It is hard to believe that it has been five years since the King of Pop died. (Photo property of Sony Music Entertainment & the Michael Jackson Estate)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
Five years ago, the world lost a music legend!
I remember working out on a treadmill at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas, where my brother, Aaron, told me: “I hope that you have a refund for those (This Is It) tickets, Jacob! Michael Jackson died!”
I was in shock when he told me! While I was studying abroad in London, I wanted to attend one of his concerts. Unfortunately, I attempted to purchase tickets to one of the King of Pop’s 50 shows at the O2 Arena and it was sold out! As I exercised, I paid close attention to E! Entertainment Television’s coverage of the tragic news.
In his prime, the King of Pop delivered knockout performances around the world on his highly successful Bad, Dangerous and HIStory World Tours. He also accumulated 13 Grammys, 26 AMAs, 75 MTV Awards and 86 Billboard Awards for his superb artistry.
Unfortunately, a majority of both the Millennial and Digital generations saw Michael Jackson’s reputation spiral downwardly as constant negative headlines from the tabloids, numerous lawsuits and two child sexual abuse allegations sucked out the life of the music icon and forced him to retreat into a life of seclusion.
Before his sudden and tragic passing, Mr. Jackson was hard at work rehearsing for a unprecedented 50 concerts at London’s O2 Arena. (Photo property of Sony Entertainment & the Michael Jackson Estate)
During the final months of Mr. Jackson’s life, he prepared for his supposed “ultimate comeback”: the This Is It concert series in London’s O2 Arena. Reunited with several of his signature collaborators: Kenny Ortega, Travis Payne, Dorian Holley and Stacy Walker, Mr. Jackson began to produce an impeccable concert that would have ultimately redeemed himself as both a performer and an icon.
All dreams of seeing this comeback come true were crushed on June 25, 2009 with Mr. Jackson’s death.
While fans all over the world mourned the King of Pop and countless news outlets presented special coverage on Mr. Jackson’s legacy, my mind raced with the thoughts of “Why did the media trash him so much?” “Will his legacy be redeemed?” and “What will happen to the next generation of dancers and recording artists as they begin their journeys without his presence in the living world?”
One of the most emotional moments of the televised funeral was the impromptu performance of “We Are The World” and “Heal the World.” (Photo property of POOL/RETNA LTD.)
On July 7, the world watched as music legends Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder and several of Jackson’s musical heirs including Jennifer Hudson and Usher pay their final respects to the King of Pop. What moved me the most was seeing the This Is It cast including Orianthi, future Voice alum Judith Hill and dancers Nicholas Bass, Meika Cox, Misha Gabriel, Chucky Klapow, Tyne Stecklein and Timor Steffens performing “Will You Be There,” “We Are The World” and “Heal the World”. Those three songs would have moved audiences to tears and inspire them to go forward and spread the King of Pop’s message of love and kindness throughout the world.
Since his passing, Sony Music Entertainment released two posthumous albums, Michael and Xscape and an 25th anniversary album for Bad (which included a performance at the Wembley Arena that many fans wanted to see). In addition, Cirque du Soleil created two shows: Michael Jackson-The Immortal World Tour and Michael Jackson: One and a video game: Michael Jackson-The Experience was also released.
Multiple individuals have released books talking about the King of Pop. The two books that I highly recommend to readers who want to learn more about Mr. Jackson are J. Randy Taraborrelli’s Michael Jackson-The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story and Randall Sullivan’s Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson. Both Taraborrelli and Sullivan produce compelling page-turners that will tell the whole story of Jackson’s turbulent life.
My thoughts and prayers still remain with Mr. Jackson’s friends, family and colleagues on this day.
God bless you, Michael Jackson!
