Chris Brown was just announced as one of the headliners for a Michael Jackson tribute concert in Vienna later this month. This will be Chris Brown’s first public performance since his February pre-Grammy Awards party, after which he beat the sh-t out of his girlfriend, Rihanna. I know this is getting old, but when does this motherf-cker’s community service begin? Can a guy on five-years probation and six months of community service just make a headline-making jaunt to Vienna? As it turns out, he can. He just needs a judge’s approval to leave the country. Eh. Our justice system is so screwed up.

The concert will be held on September 26, at the former imperial Schoenbrunn Palace. The whole thing has the approval of the Jackson family. Jermaine Jackson praised Chris, saying “Michael was his idol and he (Brown) dedicated his first number one hit in the U.S. to Michael. Chris is a very, very talented artist.” Mary J. Blige, Natalie Cole and Sister Sledge have also been named for appearances, with more names to come.

Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown and Akon are among the first group of artists announced for the September 26 Michael Jackson tribute concert in Vienna being put together by the late pop singer’s brother Jermaine Jackson.

Organizers also announced that veteran acts Natalie Cole and Sister Sledge will perform outside the 17th-century palace of Schönbrunn in the Austrian capital, with more names slated to be announced later this week at press conferences in London on Wednesday and Berlin on Thursday.

The first group of performers also includes boy band US 5, protégés of imprisoned boy-band impresario Lou Pearlman, and actress Angela Bassett, who portrayed family matriarch Katherine Jackson in the TV-movie “The Jacksons: An American Dream.” According to organizers, Bassett will “impersonate one part of Michael Jackson’s life.” A total of 20-25 acts are expected to take part in the concert, which will be televised around the globe.

The show will be the first live performance by Brown since his sentencing last month for the beating of ex-girlfriend Rihanna in February. Brown, 20, an avowed Jackson devotee, was sentenced to 180 days of community labor work, a year of domestic-violence counseling and five years of probation in the case, but he can travel outside the country with a judge’s permission, lawyer Mark Geragos told CNN’s Larry King last week. Akon worked with Jackson on songs for what was to be the King of Pop’s long-in-the-works comeback album.

The performers will be backed by Jackson’s touring band, with whom he’d rehearsed for weeks before his untimely death on June 25 at the age of 50. The dancers for his planned This Is It concerts in London will also be on the bill.

Jermaine will sing a virtual duet with his late brother that he promises will be a “magic moment for all who loved his music.” Among the songs that will performed by various artists at the event are “Man in the Mirror,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Thriller,” “Black or White,” “Earth Song,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Bad,” “Dirty Diana,” “Will You Be There,” “You Are Not Alone,” “Remember the Time,” “Heal the World,” “The Girl Is Mine” and “Scream.”

The palace’s grounds can accommodate more than 65,000 fans, who will watch the proceedings along with Jackson’s family and children. The 165-foot-wide stage will feature massive LED walls that can slide together and apart and a runway that allows performers to walk through the audience.

[From MTV]

Sounds totally legit, right? Not so much, according to MSNBC. Apparently, “ticket holders should be wary. The fine print on the show’s Web site makes no guarantees that any performers touted will show, and if they don’t, there’s no getting your money back.” According to MSNBC’s sources, there is no certainty that any or all of these artists will appear, and yet all ticket sales are final: “Any refund or discount due to the performance or non-performance of a specific artist is hereby explicitly excluded.” I really hope Chris Brown fails to appear. I hope a judge denies him, rips up his passport and forces him to begin his community service and counseling RIGHT NOW.

Chris Brown is shown outside a club on 7/5/09. Credit: PRPhotos