Breaking News! Conrad Murray guilty of manslaughter

Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted today of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Michael Jackson. Murray will be held without bail.

Joe Jackson about wife Katherine Jackson: “If she’d done what I asked, Michael would be here today.”

In a recent interview for News of the World, Joe Jackson said that 12 days before the first anniversary of Michael’s death, he blamed his wife Katherine for the death of Michael Jackson.

Joe Jackson said, “Katherine was weeping uncontrollably and highly upset. But I didn’t give her a hug because I was MAD at her crying. I said, ‘If you had listened to me Michael would be living now!’ I kept thinking about the times I had stood in front of her saying something was wrong.”

“I couldn’t bottle up my feelings. Katherine didn’t say a word – I had to get away from her. If she’d done what I asked, Michael would be here today. I am incensed with her. She could have made a difference.”

Jackson had even more to say in the interview. Click here to read it.

Michael Jackson coroner’s report details

Michael Jackson’s 51-page coroner’s report showcases some important details but the most important is that Michael Jackson’s claim of having the skin condition vitiligo was the truth and it was real. The report confirms that Michael Jackson had smooth white patches. His “overall skin [had] patches of light and dark pigmented area,” according to the coroner’s investigator.

Other details from the coroner’s 51-page report can be downloaded here.

“Earth Song” performance/Michael Jackson tribute at the GRAMMY’s

One of the coolest performances from last night’s GRAMMY Awards was the Michael Jackson tribute with Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson singing “Earth Song”. The performance was in 3D, thus the audience were donning their 3D glasses.

Michael Jackson choreographer Travis Payne collaborates with the dancing Cebu inmates

We have seen the Cebu inmates in the Philippines dancing to Michael Jackson songs but this time they get to work with Michael Jackson’s choreographer Travis Payne as the inmates do a pretty cool routine with Payne and crew.

Michael Jackson – Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT: Souvenir Edition (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

For those who can’t get enough Michael Jackson, this souvenir edition of “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT’” features a limited edition commemorative photo booklet from Michael’s last rehearsal, his hit songs from his career plus two versions of the song ‘THIS IS IT’ and unreleased demo tracks. Overall, a collector’s item for Michael Jackson fans and for those who can’t get enough of Michael Jackson’s music, will enjoy this latest release celebrating the King of Pop’s career!

ARTIST: Michael Jackson

ALBUM: Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT (Souvenir Edition)

LABEL: Epic

DURATION: Disc 1: (1:17:58), Disc 2: (14:21)

RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2009

DISC 1:

1. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
2. Jam
3. They Don’t Care About Us
4. Human Nature
5. Smooth Criminal
6. The Way You Make Me Feel
7. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)
8. I Just Can’t Stop Loving You
9. Thriller
10. Beat It
11. Black or White
12. Earth Song
13. Billie Jean
14. Man in the Mirror
15. This Is It [Album Version]
16. This Is It [Orchestra Version]

DISC 2:

1. She’s Out of My Life (Demo)
2. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Demo)
3. Beat It (Demo)
4. Planet Earth (Poem)

[NOTE: The following is a revision of my original digital album review but incorporating the souvenir edition to the review]

With the recent release of the documentary “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” on Blu-ray and DVD, the souvenir edition is for the fans who want to remember Michael Jackson in a special 2-CD set which comes with unreleased rare tracks, original album masters plus a 36-page book of exclusive rehearsal photos.

“Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” documents Michael Jackson rehearsing for his final concert “This Is It” which would feature 50 tour dates that would take place at the 02 Arena in the UK.

The film had a limited run in the theater but in its opening weekend, “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” grossed over $23 million in the US and $252 million worldwide making the documentary the highest grossing documentary or concert movie of all time.

“Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” is quite literally the behind-the-scenes of the creation of the concert show.  From the hiring of the background dancers, to stage setup, production design, costume design, the short films that were used during the concert such as “Thriller” and “Smooth Criminal”.  Jackson working with Kenny Ortega, the choreographers and musicians.

We get a good look at how Michael Jackson was during the rehearsals, how positive he was with his crew and how he cared for those around him and was very complimentary, loved to have fun but was very determined onstage.  And despite being 50 years old, Michael Jackson still shows that he was just as fluid and remarkable onstage vocally and even still maintaining his dance moves.

With high anticipation for the film’s release in theaters, Sony who won the rights to release the album have released two versions of “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT”. The first version is a two-disc release with disc one featuring the original album masters of his hit songs as they were arranged in the sequence shown in the film and includes two versions of “This Is It” (Album and Orchestra Version) which is the ending theme to the film and includes his brothers providing the backup vocals for the song. The second-disc includes unreleased demo versions of songs such as “She’s Out of My Life”, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”, “Beat It” and a spoken word poem of “Planet Earth” (which was featured in the liner notes of his album “Dangerous”).

The CD version includes a 36-page commemorative booklet with exclusive photos of Michael Jackson during rehearsal.  The CD’s fit into two sleeves inside the book.

With many of the hit songs featured on the first album being well-known, I was definitely interested in hearing both versions of the song. Overall, “The Is It” is definitely a catchy track and was originally recorded back in 1983 and was co-written by Jackson and Paul Anka. My favorite version of the two would have to be the “Orchestra Version”. I like the musical arrangement more and how the brother’s are utilized for their background vocals in the track. But for the most part, it’s great to hear a new Michael Jackson song (despite the song being recorded over 25-years ago).

As for the unreleased demo’s, these short tracks feature Michael Jackson singing an acoustic guitar version of “She’s Out Of My Life” and a pretty solid version of Jackson’s sad song.

The unreleased demo version of “Wanna Be Starin’ Somethin’” is definitely an un-polished version musically of the hit song. But it definitely showcases Michael Jackson’s vocals and hearing his energetic vocals is pretty cool and hearing how it compares to the final cut.

The unreleased demo version of “Beat It” features an a capella version of “Beat It” and hearing Jackson and his backup vocals harmonizing. A pretty entertaining demo track to listen to.

The final track on the second disc and the EP is “Planet Earth” featuring Michael Jackson reading a poem.

Overall, for those who never owned a Michael Jackson album, a compilation or best of album or just a diehard Michael Jackson fan that owns everything, “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” is a solid release. Of course, there are other best album compilations that have more songs than what is featured in “THIS IS IT” but a lot of his top hits are featured in this album. And again, if you are only interested in hearing “THIS IS IT” or the unreleased demo songs, then all you need to do is purchase the digital downloads that are currently available now.

But overall, I know that non-fans may think it’s overkill for another release but fans of Michael Jackson’s music are getting a collector’s item with the limited booklet, a new song and unreleased demo tracks.

Overall, Michael Jackson fans are sure to enjoy this release!  Definitely recommended!

Michael Jackson’s This Is It (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Fantastic!  For Michael Jackson fans who love his music, “This Is It” represents Michael Jackson’s commitment, his passion and his dedication to his music, sharing his love and a message to those around him but most importantly reaching out to his fans. On Blu-ray, fans can expect beautiful visuals but most of all, spectacular lossless audio and also enjoyable and inspiring special features.  Highly recommended!

Images courtesy of © 2009 The Michael Jackson Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT

DURATION: 111 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Widescreen 1:78:1, English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French

RATED: PG

COMPANY: Sony Pictures Classics/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: January 26, 2010

Directed by Kenny Ortega

Produced by Paul Gongaware, Kenny Ortega, Randy Phillips

Co-Produced by Chantal Feghali

Associated Producer: Michael Bearden

3D Camera Producer: Todd Cogan

Show Associate Producer: Alif Sankey

Producer of Film and Video Content: Rob Wagner

Music by Michael Bearden

Cinematography by Sandrine Orabona, Tim Patterson

Edited by Don Brochu, Brandon Key, Timothy Patterson, Kevin Stitt

Casting by Mark Summers

Production Design by Bernt Amadeus Capra

Art Direction by William Budge

Set Decoration by Donald Elmblad

Costume Design by Michael Bush, Erin Lareau

Starring:

Michael Jackson

Kenny Ortega

Alex Al (Electric and Synth Bass)

Michael Bearden (Keyboards)

Orianthi Panagris (Lead Guitar)

Mo Pleasure (Keyboards/Trumpet)

Bashiri Johnson (Percussion)

Jonathan Moffet (Drums)

Tommy Organ (Guitar)

Vocalists: Judith Hill, Darryl Phinnessee, Ken Stacey

Dorian Holley (Vocal Director)

Dancers: Nick Bass, Daniel Celebre, Mekia Cox, Misha Gabriel, Chris Grant, Shannon Holtzapffel, Devin Jamieson, Charles Klapow, Dres Reid, Tyne Stecklein, Timor Steffens

Stacey Walker (Assistant Choreographer)

Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts at London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June 2009, this film was produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his planned final London shows.

It was the concert that many people wanted to see.  The concert known as “THIS IS IT”, which would be Michael Jackson’s final curtain call at the O2 arena in London in which Michael would perform fifty concerts from July 2009 through March 2010.  All concert tickets were sold out, excitement was in the air as it was less than a month that Michael would finally perform for his fans who have waited for a live concert for over a decade.

Needless to say, because this was Michael Jackson’s final concerts, there were major plans that have never been done in a concert before.  A stage production that quite literally, has never been done before and to say the least, possibly one of the costliest concerts due to production, costume design and more.  But compared to all of his previous concerts, “THIS IS IT” was going to be Michael Jackson’s greatest concerts for his fans.

But three weeks before his concert and literally everyone was getting prepared to move out to London from Los Angeles for the final dress rehearsals, Michael Jackson died after suffering cardiac arrest.

The shows were canceled but the world mourned the death of Michael Jackson and for director Kenny Ortega and everyone involved with “THIS IS IT”, although the concert never happened, all the work that Michael and the crew put into the show from its planning stages, rehearsals and more was filmed on various cameras.

The cameras shot footage in HD and standard definition from March through June 2009 and was intended for Michael Jackson’s personal library and original content that would be featured for the show.  With the announcement of the footage going to be made to a film, Columbia Pictures paid $60 million for the rights plus the release of the album.

The film had a limited run in the theater but in its opening weekend, “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” grossed over $23 million in the US and $252 million worldwide making the documentary the highest grossing documentary or concert movie of all time.

“Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” is quite literally the behind-the-scenes of the creation of the concert show.  From the hiring of the background dancers, to stage setup, production design, costume design, the short films that were used during the concert such as “Thriller” and “Smooth Criminal”.  Jackson working with Kenny Ortega, the choreographers and musicians.

We get a good look at how Michael Jackson was during the rehearsals, how positive he was with his crew and how he cared for those around him and was very complimentary, loved to have fun but was very determined onstage.  And despite being 50 years old, Michael Jackson still shows that he was just as fluid and remarkable onstage vocally and even still maintaining his dance moves.

“THIS IS IT” shows a side of Michael Jackson that many people don’t get to see.  We know of Michael Jackson the perfectionist but this is a behind-the-scenes look at him growing from the earlier stages but giving his all and seeing how he inspired others to give their all leading up to their final preparation in Los Angeles before leaving to London.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1).  It’s very important to emphasize that this was not a documentary that was planned and they had cameras for the sake of making a movie.  These are films that Michael Jackson had taped for his own personal video of the planning to the actual creation of his concerts and of course the rehearsals.

This film was put together within a few months of going through hours upon hours of raw footage and then editing the various film stock (the footage is a mix of High Definition and Standard Definition footage) from the rehearsals and other footage behind-the-scenes.

Fortunately, the majority of the footage used are from the high definition source and picture quality for those scenes are just awesome.  You get to see the detail of Michael Jackson’s clothing, the various vibrant lighting during the rehearsals including the stage effects and even closeups of Michael Jackson clean shaven to a man with stubble.  Personally, with Michael Jackson having a talented crew, the coverage featured in this film is great and to watch on Blu-ray is very impressive.

But where this film shines on Blu-ray is its lossless audio presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA.  My first impression was “Wow!”.  Granted, these are rehearsal footage but it’s one thing to hear the crystal clear dialogue through the centers and the music from the front channels but to hear sound being utilized through the surround channels and nice, clean bass thumping from the subwoofer was very cool!

You can hear Jonathan Moffet’s drums jamming while Michael Jackson starts dancing to “Billy Jean”, Orianthi Panagris jamming on the electric guitar for “Black and White” and “Beat It” along with Tommy Morgan on guitar and of course, all the musicians and vocalists played a part in this film and it’s awesome audio.   Music is just crystal clear and you can hear the nice separation at times with certain instruments on the surrounds but also hear the dancers and whoever is offstage just cheering on Michael Jackson as he’s jamming on stage to the interaction with Michale and his backup vocalists or musicians.

“It Might Get Loud” may be my favorite guitar-driven Blu-ray release for its soundtrack but “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” just sounds fantastic.  Blu-ray fans will not be disappointed.  This is one of the better sounding musical documentaries I have seen on Blu-ray and heard via lossless yet.

As for subtitles, “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” is featured in English, French and English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” comes with the following special features presented in 1080p High Definition and audio in English 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Stereo.  Included are:

• movieIQ – Featuring the “This Is It” Playlist and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie! Also includes an interactive playlist where you can bookmark your favorite songs featured in the film and email yourself a customized playlist! NOTE: You need a profile 2.0 Blu-ray player (that connect online) to access movieIQ.
• Thriller Vignettes – presented in 5.1 audio – (3:50) The full new short film for “Thriller” used as a vignette for the concert which was shown on a big LCD screen and would transition to the main performance of “Thriller”.  This is a Blu-ray exclusive.
• Smooth Criminal Vignettes – presented in 5.1 audio – (3:58) The full new short film for “Smooth Criminal” used as a vignette for the concert which was shown on a big LCD screen and would transition to the “Smooth Criminal” performance.  This is a Blu-ray exclusive.
• Making Smooth Criminal – (11:08) Shooting the short film content for “Smooth Criminal” for “This Is It”.  How they integrated Michael into a noir film using footage from “Gilda” (starring Rita Hayworth) and another film with Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson and how it was created.  Also, showing how Michael Jackson was very involved in the production.
• Staging the Return – (40:46) A special program on Michael Jackson planning his return to the stage.  From clips of Michael Jackson announcing his return, to behind-the-scenes footage of the creation of the concert, set design to the “Earth Song” video and interviews with director Kenny Ortega and the crew and their memories of Michael Jackson.
• The Gloved One – (15:11) A look at the costumes created for “This Is It” featuring costume designers Michael Bush and Zaldy.  The creation of the outfits and taking them to a new level and Zaldy explains how the costumes came about including an outfit filled with crystals and a metallic studded outfit inspired by samurai uniform to the shoes and more.
• Memories of Michael- (16:19) Director Kenny Ortega, the producers and musicians talk about their experience working with Michael Jackson and how they were all inspired by him and how he was a great friend, father and performer.
• Auditions: Searching for the World’s Best Dancers – (9:50) A look at the auditions for the best professional dancers who would take part in Michael Jackson’s “THIS IS IT”.
• Theatrical Trailer – (2:30) The original theatrical trailer.

After watching “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT”, I have to agree…this was the great concert that never happened.  I have never seen production design this incredible in my life and I have watched and reviewed many concerts from artists worldwide and have seen expensive concerts with extravagant to jaw dropping effects.  But after seeing this film and what they had planned, I don’t think anyone has come close to the amount of work that was done for “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT”.

Aside from the awesome vocals, music and choreography that you would expect from a Michael Jackson concert, just seeing the short films that were created for the concert was impressive, the props such as a giant motorized robotic-like spider to a bulldozer coming on stage was amazing to seeing fire going around stage and even a Kevlar jacket that Michael Jackson would wear that would catch on fire.

Michael Jackson and his entire team who were working on this concert definitely set the bar higher than anyone in the world has done for their concert and that is why it was so important to have this documentary to be seen.  This was a documentary that showed a man who was involved in the entire process of the creation of the concert, immersing himself in getting prepared and ready but most of all, making sure that because this was his final curtain call, these concerts were definitely his way of going out with a bang.

The concerts may not have happened but because of what we see in this film, although the main people watching him were the crew, dancers and technicians, now the entire world has a chance to see the greatest concert that never happened.  But most of all, a chance to see the King of Pop one final time and see how much sweat tears they put into this production.

The Blu-ray release of “Michael Jackson’s  THIS IS IT” is fantastic.  A good number of special features that will make fans happy and again, this is one of the best music films/documentaries in HD for its incredible lossless audio.  Again, this was a film that was created by putting hours of footage together and editing it to make a film.  The footage was never intended to be used for a feature film or documentary.

The fact that director Kenny Ortega and crew not only had it ready for the theater, there was not one scene where I got bored, nor was there a scene which I felt could have been left out.

Overall, “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” is one Blu-ray release that fans of Michael Jackson and his music should own.  Absolutely fantastic and highly recommended!

Michael Jackson – Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

“For those who can’t get enough Michael Jackson, there are two releases of ‘Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT’ with one two-disc set which comes with a limited edition commemorative photo booklet from Michael’s last rehearsal, his hit songs from his career plus two versions of the song ‘THIS IS IT’ and unreleased demo tracks.  For those who don’t want to repurchase his hit songs all over again and just want the new tracks can purchase an EP version featuring the two hit songs and also the unreleased demo tracks as well.  Overall, a collector’s item for Michael Jackson fans and for those who can’t get enough of Michael Jackson’s music, will enjoy this latest release celebrating the King of Pop’s career!”

ARTIST: Michael Jackson

ALBUM: Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT (Digital Version)

LABEL: Epic

DURATION: 1:31:55

RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2009

1. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Album Version)
2. Jam (Remastered Version)
3. They Don’t Care About Us (Remastered Version)
4. Human Nature (Album Version)
5. Smooth Criminal (Radio Edit) (Remastered Radio Edit)
6. The Way You Make Me Feel (Remastered Version)
7. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) (Remastered Version)
8. I Just Can’t Stop Loving You (Remastered Version)
9. Thriller (Album Version)
10. Beat It (Single Version)
11. Black or White (Remastered Version)
12. Earth Song (Remastered Version)
13. Billie Jean (Single Version)
14. Man in the Mirror (Remastered Version)
15. This Is It (Album Version)
16. This Is It (Orchestra Version)

DISC 2:

1. She’s Out of My Life (Demo)
2. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Demo)
3. Beat It (Demo)
4. Planet Earth (Poem)

As many fans of Michael Jackson prepare for the limited release film “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” which documents Michael Jackson rehearsing for his final concert “This Is It” which would feature 50 tour dates that would take place at the 02 Arena in the UK.  And as the world will remember, on June 25th, Jackson suffered from cardiac arrest and died.

With footage from Michael Jackson’s rehearsals captured during the early stages of production for the concert at the STAPLES Center in L.A., from what video and images that we have seen thus far, the King of Pop still looked incredible on the dance floor and was still incredible vocally.  And with so much video captured during the rehearsal, hundreds of hours of footage was used to create a theatrical film which is planned for a limited two week release and with tickets on sale since Sept. 27, “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” is now the largest, fastest selling concert film of all time and is set to debut in theaters on Oct. 28th.

With high anticipation for the film, Sony who won the rights to release the album have released two versions of “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT”.  The first version is a two-disc release with disc one featuring the original album masters of his hit songs as they were arranged in the sequence shown in the film and includes two versions of “This Is It” (Album and Orchestra Version) which is the ending theme to the film and includes his brothers providing the backup vocals for the song.  The second-disc includes unreleased demo versions of songs such as “She’s Out of My Life”, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”, “Beat It” and a spoken word poem of “Planet Earth” (which was featured in the liner notes of his album “Dangerous”).  The CD version will include a 36-page commemorative booklet with exclusive photos of Michael Jackson during his last rehearsal.

Many people may have owned previous greatest hits of Michael Jackson’s songs, so Sony has also released a digital EP version of selections from “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” featuring both versions of “This Is It” and the second disc with the demo unreleased versions of the songs.

With many of the hit songs featured on the first album being well-known, I was definitely interested in hearing both versions of the song.  Overall, “The Is It” is definitely a catchy track and was originally recorded back in 1983 and was co-written by Jackson and Paul Anka.  My favorite version of the two would have to be the “Orchestra Version”.  I like the musical arrangement more and how the brother’s are utilized for their background vocals in the track.  But for the most part, it’s great to hear a new Michael Jackson song (despite the song being recorded over 25-years ago).

As for the unreleased demo’s, these short tracks feature Michael Jackson singing an acoustic guitar version of “She’s Out Of My Life” and a pretty solid version of Jackson’s sad song.

The unreleased demo version of “Wanna Be Starin’ Somethin’” is definitely an un-polished version musically of the hit song. But it definitely showcases Michael Jackson’s vocals and hearing his energetic vocals is pretty cool and hearing how it compares to the final cut.

The unreleased demo version of “Beat It” features an a capella version of “Beat It” and hearing Jackson and his backup vocals harmonizing.  A pretty entertaining demo track to listen to.

The final track on the second disc and the EP is “Planet Earth” featuring Michael Jackson reading a poem.

Overall, for those who never owned a Michael Jackson album, a compilation or best of album or just a diehard Michael Jackson fan that owns everything, “Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT” is a solid release.  Of course, there are other best album compilations that have more songs than what is featured in “THIS IS IT” but a lot of his top hits are featured in this album.  And again, if you are only interested in hearing “THIS IS IT” or the unreleased demo songs, then all you need to do is purchase the digital downloads that are currently available now.

But overall, I know that non-fans may think it’s overkill for another release but fans of Michael Jackson’s music are getting a collector’s item with the limited booklet, a new song and unreleased demo tracks.  Overall, Michael Jackson fans are sure to enjoy this release!  Definitely recommended!

The One about Michael Jackson’s Memorial

On July 7th, the world had a chance to celebrate and remember the life of Michael Jackson but hear stories from friends and family of the King of Pop.

But like many people, as exciting and poignant the Memorial was, it was when we saw Michael Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter Paris talk about her father, not as the pop star but as a father.

Making us remember that although we have celebrated his music and his contributions to charities worldwide, there are three young children who have lost their father. Paris’s real emotions were not staged. We felt her words touch are soul and the majority of us cried.

As for the memorial, I know that there will be many people who may not understand why the world is putting so much attention to a man’s death. Several countries that I’ve read post wonder why media hasn’t given this much attention to this artist and that artist but for Michael Jackson the world’s media has went all out.

Despite whatever negative that had happened in the past, its the positive that we remember. What difference he tried to make in society through his music and through action.

When I graduated from high school many years ago, as this may sound a bit cliche mentioning it now but Michael Jackson’s music did change my life. The song “Man in the Mirror” was a song that hit me hard because I knew at the time in my life, I wanted to change my life and make a difference but also take action.

I listened to this song and had it constantly repeating to the point that my tape cassette got caught in my tape player that I ended up ruining the tape and having to purchase another copy of “BAD” (which was fine since it was starting to lose the quality from being overplayed).

But what happened is that the song was a great inspiration, that driven me to change. I got involved by becoming part of the college student body and not long after, I immediately became an intern for a local senator and next thing you know, I was involved in being part of the main staff working on a Lt. Governor campaign and from that point on, these positive experiences set things in motion with my life in working in various public relation fields. I did take a look in the mirror and made that change. A positive change.

And so, I do thank Michael Jackson for that. It may have been indirect through his music but still, his music helped a lot of people, opened a lot of doors and became a part of people’s lives. And I am forever grateful for that.

RIP Michael!

Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris: “daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine”

Paris Jackson’s spoke about her father Michael Jackson:

“Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” the 11-year-old daughter of Michael said. “And I just wanted to say I love him so much.”

The Jackson family Randy Jackson, Paris Katherine Jackson and Rebbie Jackson speak at the Michael Jackson public memorial service held at Staples Center on July 7, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Jackson, 50, the iconic pop star, died at UCLA Medical Center after going into cardiac arrest at his rented home on June 25 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images). Content © 2009 Getty Images . All rights reserved.

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