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Wham! Members, Chris Martin Honor George Michael at Brit Awards

Many of us Gen-X age pop music fans are still reeling from the death of George Michael last Christmas. Between his work with the music group Wham! and his spectacularly successful solo career — everyone and their uncle had a copy of Faith back in the day — Michael held his own in a era of huge musical icons like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna. I know that my own George Michael playlist his been on constant rotation since December 25.

Here in the states, Adele did her own touching tribute to the late singer at the most recent Grammy Awards, but at the Brit Awards in the U.K., it was George Michael’s former bandmates from Wham! who shared their own personal stories about their friend. George’s childhood BFF and the other face of Wham!, Andrew Ridgeley, said “on Christmas Day 2016, the greatest singer songwriter of his generation, an icon of his era, George Michael, was lost. A supernova in the shining stars had been extinguished and it felt like the sky had fallen in.”

Alongside Ridgeley, former Wham! members from the early days Shirlie Holliman and Pepsi DeMacque also took to the stage at London’s O2 Arena, and shared their stories of how it was George Michael who brought them all together as teenagers to create the group. Their demo was rejected by several record labels, but it was George Michael’s touching ballad “Careless Whisper,” which he wrote at only age 17, that ultimately got them a record contract. The song went on to be one of George’s biggest hits, and ultimately launched his solo career. The rest, as they say, is history.

After the touching tribute, the former Wham! members introduced Coldplay’s Chris Martin’s performance of George’s song “A Different Corner.” Martin performed the song while images of George Michael played on screen behind him and at one point, a video of George singing was combined with Chris’ own vocals to make it seem like they were singing in a duet. You can watch a video of the Brit Awards tribute above.

What did you think of the latest tribute to the pop superstar? And do you have a favorite George Michael related song or memory you want to share? Let us know down below in the comments.

Image: Sony Music Group

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