Madonna opened her 2009 Sticky and Sweet Tour Saturday night at 02 Arena in London, where Michael Jackson would have begun his 50 concert residency on July 13. She paid tribute to her fallen comrade through a Michael Jackson impersonator who did some of his signature moves to “Wanna Be Starting Something.” Madonna then asked the crowd to “Give it up for one of the greatest artists the world has ever known,” adding “Long live the King.”

For all you can say about Madonna, she’s still bringing it at 50 and putting on incredible performances. It’s just sad that Jackson didn’t get to show the world that the music never left him either.

We may get a chance to see more of the moves Jackson was reinventing in his last days. MSNBC reports that rehearsal footage exists of “practically every minute” he prepared for his comeback shows:

The video AEG released from Michael Jackson’s final rehearsal, which took place 48 hours before his sudden death, is just one of many that exist.

“Practically every minute of every rehearsal, since they began in March, was videotaped,” according to a well-placed source inside the “This Is It” tour production. “After Michael died everything was turned over to AEG.”

Also, the source verifies that the tape that’s already been released is indeed from Jackson’s last rehearsal.

“Some people are saying that because he wasn’t performing to 110 percent it must be from an old rehearsal. That’s ridiculous — it’s the last rehearsal. You can tell he’s totally on, that is just how an artist rehearses. When it’s a real show, that’s when you go all out.”

[From MSNBC]

AEG is likely to release some kind of DVD set. They’ve got to recoop the immense concert costs somehow. They were only insured for 10 out of 50 concerts.

Photos are of Madonna’s performance on 7/4/09. Credit: WENN.com