With fallen stars from Tiger Woods to Eliot Spitzer all taking their turns on the comeback trail these days, could the moment be right for a second coming of Chris Brown? The BET Awards on Sunday night certainly gave Mr. Brown, the tarnished R&B singer, a prominent platform to demonstrate as emotionally — and, at times, theatrically — as possible that he’s ready for the forgiveness of his audience.

Last summer, Mr. Brown was sentenced to six months of community labor and five years of probation after pleading guilty to felonious assault on the pop star Rihanna during an altercation. The incident made him a widely loathed figure and seemed to leave his career in tatters; in June, he was denied entry to Britain, where he had planned a major tour after his visa was denied because of his criminal offense.

But at the BET Awards, which were held in Los Angeles, Mr. Brown took center stage as part of a tribute to Michael Jackson. During his performance of “Man in the Mirror,” Mr. Brown frequently became choked up and at one point fell to his knees — overcome, perhaps, by the symmetry between the song’s lyrics and his own life.

(In case you’ve forgotten how those lyrics go, the chorus of “Man in the Mirror” runs:

I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

The performance seemed to win over the audience at the Shrine Auditorium. But plenty of home viewers weren’t having it, and some chided Mr. Brown for usurping what was supposed to be an honor for Mr. Jackson.

The music journalist Rob Tannenbaum wrote on his Twitter account that Mr. Brown was “making this about himself, not MJ.” The writer Sean Fennessey wasn’t pleased, either, with the way that Mr. Brown’s moment would probably play out in the news media, writing on his Twitter account, “Commence 10,000 word essays about MJ, abuse, child stars, Chris Brown and forgiveness.”

The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, set up an online survey that asked, “Was Chris Brown faking it at the BET Awards?” (As of this writing, 1,068 readers have cast votes to say, “Chris was 100% faking a breakdown to get sympathy.” But more than 2,000 voters said Mr. Brown was thinking only of Mr. Jackson.)

Mr. Brown had the last word, at least for the night. After his Jackson tribute, he was announced as the surprise winner of BET’s Fandemonium award, a prize determined by fan votes, beating out apparent favorites like Justin Bieber, Trey Songz and Nicki Minaj.

Stepping to the stage to receive his trophy, Mr. Brown gave a quick acceptance speech. “I let you all down before, but I won’t do it again,” he said. “I promise you.”

By DAVE ITZKOFF // New York Times