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| Long live the King of Pop |
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THE whole world was shocked when it was announced that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died of a cardiac arrest in Los Angeles last June 25. Just as we were reeling from the death of famed Charlie’s Angels Farrah Fawcett, hearing Jackson’s death sent text messages and twitters flying trying to confirm whether there was any truth to it.
But there it was on the news. The man who changed the way we see music videos, who won the most Grammys and did the "moonwalk" has left this earth.
Being a teen of the eighties, flashbacks came pouring in—I was 12 years old when Thriller came out, and it became the world’s largest selling album of all time. When it was released, we immediately begged our Dad to buy us the album, and spent most of our free time playing the record while trying to copy the dance moves in the video.
Thriller produced seven hit singles, breaking yet again more records, and went on to sell over 50 million copies worldwide. Keen to use music video or short films to promote his singles from the album, Jackson worked with the best directors and producers, using the latest technology and special effects for the hit song, Billie Jean.
Thriller, however, was almost a short film, using the latest make-up, artists and technology combined with fantastic dancing and choreography. The 14-minute video had a beginning, middle and an ending and was so successful that its accompanying video, The Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller became the world’s largest home video combined with soaring album sales.
In 1983, Jackson performed his legendary moonwalk for the first time on the Motown 25 Years anniversary show and this has undoubtedly marked his place as a pop superstar. In 1984, he won a record breaking eight Grammy awards in one night. Thriller, became album of the year, in spite of tough competition from other famous artists and albums like Synchronicity by The Police, Billy Joel’s An Innocent Man and Let’s Dance by David Bowie.
The King of Pop’s music and style has influenced and inspired a lot of artists here and abroad. In the Philippines, Mr. Pure Energy, Gary V. is a self-confessed Michael Jackson fan, as well as singer Billy Crawford, who during his That’s Entertainment years, had mostly performed to his idol’s songs. His one and only concert in Manila in December 1996 drew an estimated 50,000 people and further proved his popularity with the Filipinos.
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