The king of Pop has died.

I will never forget the day Michael Jackson passed away, I was sleeping in my bedroom and my mum walked into my room and said Michael Jackson is dead.. I couldn't believe it! How could he die, Michael Jackson, as if!

But to my horror, it was true.

As soon as you turned the Television on, you would hear, michael jackson has died.. on every channel, in every language, in many different presentations. It was a constant flood of information on Michael, no one could believe this could have happened, and what a loss the world has faced with his death.

Days passed, and still the television revealed the same information as it did the past couple of days, although now indicating how and why he died as he seemed to be in good health before his death.


The day Michael left, the world was at its biggest loss, it had lost one of the most amazing, outrageous, contraversial and greatest entertainer of all times. I dont believe that there will be another like him, he was stupendous, like no other I had ever seen. His presence would shock millions of people worldwide, he had the power to make millions listen, and care for the world like no one else, to sell millions and millions of records, and to hit number ones constantly and stay by them for weeks, possibly even months.

His success was unquestionable.

When you just say his name, not one person will question who that is, that is the most recognisable person the world has ever known. When you think of Michael you think, talent, perserverence, success, fame, contraversy, king. He is everything, I even would say invincible. He is nothing like you could ever imagine or dream.


Michael was, and will always be the greatest entertainer alive. No doubt about that.

For anyone to even succumb to his level or status, I highly doubt..not in a million years I'd say.

So many people over the world, mourn his loss, and will never stop as he made such a strong impact on peoples lives.

We miss you.

We love you.

Rest in Peace Dearest Michael, forever in our hearts you will be.

Some of his achievements to date

* Thriller becomes the largest selling album of all time from 1983-2009

* Thriller sells 15 million copies every year

* History becomes the largest sold dual disc album of all time from 1996-2009

* Michael Jackson beats Mariah Carey to the largest number of number one singles in the BillBoard hot 100

* Michael Jackson becomes the largest earning dead artist of all time with THIS IS IT

* Michael Jackson was a billionaire at 18

* Michael Jackson's Victory Tour (1983) becomes the most watched TV show in history after Elvis Prestley's SUMMER OF 69 Tour and ELVIS FUNERAL

* Michael Jacksons singular performance of BILLIE JEAN at the MOTOWN yesterday, today and forever concert attracted a crowd viewership of 2 billion people surpassing his own VICTORY TOUR

* Michael Jackson's WORLD THRILLER TOUR is attended by 40 million people worldwide

* Michael Jackson's BAD has all its singles debuting at NUMBER 1 in the billboard 100

* MICHAEL JACKSONS BAD WORLD TOUR makes it the highest earned concert of all time with 75 concerts and gaining him $200 million USD





* MICHAEL JACKSONS BLACK OR WHITE single gets the Guinness record for being the largest watched music video ever after thriller breaking the record held by BEATLES in 1992

* MICHAEL JACKSONS EARNS A RECORD 7 Grammys for thriller

* MICHAEL RECEIVES THE best composer award Grammy for LIBERIAN GIRL and SMOOTH CRIMINAL of BAD

* MICHAEL RECEIVES BAMBY music award from 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002

* MICHAEL is nick named THE KING OF POP by Elizabeth Taylor, Sir Paul McCartney (The Beatles) and by LISA

MARIE PRESLEY (ex wife of MJ and daughter of ELVIS)

* MICHAELS HISTORY HAS 6 singles opening at number 1 at the BILLBOARD 100

* MICHAELS MOONWALKER gets the Best Children’s Picture Award at the International Film Awards

* MICHAELS MOONWALKER nets $100 million USD and continues its record run for 3 years

* MICHAEL JACKSON donates his rhinestone studded violet glove for the 2006 tsunami victims that nets around $600,355 million USD

* MICHAEL ADOPTS 1000 families to NeverLand

* MICHAEL SPONSORS THE EDUCATION OF 10000 kids through the HEAL THE WORLD FOUNDATION

* MICAHEL JACKSONS WE ARE THE WORLD helps the African Famine victims which net around $150 million USD

* MICHAEL honored by President Regan with the Highest Civil Award in America

* As a compensation paid to Michael for the hair fire accident by Pepsi, Michael Jackson donated the entire amount to open Hospitals "MJ Burn center" for Victims of fire to be treated. A reported $200 million was paid by Pepsi as a respect to MJ

* Michael Jackson's DANGEROUS albums HEAL THE WORLD becomes the world Peace anthem in 1992 as adopted by the UN

* Michael Jacksons THRILLER becomes the anthem of POP in 2009 after his death

* Michael's THEY DONT CARE ABOUT US becomes the hardest hitting and most controversial song addressing social ills in world history

* Michael Jackson is inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Twice (previously held by Beatles and Elvis Presley- who was inducted 4 times)

* MICHAEL JACKSONS Smooth Criminal Becomes the anthem Of FUNK and JAZZ in 1997

* Michael Jacksons THIS IS IT that was opened only for 2 weeks became the Highest grosser of the year 2009

* Michael Jacksons Dangerous World Tour is attended by 65 million people across 4 continents and around 50 countries netting a total worth of $300 million

* Michael Jacksons HISTORY beats the DANGEROUS WORLD TOUR and has 80 million people watching MJ perform live netting a total worth of $400 million that spanned 5 continents and 75 countries

* MJ's statue laying event in HISTORY ON FILM was declared the BEST VIDEO OF THE DECADE

* THRILLER DECALRED THE BEST AWARD OF THE CENTURY

* MJS BILLIE JEAN becomes the anthem OF BASS MUSIC

* MJ's BEAT IT becomes the anthem of HARD ROCK music

* MJS funeral becomes the largest viewed event in world history with a viewership of 35 billion people worldwide

* MJ enters the Guinness records for the 5th time for the THIS IS IT that became the largest sold and fastest selling ticket concert in world history

* MJ enters the Guinness record for the 4th time for the anti-gravity shoe he developed for Smooth Criminal

* MJs moonwalk declared the SINGLE BEST CELEBRITY BODY LANGUAGE by the Rock and Roll Association

* MJ awarded the life time achievement music award BAMBY awards in 2002 ( lastly presented to the Beatles Elvis, Eagles, Stevie Wonder )

* MJ nets a record 22 Grammys in his career

* MJ completes a record 1 billion album sales world wide edging past the BEATLES and EAGLES and ELVIS

* MJ's VOCAL HICCUPS in his songs declared the BEST VOCAL STYLE OF THE DECADE by the Rock and Roll Association

* MJ's THRILLER 25 sells 50 million copies worldwide

* MJ's Off the Wall gets certified platinum 10 times by the recording industry

* MJ's THRILLER gets certified platinum 30 times by the recording industry

* MJ's BAD gets certified platinum 20 times by the recording industry

* MJ's DANGEROUS gets certified platinum 20 times by the recording industry

* MJ's HISTORY gets certified platinum 15 times by the recording industry

* MJ's INVINCIBLE gets certified platinum 5 times by the recording industry

* MJ's MOTOWN years, Forever Michael, Music and Me, Ben, Abc, Soul Bubble Gum, Ill Be There and Dancing Machine gets certified platinum 3 times by the recording industry

* THIS IS IT continues its number 1 run for the 7th consecutive week

* MJS BLOOD ON DANCE FLOOR sells 75 million copies worldwide to become the LARGEST SOLD REMIX ALBUM OF ALL TIME

* Billboard Charts

* Michael Jackson is the first person in the 50 year history of the Billboard chart to enter straight in at No1, with his single "Thriller", "Smooth Criminal", "Dangerous",

"Black or white", "History" "You Are Not Alone".

* The previous record "Earth Song" which had debuted at No2 and also Michael Jacksons.

* Greatest Audience - Guinness Book of World Records

The highest-ever viewership for SUPERBOWL was 133.4 million viewers watching the NBC transmission of Super Bowl XXVII on June 31, 1993. Michael was spotlighted during the half-time performance.

* Jacksons THRILLER, SMOOTH CRIMINAL, HEAL THE WORLD, YOU ROCK MY WORLD, THEY DONT CARE ABOUT US, YOUR NOT ALONE, spend 100 weeks in the billboard 100. A feat which no artist including ELVIS and Beatles have done

* Jacksons THRILLER, HEAL THE WORLD,SMOOTH CRIMINAL ,THEY DONT CARE ABOUT US, YOU ROCK MY WORLD, BLACK OR WHITE spend 100 weeks at top 10 of billboard hot 100

* Jacksons SMOOTH CRIMINAL, THRILLER, Black or White, THEY DONT CARE ABOUT US spend 100 weeks at number 1 at billboard 100

* Jackson remained at 1 in US from 1977-2002

* Jackson remained at 1-5 in 1977-2002 at German, UK, Europe, French, Spain, Italy, Rome and Japan pop and metal charts

* Jackson is the only artist to have sold 500 million records + outside US

* Honored by President George H. W. Bush

* Invincible declared THE MOST TECHNICALLY ACCOMPLISHED AND BEAUTIFULLY MIXED STUDIO ALBUM of ALL TIME




By Behindwoods Visitor gautham daamodhar
http://www.behindwoods.com/features/visitors-1/michael-jackson-king-of-pop-04-12-09.html

What possibly lead to his death?

Michael Jackson was becoming thinner and thinner and his face more and more depleted. Michael had supposedly agreed to do 50 shows in london known as the 'this is it' concert, as a finale for all of his fans, however as i have read I dont believe that he really wanted to partake in 50 performances as stated, nor was his body in the best way to be able to accomplish such an ask.


Michal at the time was on many prescribed medicines which were damaging to his overall health, before the time of his death, his doctor Conrad Murray was prescribing these nasty pills, knowing of the damaging effects which they would cause him, but being Michael I dont think an ordinary doctor could stop him from taking the medications. The amount of concerts that Michael had to perform at was putting a lot of pressure on him, which led him to endure more and more of the harmful drugs, as they were his only help at the time.


Michael was possibly crying out for help, but unfortunately no one could hear his cries nor could they see a helpless, diying star. Fifty Michael Jackson Concerts would cost a fortune, and the directors and organisers of these shows, knew this, inevitably I believe that is all they cared about, and they are somewhat to blame for his death in many ways.


Surprisingly enough two days before he died, there was some footage released on TV of a rehearsal for his comeback concert, Michael although frail and gaunt still seemed to be energetic and able to keep up with the tempo and beat of the dance moves, this I find quite alarming.


Michael lives on forever.

Interesting facts of Michael Jackson

above image: ‘the invisible man returns' 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.68

Facts supplied by: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/44518/50-fascinating-michael-jackson-facts

1. Jackson's Billie Jean was the first video by a black artist to air on MTV.

2. Jackson's waxwork features in five Madame Tussauds museums across the world. Only Elvis Presley and Madonna have more Tussaud figures - they have six each.

3. Jackson's total lifetime earnings from royalties, solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million (#271 million).

4. Jackson has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for radio play, located at 1541 Vine Street, and one for recording at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.

5. Jackson received a Presidential Humanitarian Award from Ronald Reagan in 1984 for his support of charities helping people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.

6. Michael Jackson is the seventh of nine children.

7. Jackson fought fellow 50 year old Madonna on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch - he lost.

8. Three of Jackson's albums - Bad, Dangerous and Thriller - are among the bestsellers of all time.

9. Thriller remains the biggest-selling album since records began.

10. Jackson has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

11. Jackson wears his trademark black armband to remind fans of the suffering of children around the world.

13.Jackson picked up his iconic moonwalk moves, which he debuted at the Motown 25th Anniversary show in 1983, from streetdancers he spotted performing outside a hotel.

14. MC Hammer once challenged Jackson to a dance-off. He was told to Beat It. Jackson reportedly responded, "I've seen your videos and every single dance move you use, you got off of me."

above image: ‘Life in the magical kingdom’ 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.19

16. Bubbles the chimp and Ben the rat are two of Jackson's most famous pets, but he also befriended a ram called Mr Tibbs, a python called Crusher and Louie the llama.

17. An obsessed French Jackson superfan committed suicide in 1984 after his mother refused to allow him to undergo surgery to look like the star.

18. In 1984, a U.S. library accused Jackson of owing it over $1 million in overdue book fines. Officials said they would scrap the fines if he returned the books autographed.

20. Jackson is a vegetarian.

21. Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 on May 6, 1997. He was inducted as a solo artist on March 19, 2001.

22. Jackson once dated Brooke Shields and Tatum O'Neal.

23. Jackson has several media nicknames. They include The Gloved One, Wacko Jacko, Jacko, The King of Pop, and MJ. Close friends call him Smelly!

24. Jackson's music video for Thriller was voted the greatest music video of all time in a recent Channel 4 (UK) poll.

25. Jackson won an MTV Movie Award for Best Movie Song in 1994 for his song Will You Be There from the movie Free Willy.

Neverland, a place he called home

above image: ‘Is Michael Jackson For Real?’ 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.65

Think Peter Pan,

Think Ferris Wheels,
Think Flashing lights,
Think fun,

Welcome to Neverland.

Neverland is of course the land where the disney fairtyale character, Peter Pan lived. The name was inspired by Peter Pan, the tale of a little boy who never grew up, and that is how Michael wanted to be, almost age-less. To Michael, Peter Pan represents something special in his heart, also his youth, childhood, magic, the feeling of never growing up, the dream of flying.



Michael Jackson's home, Neverland is a 3000 acre ranch, situated 3 hours north of Los Angeles. It was created in 1988. As with most of his life it has to be seen to be believed. Its a multi-million dollar man made slice of make believe. It is a full sized fun fair, including such things as:

• floral clock
  
• zoo


• two railroads(little steam trains)
  
• a rollercoaster


• ferris wheel


• carousel


• bumper cars

and these are only to name a few of the tourist attractions, there was much more in this fantasial wonderland.

It was an amusement park for the star, as Michael was so child-like, and never wanted to grow up or mature, Neverland was a sanctuary for him as it reflected his persona.


It was literally paradise if you were a child!

Jackson filled his home with high end exquisite furniture, worth hundreds of thousands, timeless art pieces, and antiques, these were Michaels treasures.

Many of Michaels close friends stayed over his Neverland Ranch, Michael always insisted that the children sleep in the same room as him as they were the guests and he believed that the guests should always get the better. Michael also said that as his residence was so large he didn't want the children to sleep far away from him as he believed they would be quite frightened in such a vast space.

I highly believe that Michael should have been laid to rest at Neverland, as this totally reflected who he was and what was special to him.

Neverland was like a dream.

Michael's dream.

Michael's Unforgettable Childhood Memories

Above Image: ‘The Jackson 5' 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.9.

Michael was born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine brothers and sisters. Michael's dad, Joseph was a highly disciplined father to his children.



His father would tease Michael as an adolescent, he would make snide remarks and comments about his looks, and saying that he didn't get the bad looks from his side. This would hurt Michael unbelieveably,Joe would say to Michael, 'God your nose is big, you didn't get it from me', Michael would feel like diying as he explains it in an interview.



He would say comments to Michael such as these prior to Michael going on stage in the spotlight, in front of hundreds , thousands of people, these comments were extremely tough to just brush aside and get on with the show. It was a big confidence drop, at the time when you would need as much confidence as you could possibly get.



When Michael and his brothers would practise for shows, Joe would exercise his discipline stongly at this time, and he would use Michael as the example. Whilst practising their father would hold a belt in his hand at the same time, and if you missed a step or did it incorrectly you would get torn down. Practising was highly stressful and nerve racking due to their fathers violent ways.



Not only would Joe use a belt, he would use anything that was available at the time, even iron cords. He would throw Michael or the boys up against the wall and more or less beat you up, even though the Jackson 5 were producing highly successful records.

Above Image: ‘The Jackson 5,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.10.

Joe would easily lose his temper with the boys, Michael would remember his mother screaming saying, 'Joe stop, no your gonna kill him'. Michael was too fast to catch so Joe wouldn't be able to catch him half the time, but when he caught him, it was bad, really bad!




Michael states that he was that terrified of his father, that he would even regurgitate, just from his presence alone, or even faint and his bodyguards would have to hold me up. When Michael was getting beat up, he hated his father with a vengenance, Michael would not apply the same treatment on his children as Joe did.

Joe wouldn't allow Michael to call him daddy, he would say, to you I'm Joe.

Michael had probably one of the not so best of childhoods as you can see, he didn't really have a childhood at all, he was forced to grow and develop extremely fast beyound his years. This is probably why Michael later in his life was very child-like, he was trying to adapt into his life what he lost.

Above Image: ‘The Jackson 5, 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.17..

Michael forgave his father for his wrongdoings.

'30 years on and the memories seemed still as raw as if it were yesterday'.

Please visit this blog which relates to my blog, explaining more about the violence which Michael and his brothers had to face, day to day.

http://www.sodahead.com/fun/michael-jacksons-violent-abuse/blog-114767/

The jaw-dropping moves

Left Image: ‘The making of the king of pop' 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.75.

He created one of the most talked about dance moves in the world, known as the moonwalk. Anyone who knew Michael Jackson knew the way he moved, it was phenomenal, almost unexplainable, just watching this performer in action gave you goosebumps. So coordinated, so motivated, so disciplined, just brilliant!

Image:'the invisible man returns’ 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.67.

When Michael approached the stage, no one would be dissapointed. He excelled to a very high level, a level to which not many entertainers can rise to, which made him the 'King Of Pop', and that he was. Highly motivated, energetic, and ready to take the world into his own hands.

Left Image: ‘trouble in paradise?’ 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.50.

The way his body was able to move was unquestionable. His talent was evident. He rocked stages all over the world, putting on hundreds of show-stopping, booked out concerts. His millions upon millions of fans were left almost mezmermised during and after his concerts, many even passed out or even appeared to be very emotional, his presence alone was a godsend.

Left Image: ‘introduction’ 2009,Rolling Stone,Michael Jackson Special Tribute,p.5.

When Michael danced his fans danced with him.

When He sang, they sang with him.

When He donated to charity, they supported him.

When He was going through hardship they embraced him.

When he died, they mourned for him.




Michael was loved by his fans worldwide, I don't think it is hard to see why.