The world is still staggering in shock with the news of the death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, the star of Motown.
His name has made it into tabloids, magazines, newspapers and numerous headlines over the past 50 years, both for his amazing talent and skill as well as for his atrocious abuse.
Now, as of June 25 2009 his whirlwind fifty years have come to an end and we must bid him a fitting farewell.
He will forever be immortalised in the pages of music history as the unrivalled King of Pop, the man who brought freedom to 'Black' musicians, the genius behind the moonwalk, the little singer who could and the sensational performer that he proved himself to be.
It was on August 29 1958 that this prodigy was born and at the age of five, he made it to the big stage. He sang with his brothers in 'The Jackson Five' but his outstanding flair for music was never hidden among them.
As he took to the solo act, he revelled in the spotlight he was destined for and soon couldn't stray from the public eye and the media.
His albums topped charts and became instant best-sellers, selling out at a mind-boggling rate. He still holds the record for the highest sale of CDs.
He brought business to the 'music video' industry and sizzled in the freshest of dance moves and highest of fashion.
He brought the world together to raise their voices in unison to a rousing chorus of 'Heal the World' and helped South Africa with the awareness it had stirred and the charities that had benefited.
The best was yet to come. 'Thriller' flew off shelves as soon as they hit them. The dance video was a pop representation of the 80s. Everyone everywhere listened to his music and immediately got hooked to the addictive beats and the funky dancing. His classic video still continues to be held high in the dance community and has even inspired Filipino inmates to dance it out in their own music video( An instant YouTube hit).
But the rock star life is not always as easy as it sounds. The stakes were high, the anticipation overwhelming and the media was acrid and biting.
His albums were sensational but nothing could live up to the phenomenon of 'Thriller'.
Jackson's life started to spiral downhill from this moment. His bizarre fascination to change his appearance and his rather curious rejection of adulthood lured in the starved media. They latched on and his career exploded.
His plastic surgery, his child molestation accusations, his financial meltdown and extensive loans were publicly blown up by the press vultures.
He grew mentally secluded at first, retreating to his haven he called 'Neverland' and lived the life of a boy who never grew up, a realistic Peter Pan, surrounding himself with children, toys, amusement parks, zoos and theatres. His virtual fantasy soon lashed threw his piggy bank and his coins fell out to pay bills, court bails and loans.
He then turned to Bahrain, the place I blog from, where he lived for a couple of years incognito, occasionally making his way into the newspapers, photographed wearing traditional Bahraini women's attire.
And then soon, he was forgotten. His name was like a forgotten saga of a bygone pop age. His star glittered on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Yet it was the only thing that sparkled in Michael Jackson's blackened life.
Then, in an attempt to make a comeback of a lifetime and pump back the glitz into his dying once famous name, he launched concerts across the UK and the USA.
He was working vigorously, perfecting his dance moves and vocals for those elaborate sizzling concerts when the unforeseen happened.
The comeback never did come and he never made it back.
He was found dead in his rented apartment. Cardiac Arrest. It all came to a grinding stop. The end of an era.
Jackson's death more than saddening, is startling. He always seemed to be there. That household name he created seems immaterial now. He's gone. It seems impossible, unreal. He was a part and parcel of our lives; his videos on MTV, his songs on the radio, his face plastering the front page in all its cosmetic surgical glory.
An autopsy is underway as forensics question what had happened, how the Jackson Empire came crumbling to ruins just yesterday.
The news may shock us or cause grief. It may give us greater conviction when we stand at candle light vigils, listening to his epic music.
It shows us that there was something genuinely real beneath the artificial exterior.
Whatever it does, it surely will write the closing chapter in Jackson's memorable life.The book is finished, the contents are done, the pages have been immortalised with the legacy of the King of Pop and now it lies there for the world to read the tale of a boy who lit up the stage and every one's lives by the magic of music and dance. And his story will be told for years to come, unforgotten by the music world, the fans and our hearts.
R.I.P. Michael Jackson
1958-2009
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