Michael Jackson, the ‘King of Pop’, is an influencer and a legend in pop culture worldwide. His music, dance, and style has inspired people for decades and the loss of his life was one of the most talked about and mourned events for years. His dance moves are still being used in the dance world today and his music that goes with them still inspires dancers. His style was a trademark to his name and changed the fashion industry as well.
Michael Jackson also shed light on issues in the world that many people did not want to speak of as well as donating to charities and funds to support diseases. He used his fame to do good in the world and was able to connect with people across the globe. He not only touched the people of America with his talents, he envisioned the world coming together in peace and harmony and created music that unified .
He is a significant influencer of many generations as he left a mark on the entertainment industry and all of society with his music, contribution to dance, and fashion while inspiring global change.
MJ broke down barriers of color and reinvented the possibilities in entertainment worldwide. In his own literary work ‘Moonwalk’ Jackson (1998) spoke that sometimes when you’re treated unfairly it makes you stronger and more determined. This exemplifies exactly why he was so inspirational to others worldwide. Fighting prejudice in the industry he adored only furthered his career and helped further other’s careers when they were not afraid to do what he did and show that African Americans could be entertainers too. Jackson is a beloved man among the world. He is said to have changed the world, being the first major black popstar post-civil rights.
His rise and fall in the world of showbusiness was a fascinating subject, as he lived a life like no other.
Here are Jackson’s highlights, lowlights and subsequent aftermath of his death:
THE RISE:
:: 1958 – Jackson is born on August 26 in Gary, Indiana.
:: 1963 – He gives his first public performance aged five singing Climb Every Mountain.
:: 1964 – He joins his brothers in The Jackson Five who sign to Motown Records in 1968.
:: 1979 – Teams up with Quincey Jones to release Off The Wall, his first album with Epic and his first solo album as an adult recording artist.
:: 1982 – Thriller is released, an album which would eventually become the world’s best-selling album of all-time. The smash hit yields seven top-10 singles.
:: 1985 – Jackson reportedly pays $47 million for the publishing rights to the Beatles’ back catalogue.
:: 1987 – He releases Bad and buys the Neverland ranch in California.
:: 1991 – Jackson signs a huge recording contract with Sony Music and later releases Dangerous.
THE FALL:
:: 1993 – A 13-year-old boy named Jordan Chandler claimed Jackson sexually abused him during a visit to the ranch.
The same year, Jackson announced he had become addicted to painkillers and abruptly cancelled a world tour to promote Dangerous.
Jackson reaches a settlement with Chandler’s family in 1994, later reported to be 23 million dollars.
:: 1994 – Marries Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock legend Elvis Presley. The pair are divorced 19 months later.
:: 1996 – Married for the second time to nurse Debbie Rowe in 1996. The couple are divorced three years later.
:: 2001 – The album Invincible – which reportedly cost $30 million to produce – flops.
:: 2002 – Dangles his third child, baby Prince Michael II (whom he calls Blanket), over a fourth-floor balcony at a Berlin hotel, shocking the crowd of fans in the street below.
:: 2003 – The singer tells interviewer Martin Bashir sharing a bed with a young boy is “a beautiful thing”.
Documentary reveals that Jackson still has sleepovers with young boys and that his third baby was the child of a surrogate mother. Jackson is furious with the piece and goes on air to blast it.
:: 2005 – He is acquitted of sexually molesting 12-year-old Gavin Arvizo but his career and finances are in tatters.
:: March 2009 – Tickets for 50 concerts at London’s O2 Arena sell out within hours after Jackson and music promoter AEG Live announce a surprise comeback for the singer. Jackson, who had been rehearsing in Los Angeles, had been due to start the concerts on July 13.
:: June 25 2009 – Jackson goes into cardiac arrest and dies at the age of 50. Tributes flood in for the King of Pop.
THE AFTERMATH
:: June 29 2009 – Jackson’s father Joe says he suspects “foul play somewhere” over his son’s death.
Bags of pills and other medicines were seized from his rented mansion as his personal physician continued to insist that the singer had not taken an overdose.
:: June 30 2009 – AEG, promoters of his ill-fated concert, release pictures of his dress rehearsal two days before his death, showing Jackson looking thin but in typical singing and dancing poses as he performed with dancers.
It emerges that he had performed his set for 90 minutes until nearly midnight on June 23.
:: July 1 2009 – Jackson left his fortune to his three children and his mother, the singer’s will reveals. The entire estate is left to a family trust, which means under US laws the exact details do not have to be made public.
:: July 7 2009 – Fans gather in Los Angeles ahead of a star-studded memorial service at Staples Centre, Los Angeles, the scene of Jackson’s final rehearsal.
