilary Duff
• JC Chasez
• Teyana Taylor

MTV.com Exclusive: Teyana Taylor

• Teyana Taylor