"Today Show" Recreates "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" Video Live

NBC didn't call on "Dateline" to recreate the "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" video on the "Today Show" Saturday morning. Instead, the "Today Show" invited the entire wedding party to New York to recreate their uplifting dance moves. On a raised stage outside the New York studio, Jill and Kevin Heinz and their wedding party re-danced the "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" video that took YouTube by storm to the delight of the "Today Show" audience and a live crowd.

Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz got married in a Minnesota church and made a video of the wedding party dancing down the aisle. They uploaded the wedding party dance video onto YouTube as the "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" and the video went viral. As of Saturday noon, the original "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" video had pulled in over 4 and a half million viewers. The video is infectious, so there is little doubt that many of the viewers have watched it multiple times, even after forwarding to friends and family.

Foregoing the traditional marches (Mendelssohn and Wagner), Jill and Kevin decided to go with a more modern, upbeat, and downright unconventional pop dance track by Chris Brown. With the song "Forever" (also the song used by Wrigley for their Doublemint gum ad) playing and Chris Brown singing "double your pleasure, double your fun," the wedding party proceeded to dance their way down the aisle. For five minutes, the wedding party danced, entertained, and amused friends and family gathered to see Jill Peterson marry Kevin Heinz. And after a huge round of appreciative applause, the two turned to the pastor...

Although the "Today Show" did not provide a pastor (they were only recreating the dance, not the nuptials), they did provide onlookers. And when the Chris Brown track began and the wedding party dancers started up, the crowd went wild.

And why not? You could tell these guys had a lot of fun creating and performing this routine, both in the original video and before the live "Today Show" crowd. And although there were a few hecklers on the internet (and you really have to look hard to find the killjoys), almost all the response for the Youtube video has been positive.

A good omen for Jill and Kevin's marriage, it would seem.

Not such a good omen for Mendelssohn and Wagner, given our growing exhibitionistic copycat society.

In a related matter, Chris Brown made a video apology to Rihanna, his fans, and the world at large a week ago that just barely made the news. After his very public arrest for assaulting his pop star girlfriend, Chris Brown handled the aftermath in a manner that only increased public outrage and anger at his violent behavior and his seeming nonchalant attitude about it. A previous apology sounded more like a dismissal.

So, although it might have been a questionable call for Jill and Kevin to use the Chris Brown track for their wedding dance, they may have double-handedly resurrected a failing career. There is no doubt that the "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" video, whether seen on YouTube or on various other websites, will generate sales of the Chris Brown song, "Forever," and other Chris Brown songs. For that, the singer should be grateful. Because that one feel-good wedding party dance video (and, now, live performance on the "Today Show") will do more for Chris Brown than anything he has said and done since the assault occurred in February.

It would be a good idea for Chris Brown to issue lifetime passes to his concerts to Jill and Kevin Heinz and their wedding party, perhaps show a little of the class he seems to want to reclaim.

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Sources:

"JK Wedding Entrance Dance" video, YouTube.com

TMZ.com

"Today Show," NBC Television