John Legend Talks Jackson Tribute and Kanye at BET Awards

On June 27, Michael Jackson's family will attend the BET Awards at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, where tribute will be paid to the late King of Pop, just two days after the anniversary of his death.

John Legend -- who will be on hand to receive BET's Humanitarian Award -- told The BoomBox that a year after Jackson's death, his legacy is stronger than ever.

"The important thing is his musical legacy and I think that's still going strong," Legend said. "People really recognize that he's one the greatest and one positive development out of such a tragic event is that the appreciation for his music grew even more. I'm not sure what exactly BET exactly is doing to honor him this time but I'm certainly a huge fan and can't get enough Michael Jackson, so anything recognizing his music would be fine by me."

On June 25, 2009, Jackson was pronounced dead after suffering from cardiac arrest and the news sent the world into shock. "We were rehearsing for my tour last year," Legend said, recalling the moment he found out about Jackson's death. "We were starting a summer tour and we were in Grand Rapids, Michigan rehearsing and we just couldn't believe it. It was surreal... there are very few moments in history that I can remember so vividly, and hearing the whole world talking about it like that."

In addition to Jackson's tribute, John Legend confessed that he is looking forward to Kanye West's first televised performance since his 2009 VMAs appearance. "Kanye's debuting his new album and I'm excited about that," he said. "He hasn't performed on TV in quite a long time, since all the controversy and I think it'll be exciting to see what he has in store."

John Legend's fans can also expect to hear new music from his upcoming album 'Wake Up Sessions' very soon. "We'll have a new single coming out in the next few weeks and we'll also be shooting the video in the next few weeks," he explained. "The album will come out in September, it's mastered and ready to go and we're very excited and very proud of it."

The BET Awards will air on Sunday, June 27 at 8PM.