Michael Jackson
This one is a little out of phase, it should have come a couple of months ago. Nevertheless, timing is not important here. I have to pay my tribute to one of the greatest entertainers that ever graced the earth. Its hard to believe that its been more than a year since the legendary Michael Jackson left us. I felt deeply saddened by the news. The first thoughts that came to my mind were that its not possible, its too soon. But the sun had set on the most controversial human life ever and the King of Pop is now a sad memory.
I was first introduced to Michael Jackson's music when I was 8 or 9 years old. I dont remember my Dad buying the cassette, but one day I saw the album "Bad" lying on the table and played it, and I was hooked. Although I was familiar with American Pop music through Boney-M and Abba(Thanks Dad, once again), this was something else altogather. I used to play it over and over again till my mom had to force me to stop. The cover had a picture of Michael, dressed very stylishly, looking out from the cover with his overtly made-up eyes. For a long time I had no idea if he was a girl or boy or that half a world away he had already changing the landscape of world pop music forever. Bad was the only Michael Jackson album that I personally owned, but I have listened to every song/album of his and have loved it. There are not many actually, just a couple of brilliant albums that changed the way the world thought about pop music forever and crowned Michael as the indomitable King of Pop.
Its these handful of albums that had catapulted Michael to pinnacles of incredible stardom. No other artist in any field of art has achieved and stayed at such dizzying heights of fame for four decades with such a small body of work. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the best-selling album of ALL time, and is fated to be so forever. As album sales decline in these times where more and more people download the music they want to hear, Thriller's spot on top is unchallenged.
As incredible as these achievements sound, they are just the tip of the iceberg. I am not even going to go over the number of awards he has won. That would be a never-ending list. Even as one comes to terms with this larger than life man, his genius, talent, and his out-of-the world popularity, its hard to imagine how the name Michael Jackson is also synoymous with controversey. Starting from his ever-changing physical appearence to the allegations of sexual abuse there was no end-in-sight for respite.
This is a life that has attracted all the attention for the right reasons, but even more so for the wrong ones. A number of stars acknowledge that it does get lonely at the top, but never has it affected and tormented one as much as it did this man.
Michael Jackson is the one man whose music had the whole world dancing. He came and he revolutionised music and dance. But as a young child, even at 12 years old, Michael was said to have been very aware of his lost freedom and childhood. Imaginably its quite devastating for a young boy to have such a realization, and the desire to live the life of a yound child had stayed with him till the very end. He was always a man-child inside, and filled his Neverland ranch with all things that one could find in a town's fair - giant wheels, merry-go-rounds, toy trains, ice-cream rooms and joy rides to name a few.
True to the name the media gave him - Wacko Jacko, Michael Jackson did quite a few wacky things, but who can blame him. Great altitudes make a lot of people go sick and light in the head, I bet the majority of us couldnt handle it either. The bane of being in the limelight ever since he could remember, finally caught up to him and took its toll.
A lot of people do not realise that Michael Jackson was also a philanthropist, who made some of the largest donations to charity. He tried to help his African-American brothers by numerous donations to black- majority colleges. He loved the world and its people, and had tried in his own way to influence the youth to be more concious of the cries of our planet, through his music. When remembering Michael Jackson, lets not dismiss him as a celebrity life gone wrong. Lets be inspired by the genius and kindness of this man whose music has and will for ever inspire the world.
I was first introduced to Michael Jackson's music when I was 8 or 9 years old. I dont remember my Dad buying the cassette, but one day I saw the album "Bad" lying on the table and played it, and I was hooked. Although I was familiar with American Pop music through Boney-M and Abba(Thanks Dad, once again), this was something else altogather. I used to play it over and over again till my mom had to force me to stop. The cover had a picture of Michael, dressed very stylishly, looking out from the cover with his overtly made-up eyes. For a long time I had no idea if he was a girl or boy or that half a world away he had already changing the landscape of world pop music forever. Bad was the only Michael Jackson album that I personally owned, but I have listened to every song/album of his and have loved it. There are not many actually, just a couple of brilliant albums that changed the way the world thought about pop music forever and crowned Michael as the indomitable King of Pop.
Its these handful of albums that had catapulted Michael to pinnacles of incredible stardom. No other artist in any field of art has achieved and stayed at such dizzying heights of fame for four decades with such a small body of work. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the best-selling album of ALL time, and is fated to be so forever. As album sales decline in these times where more and more people download the music they want to hear, Thriller's spot on top is unchallenged.
As incredible as these achievements sound, they are just the tip of the iceberg. I am not even going to go over the number of awards he has won. That would be a never-ending list. Even as one comes to terms with this larger than life man, his genius, talent, and his out-of-the world popularity, its hard to imagine how the name Michael Jackson is also synoymous with controversey. Starting from his ever-changing physical appearence to the allegations of sexual abuse there was no end-in-sight for respite.
This is a life that has attracted all the attention for the right reasons, but even more so for the wrong ones. A number of stars acknowledge that it does get lonely at the top, but never has it affected and tormented one as much as it did this man.
Michael Jackson is the one man whose music had the whole world dancing. He came and he revolutionised music and dance. But as a young child, even at 12 years old, Michael was said to have been very aware of his lost freedom and childhood. Imaginably its quite devastating for a young boy to have such a realization, and the desire to live the life of a yound child had stayed with him till the very end. He was always a man-child inside, and filled his Neverland ranch with all things that one could find in a town's fair - giant wheels, merry-go-rounds, toy trains, ice-cream rooms and joy rides to name a few.
True to the name the media gave him - Wacko Jacko, Michael Jackson did quite a few wacky things, but who can blame him. Great altitudes make a lot of people go sick and light in the head, I bet the majority of us couldnt handle it either. The bane of being in the limelight ever since he could remember, finally caught up to him and took its toll.
A lot of people do not realise that Michael Jackson was also a philanthropist, who made some of the largest donations to charity. He tried to help his African-American brothers by numerous donations to black- majority colleges. He loved the world and its people, and had tried in his own way to influence the youth to be more concious of the cries of our planet, through his music. When remembering Michael Jackson, lets not dismiss him as a celebrity life gone wrong. Lets be inspired by the genius and kindness of this man whose music has and will for ever inspire the world.
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