Michael Jackson: One Year Later

June 25th, 2009 will be a day that I will never forget. The entire world never would either. Because on that fateful day, the greatest entertainer to ever grace this earth suddenly passed away leaving behind his grieving family and millions of fans from around the world. To say the world stopped in its tracks when the news dropped, would defintely be an understatement.

When I heard the tragic news, I was at work when my manager came in and said that Michael had died. Of course I didn’t believe her for the simple fact there was always rumors about celebrites dying that some sick folks make up and because this man had just announced his This Is It tour in London back in March. Not to mention tickets were sold out in less than two hours. Michael was poised to make a huge comback to the stage and to my knowledge as well as everyone else, he was healthy.

Yet reality kicked in after myself and co-workers found ourselves checking our cellphone on sites like facebook, twitter, CNN, etc to get the confirmation. And we did. Michael Joseph Jackson at the age of 50 died of cardiac arrest. After hearing that news, I was no good, didn’t feel like working at all. Luckily, my shift was about to be over and I didn’t have to deal with anymore customers

Heading home, Michael’s songs were being played all over the radio. From his hits with Jackson 5 to his own solo hits, nothing but Michael was on. On television, BET and MTV played his videos all night long, celebrities took to their twitter page to express their condolences for the king of pop as well as memories. And of course news outlets like CNN reported on the circumstances surrounding MJ’s death, bringing up his health issues, child molestation cases, his protection of his children, michael’s “strange” life as they seen it. Just like most of MJ’s life, his death became  circus.

Yet none of that mattered to me because Michael was so much bigger than the person they created in the media. He was bigger than a man who had to defend his actions to the public because of his charitable need to help sick kids by bringing them to his neverland ranch. He was bigger than someone who had a pet monkey, who married another king’s daughter, had a disease that forever changed his skin. He was bigger than someone who was accused twice of molestation, endured a painful trial from one of the cases.

Michael was a legend who whose work was near perfection, dance moves that are still used to this day, iconic videos that paved the way for artists like Usher, Beyonce, Lady Gaga to use for inspiration,, music from rock to pop and r&b that’s timeless. Michael was a performer who we were blessed to have in this lifetime. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t appreciate him while he was alive. Yet his music would live on for years and years to come.

We miss you, Michael!