Rest in Peace Michael Jackson
I’m just going to go ahead and say it, because there is no way to mince the words that broke my heart today: Michael Jackson has died.
CNN has confirmed with the Los Angeles coroner that the superstar, aged 50, was rushed to an L.A.-area hospital suffering from a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 2.26pm LA time.
He is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.
While I could go into detail about the plastic surgeries, the bizarre behaviour, and the molestation charges, what is the point? The King of Pop will not be mourned worldwide for his eccentricity. The reason hundreds of crying people have flocked to the hospital where Jackson is is not because of his unconventional behaviour: it is because he is one of only a few musicians who can claim that his music has moved and reached out to billions of people. He was, and will continue to be, a true musical legend.
Jackson’s rise to stardom, and later his fall from grace, is among one of the most well known musical stories. As the lead singer of the late 1960s band Jackson 5, Michael’s rise to fame went from strength to strength as he topped the musical charts of the 1970s as a solo artist, with hits like “Rock With You” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”
Jackson cemented his position on the throne as The King of Pop with the 1982 release of “Thriller,” the most successful musical record of all time, which produced seven hit singles and continues to sell over 50 million records worldwide, while 1987’s “Bad” album did almost just as well. As several media sources have put it, Michael Jackson became the biggest star in the country, an icon, and a new Jackson album or appearance was often deemed a pop culture event.
With the rise of grunge rock in the 1990s, Jackson’s next release in 1991, “Dangerous” was replaced from the top spot by Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” a sign of the changing times in music. A 2001 album, “Invincible,” didn’t fare any better.
In the years to follow, people began to remember Michael Jackson for his personal life rather than for his music as he had numerous amounts of plastic surgery, children, and failed marriages, and faced child molestation charges in 2005, of which he was acquitted.
While one could be forgiven for thinking his career was over, his announcement in 2008 of a series of concerts in London only reminded people of the power of Michael Jackson, as 75,000 tickets sold in less than four hours in March of the same year, while the news of the concerts became headline stories around the globe.
Interest in The Gloved One never faded, and never will. Those shiny jackets, the outrageous stage performance, those dance moves, will continue to inspire generations of musicians and live on in the hearts of many.
Rest in Peace Michael Jackson. I hope you have a great time moon-walking in the Heavens above us.
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