MJ is Dead

A sad sad day, MJ is dead. Cannot believe it. I felt compelled to post an article about this sad event. I was lying down on my bed after a shower when I decided to check my facebook page. My cousin had updated his profile message with "MJ is dead ......" I thought like everyone else that it was some sort of joke and decided to check the modern bastion of information skynews.com, bbc.com and cnn.com. They all confirmed that it was indeed true and Michael Jackson aka King of Pop was actually dead. I had the feeling that even the news channels were hoping that the news was false and conflicting stores about him being in a coma, also emerged. But all these rumours were put to bed when Jermaine Jackson gave a mini press conference which finally confirmed the sad news.

I ask myself, why is it that so many people of all ages, colours, backgrounds are fans of MJ. Why this fascination with one man and how comparable is he to the other great icons of the 21st century.

He definitely is my number 1 pick of all time greatest musical talents. An artist who covered 5 decades and was able to make the transition from child star into a international superstar.

It is absolutely ludicrous in my opinion to compare MJ to any other artist. The Beatles were a group and as great as they were, only people in the west knew who they were. Elvis was also the same outside of the US and Europe. Nobody really knew him that well. But Michael Jackson is the first and possibly only artist around the world that is instantly recognisable. Be it China, Russia, Africa, Europe, Middle East, South America, Asia. Only few human beings on this planet have that star power. I do not know a single person who has not heard or danced to a Michael Jackson track.

When you look at the amount of albums, songs sold, in the region of 750million, his worst selling album sold 10 million with Thriller still going strong and selling in the region of 120million so far. A record which will probably stand the test of time.

Who can forget the video for Thriller which changed the way in which music singles/albums were promoted. I still remember the first time I saw that, i was about 10 yrs old and simply blown away. Michael to me was the ultimate entertainer, great singer, great dancer, fashion sense, stage presence and star pulling power. He was the stars STAR. An icon, who transcended colour, musical tastes and kicked down the door for people of colour to be accepted and embraced by the public at large. If there wasn't an MJ, the music landscape would be very different today. Would we have elaborate videos, bigger stage shows, singers who also entertained . e.g Usher, Justine Timberlake, New - Edition, Neyo, Beyonce, the list goes on and on.

His music from the late 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 200s will stand up as a testament to the man, many called the King of Pop. RIP