25th June. For the past 2 years, I used to remember this date as the day when the WWE made the painful decision to remove all references on deceased wrestler Chris Benoit in all forms of media (be it DVDs, video games or websites), upon learning the truth that he was the one who had killed his wife and son before taking his own life. But now, this date holds a greater significance to me as well as everyone else around the world.
Earlier today at 7.15 am, I had just gotten up from bed, and my mum opened the door, telling me and Bro these cryptic words... "Michael Jackson has died." The reality sunk in when she told me a second time, esp since I know that my mum doesn't lie on such things (such as the time when she told me about MC King's passing on 4th January last year). I quickly rushed to the TV and watched the CNN news...
True enough, the international pop star named Michael Jackson died of cardiac arrest at 2.27 pm US time, at the age of 50. He was just 2 months shy from his next birthday, and he was due to start a series of concerts in London in 3 weeks' time. But now with his sudden passing, it is indeed most unfortunate that Michael's plans for a retirement concert would never be realized... in fact, his plans died along with him. But even so, we know he had gone to a better place, where he can no longer experience pain or suffering. May God bless his soul and continue to watch over his family and loved ones.
On a side note, another celebrity had died on the same day, she is one of the original Charlie's Angels, Farah Fawcett. She lost her life to cancer at the age of 62. As sad as it may seem, Fawcett's demise wasn't as shocking as Jackson's, esp since she was semi-retired and she was already quite sick for 2 years already. Not to forget that her personal life, in spite of its flaws, was nowhere as controversial as Jackson's is.
We are all familiar with his life story... he was born Michael Joseph Jackson on the 29th of August 1958 in Gary, Indiana, the 7th of 9 children. We know about how he and 5 other brothers formed an original boyband known as the Jacksons which lasted from 1966 to 1984. But little do we know that he was deprived of a normal childhood from all those years of studio recording.
And then there's the period of time where Michael made a name for himself as a solo artist and reached the peak of his career with the release of "Thriller", which earned him a record 8 Grammy Awards in 1984 and solidified his status as the King of Pop. With the next few albums "Bad", "Dangerous" and "HIStory" to name a few, Jackson has wowed the entire world with his unique talents and mind-boggling chereography.
And then there's Michael's personal woes... the drastic change in skin color from medium brown to pale white caused by the disease known as vitiligo, as well as the gradual change of his face structure. From an adorable boy, he has degraded into something less than human, making it hard to accept him, but also hard not to love him wholeheartedly at the same time. And yeah, we all know how the pop star was plagued with two child molestation accusations involving teenage boys, as well as the financial woes that forced him to sell his Neverland Ranch. Not to forget being a father to 2 kids by his ex-wife Debbie Rowe and to a thrid child through a surrogate mom. All this seemed to have tarnished his reputation and fall from grace... but he nevertheless got back on his feet and made a proposal to conduct a series of concerts to mark his retirement from showbiz. Pity that would never happen.
Whether we know Michael Jackson as the rock star genius who gave us these memorable songs such as "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal", "Heal The World" and many other hits, and amazed us with his unique dance moves (not to forget the moonwalk), or as the wacko with pale skin who likes to grab his crotch, make strange sounds while singing (you know, vocabulary like "hee hee", "hoo hoo" and "aaow!!") or touch little boys in his private estate (if the rumors turn out to br true), let us not forget the number of lives that he has touched with his music and charity work. He has without a shadow of a doubt inspired many young talents such as Justin Timberlake and Rihanna with his amazing chereography, showmanship, talent in songwriting and composing. He may have left the world, but he will forever live on in the hearts of many. King of Pop forever! We will miss you greatly, Michael.
This is my personal MJ collection. I myself had been a fan of MJ since the age of 4 or 5, and it was my dad's friend who motivated me to be a fan of MJ by giving me and my brother a Moonwalker VHS tape as a Christmas present. That friend named Uncle Med had since passed away from kidney failure in June 2003, leaving behind a wife and young son. Coincidentally, his death anniversary seemed to be rather close to the date of MJ's passing.
Top row: Moonwalker DVD, Dangerous album cassette, Bad album cassette, HIStory Part A cassette (Classics), HIStory Part B (Present Hits), Number Ones music videos DVD
Middle row: Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition (audio CD plus DVD), Dangerous Short Films VCD, MJ Live Recordings (audio CD), HIStory Music Video (VCD)
Bottom row: Invincible album (audio CD), Essential Michael Jackson (audio CD), Number Ones (audio CD), Blood on The Dance Floor (audio CD)
You may go to this link to find out more about the King of Pop.
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