I wasn’t going to, but feel I must say a few things about Michael Jackson. The impact he had on me goes beyond words. Through his music, I learned to live, to love, to dream.
Yesterday and today were difficult. I refuse to leave the house because I know if I hear one of his songs, I’ll cry. It won’t be any time soon that I’ll be listening to his albums the same way I used to. Someone on Twitter linked to this, and I inadvertently clicked on it. Here I am, crying like a baby. RIP Michael…
Michael Jackson – Childhood
Deerlings: you don’t have to answer this, but where were you when you heard the news?
This is one of the saddest days in my life. His loss is a tragedy, but still it’s amazing how it is bringing the whole world together in celebration of such amazing artist.
He will be forever in our hearts. R.I.P. Michael.
I KNOW, I MADE A POST AS WELL, HE WAS THE SOUNDTRACK TO SO MANY, A TRUE ICON…❤✿❤✿ NO ONE WILL BE LIKE HIM, THEN , BEFORE, NOW OR AFTER……JUST NEVER!
I know what an inspiration M.J. was to you Xenia. I hope you’re doing OK. It’s so sad, he was so young. He was 3 years younger than my dad and I can’t imagine my dad being gone. M.J. will live forever in our minds and hearts. RIP
I couldn’t believe it at first :-(
It feels like another part of my childhood has died.
Even if I never was a ‘real’ fan like others it’s really sad to me, because I liked him as a person and some of his songs are still in my favorites.
He seems like such a sad tortured soul….The way people judge. I feel he was an amazing soul who left us so much to remember and celebrate. His music brings me back to my child hood and I can remember what I was doing when I heard his songs. That makes me feel so good!!!! After remembering songs today I think my favorite is Man in the Mirror. Just love it…
I felt like it was frivolous to write about MJ (after all, people are dying everywhere, every day.) I feel as if I can’t lament the death of someone who well could have been a pedophile. But MJ was a legend who lived a tortured life we will likely never understand. His legacy affected almost every cultural aspect of our generation, and will continue to influence the world of dance, music, and fashion indefinitely. RIP Michael.
yesterday was just too surreal. i grew up on michael. having him be such a permanent, omnipresent fixture in our lives for upwards of 40 years just makes it harder to believe. i was watching cnn all day and as soon as wolf said “michael jackson is dead” a very weird mixture of emotions flashed through me. i still can’t bring myself to say those four words out loud.
still, it is a very bittersweet moment in time. it is sad that he died–that will never ever not be true–but it gives the current generation, one too young to remember kurt cobaine and freddie mercury, a chance to experience what we did when they passed as well. it has united so many people in grief, and has given us a chance to celebrate the change that michael not only gave to our lives and hearts, but to the entertainment industry and human rights. and for that, he will never be forgotten as not only a legend, but a beautiful person. rest in peace. ♥
I was at an amusement park getting into a rollercoaster when the guy next to us looked at his phone and started freaking out about the news he just got. It was the saddest day I’ve ever spent in a park because it was almost like the world stopped. Its still so completely surreal to me. I haven’t been able to turn away from the news yet. I just hope though, that people will forget him as a “weird” alleged child molester, and remember him as a musical genius and gentle soul. I mean, he’s touched everyone on this planet in some way. There is just no way you could go anywhere and not find someone who was affected by just one song. God….this is still so surreal…. And I really hate to say… Farrah, Michael… who’s gonna be #3?my heart can’t take much more…,
This post is a testament to how MJ’s legacy lives on and I’m glad other artists build off of others’ ideas to create new original works, as Xenia does. We write about what moves us. If that happens to be the death of someone who happens to be imperfect (though who knows if they allegations MJ faced were true??) and influenced how we view the world, interact, and create in it, one has the perfect right to express as much. People should never discount other’s feelings.
Michael Jackson was amazingly talented. In spite of his circumstances, he demonstrated a strength most would never be capable of, particularly before the media’s scrutiny. I’m going to go moonwalk now…
I was actually in makeup class and it all hit us as a shock.
I hope you are feeling better Doe! I’m listening to Thriller now as a tribute, but I think I’m going to cry… :’(
I was at my high school with friends, waiting for something fun to happen (we were hanging out) and one by one, friends kept getting calls and texts about the news. (I JUST happened to accidentally push my hand onto a huge bunch of glass before the news hit me. :()
It was supposed to be band sectionals. But there was no music that day. None.
all the people in my year level were bundled up on camp without radios/tvs/anything and my friend kayla got a text from her boyfriend saying he died.
it was about 7 am and we were all sleepy, but that news got everyone out of bed.
this guy in the other dorm compared it to steve irwin dying, you can’t believe it.
I was at my beauty school and me and some friends had oddly enough just finished listening to Thriller on someone’s Ipod, and a woman came in to get her hair done a broke the news. I immediately called my mom and started crying. I think literally everyone in my school was talking about it.
I feel so bad and just kinda confused. The poor man was in the spotlight for 45 years, and never got a break from it. He really was a tortured soul, but I truly feel that he had a great heart, whether all the rumors about him are true or not. I just want him to be remembered with dignity, not for the lies. He was such an inspiration to me. One of the greatest talents the world has ever been blessed with. RIP Michael…<3
Michael Jackson had an impact on me the same way he did on you, his music, dancing, videos… shaped my childhood. I was 3 when I first heard him, it was an instant crush. I constantly listened to his music, and watched his videos. My mother had actually bought the ” Making of Michael Jacksons Thriller” VCR tape back in 1986, 6 years before I came along, and when I got my hands on it I never stopped watching it. My babysitter even a scrapbook of him for me, because she knew how crazy I was about him.
He was always something immortal to me, I could never picture him dying. When I heard it, it just seemed impossible to me. I still can’t even believe it, when someone says “Michael Jackson Is Dead.” It just doesn’t click. At all. It isn’t real, it’s just like a nightmare.
I was on Tumblr when someone made a post about it, and I thought it was crap, then I looked it up on ONTD and there it was, then I posted it on facebook and all my friends were in an uproar, nobody believed me.
Last night, I downloaded songs i didn’t already have of him, and I layed down and bed and listened to it, and when I got to “We are the World.” I just started to cry, so hard. When I get out of being in denial, I think i’m going to cry even harder.
He was an incredibly talented man (And I’m not going to deny, he was incredibly attractive, even after his many nose jobs xD) with his talent he carried the burdens of his horrible childhood, something he should have never carried. He was just a genuinely good person and a huge humanitarian. I don’t think there ever will be a person whose gonna make an impact like him, ever. He’s inspired millions, unlike any other entertainers. So, all I have to say now is, Rest in peace Michael, you’re finally free.
-sorry for this very long post + horrible spelling, but he meant a lot to me :D-
I was at school, my class just started. And then one of my classmates got a text message from someone with horrible news… Our teacher even stopped the lesson and went on the Internet to confirm the information… Everyone got very upset…
It’s just horrible… I still can’t believe it – there is no Michael Jackson anymore…
when i heard this news it was from my friend in cali i woke up from a nap and started crying i was still convinced he was alive and didn’t want to believe he was dead. i remember when I was five and used to love thriller, billie jean and beat it. I feel so horrible about the way people treated him and how he fell apart, people sholdn’t ridicule him because he was THE man behind all music today, the true man behind dance. R.I.P Michael you will be missed & no one will replace you
I was working on my web show when my toolbar dinged and said that he was rushed to the hospital and wasn’t breathing.
Not 20 minutes later, my toolbar dinged again, and said that he had died.
I yelled “Holy Shit!” and my fiance came over and could barely believe it himself.
Say what you will about him, but you can never take away from him that fact that he was a MIND-BLOWINGLY talented entertainer.
He will be missed.
i’m still in disbelief.
I was ringing two teenage girls up at work (Macy’s) when one received a text and she started laughing saying her friend sent her some weird text that MJ had died. None of us believed it.
I had been kayaking, and when I went to pay they had “RIP Michael Jackson” written on a white board…
I was at the hospital when I heard the news. I still can’t believe it, keep expecting to hear on the news that it’s a mistake or a hoax..it’s all so very surreal. Several radio stations have been playing his songs all day long.
No one can deny that he was EXTREMELY talented and truly a music legend; no one can take his place. This has affected the entire world and despite all the legal and personal problems I believe he had a kind soul, child-like almost?
R.I.P Michael
I had been home for only an hour or so when my 87 year old grandfather came bursting out of his secret old person lair shouting the news.
I was actually doing research in chemistry lab! I just got back from the NMR room which is underground (NMR = Nuclear Magnetic Resonance–I can tell you more about it if you’d like, teehee), and then one of my labmates told us when we got back.
I didn’t believe it!!
I thought that I heard wrong on the radio. At the time, they were still unsure of whether or not the news was real so they played “Beat It” and we all sat in horror. When the song was over, the station was able to confirm it and they continued to play his songs for the rest of the day. We all had goosebumps and none of us spoke right away.
I am with my extended family right now and his music and influence spanned generations. It was interesting and very sad to hear all of our different takes on him and how his music was the stuff we ALL grew up with. Whether we were 20 or 50.
I am stunned and trying my hardest not to get pulled into any rumors about pills. I want to remember him as the man my mom and then I grew up listening to. He was a legend and I hope he rests in peace.
I was doing the groceries when my daughter called and told. I wouldnt believe it. As soon as we got home my husband went on the internet and told me it was true. Very Sad.
I was asleep in my room. I received a call on my cell phone from my father, telling me that The King of Pop had died. I was and still am in total shock. Michael was so talented and inspiring, at times, I almost believed that he was invincible. He was a true music pioneer not only for black people like myself, but for almost every single music act that came after him. He broke down barriers that may not have been demolished otherwise. He bought everyone together, and with over 750 million albums sold, he is truly an icon whose musical presence, modesty, talent, and compassion will be greatly missed.
R.I.P. Michael Joseph Jackson
xoxo,
Nicole
i was actually sitting around the pc chatting to my cousin about something and crying about it, and in an attempt to feel better, went to my reader and saw the subject from thesuperficial.com -that Michael had died and that it was confirmed…..i cudn’t believe it, because I didn’t even hear the part that he was being rushed to the hospital….i’ve been bawling since…and listening to his music and just being brought back to my childhood, it really hits me that, this man molded the way i see music and sing, and he is the greatest entertainer ever! I LOVE YOU MICHAEL, RIP. I pray I will see you in heaven!
I was about to serve myself a drink in the kitchen while I waited for Oprah to come back on when I heard the T.V. say, “Michael Jackson has died.” I ran to my room and listened with disbelief; I still can’t believe it. I’m not one to have idols but I grew up dancing and singing to his songs! I was too young and poor to go to his concerts, so I was really excited for this upcoming concert. Besides my sadness my love and hope for the best goes out to his 3 kids.
I was at the gym…I had already heard that he’d had a heart attack, but never expected the outcome. I had to go right home and write a tribute on my website, as well. Quite literally, I do not remember a time where I didn’t know of MJ as a huge star, so yeah, this is crazy, shocking news.
I had just stepped out of my car, walking to a dance rehearsal, when a friend broke the news. I had just found out that Farrah Fawcett had died, plus this particular friend is a definite kidder, so at first I didn’t believe it. But as soon as I walked into rehearsal, everyone confirmed what I had heard.
Instantly I felt confused and deeply upset. Such an icon–how great I cannot even express–dead so unexpectedly and painfully. The sorrow and absence felt by his loss are very deep. As a performer, I feel so indebted to Michael Jackson for creating and expressing his vision in such a powerful and unforgettable way.
Strangely enough, just last month my dance studio performed a piece set to music by Michael Jackson. Dancing to ‘Rockin’ Robin,’ ‘Bad,’ ‘Thriller,’ and ‘Will You be There’ (so much more meaningful and powerful now), I felt like I was paying tribute. Now I realize just how important that performance was. RIP, Michael–you will never be forgotten.
Admittedly, Ive never been a super crazy fan of his, but as a massive fan of music and fashion, i know the colossal difference he made. I think it’s awful that the media have turned him from a historic artist to a crazy, secluded man in the last few years. Even worse, not only a few hours after his death, jokes began circling. I felt horrid. Here is a man who did as much for music as Elvis or David Bowie, and we should remember him for the amazing work he has done, and how much he has affected everyone.
R.I.P M.J thanks for everything you’ve given the world.
michael jackson’s music helped me get through high school. i can’t believe he’s gone so young, i thought he’d be alive forever.
i was at work when i heard. i had his songs in my head for the rest of the day.
rip michael.
My Mom called me at work to tell me. I’m so sad. Thanks for posting the video, I cried like a baby too.
I came to my Mum to wake her up, but she was awake already, watching the news, and told me. I didn’t cry, but I still couldn’t believe he was gone.
I’m in Australia so different time zones means I was asleep, my brother sent me a text telling me. It’s so hard, the first person I actually though of was you. I remember over the years reading lots of different stuff about how he influenced you and mainly how you learnt English through his songs. It’s such a horrible loss, I keep thinking about his children and how much this will hurt them.
Yesterday afternoon I was sitting at the computer when my husband asked me to look up news on Michael Jackson. I was reading several different reports, and it took a few minutes to find anything that actually confirmed that he had passed.
The feeling in our home was frantic as our kids read (or listened) along and my husband and I made calls to friends. I immediately thought I should call my friend Alyssa in Seattle. Last Halloween we preformed Thriller at midnight down her street. We cried as we confirmed what we had heard to each other (well, I didn’t tell her that I was crying because I didn’t want her to be any more upset than she already was). After talking to several other people, my husband put “Thriller” on the record player and I took my kids outside to dance (Zoe wore her gold leggings, Mira dressed in black with one red Converse, Bryce didn’t change his clothes).
As an Icon, he will live forever. I will always have the memory of watching Moonwalker with my toddler as she gleefully tried to impersonate him, squeeling “OOOooooOOO” at all the right times. And as a teenager seeing the video for “Scream” for the first time, wishing for an ounce of that talent. The imprint Michael Jackson has left on our culture is astounding.
Zoe wonders whether his children are good singers.
I hope he is at peace.
Pretty early in the morning…it was on the news headlines that passed at the bottom of the screen…i thought i had read sth wrong at first…i thought “it cant be!!!” and i still cant get my head around it…
I’m in Scotland, and was in bed almost asleep when my mum text me. I immediately ran downstairs to switch on the pc, and made my boyfriend’s flatmate turn over to the news channels. Evantually, they got bored and went to bed, but I couldn’t tear myself away from checking the websites every few minutes, and switching between the news channels and when all the music channels started playing his music, I was overcome with grief.
Michael was a alot of things to me, including an icon, and he created so many of my happiest memories without even realising it. Already, the jokes about his death are flying around, as expected, but my friends know NOT to repeat them in front of me. I respect everyone has different opinions of who he was, but I won’t stand for it. I don’t want to hear the nasty things people think they can get away with.
I started to write about my own thoughts about his life, and his death, but I can’t finish it quite yet. Whenever I think about what has been done to him I can’t focus. But I will finish it soon.
Hi there :)
I will always remember the night he dead.. i say the night cause here in France, we learned he had an heart attack at about 23h PM, i read on net that he just made an heart attack and thought ” Oh no!!! it can’t be!!” and when i read from some american tv ” he is dead” i was sooooo shocked!! i would never imagined i could be so shocked! i almost cried!
I immediately went to msn talk to my friend ” oh my god!! MJ is dead!” he said ” What the hell are you talking about??!!”
My friend is a big fan of him and for my part i used to listen to his songs, watch video clip, see concert at tv when i was a child.
Lots of french people spend the entire night on net to watch american tv to follow it.
For my part it’s a little part of my childhood which is gone with him… and when i think that some months ago i listened his albums with my cousin and he said to me ” For me it’s the biggest artist ever!”.
Even 3 days after it, i’m still shocked! he passed away to early, i’m sure he would have done lots of new things, album and so on.
May he rest in peace now and his songs are immortal.
I found out about his death after driving home listening to his music… so sad…
I was in bed still. A friend rang my boyfriend in tears to tell us. We turned the TV on and saw she wasn’t lying. I spent my whole day at work reading everything I could about him and generally feeling miserable .
The only worse thing for me is that I have lose a couple of friends these last 2 days because of how vocal a supporter I am of him and always believed he was a good man, not a pedophile. Oh well, I guess you can’t win them all.
I was in bed when my mum came in and said “Guess who’s dead” and I just guessed ‘Michael Jackson?’
It’s so sad..
It is such a great loss that a man with great talent like Michael Jackson dies. RIP King of POP
I’ve just spent the last three hours dancing to his music. Our local bar played all his hits and we went mental celebrating his music and his life. I am very sad, but I wont mourn, instead I will listen to a song of his each day knowing that he’s at peace, and appreciating the music he brought to the world. Our life is a little less magical without him in it, RIP
I was at a trip elsewhere in Norway when I got a text message from a friend saying “Michael Jackson is dead.” with a shocked smiley face afterwards. At first I didn’t believe her, but it’s not like her to joke about death and stuff.
Michael Jackson isn’t my idol from childhood, and I’m not his biggest fan, but I’m truly sad to hear about his departure – he’s meant a great deal to the music world.
One thing I read about that I thought I should share, however, was this festival in Norway that had some band – I think it was “Faith No More” – playing when the news got out. And I read blogs saying that people in the audience started chatting amongst themselves, as they got text messages with the news.. An whole audience that already was a community due to the concert got tied even closer together by this…
I heard the news when I was at my boyfriend’s house– after I’d returned from Dairy Queen with two chocolate malts.
I was in bed, and my sister came in and told me while I was half-awake. I fell back to sleep; I could never tell if something like that was a dream or real life. But when I woke up and saw the news, I knew it was no dream.
Truth be told, I don’t consider myself a fan at all, but it struck me how many of his songs I knew and liked. I also think that to live up to his musical genius would be a feat that would certainly be impossible for almost any artiste to live up to today. He made it big across the world before the internet and in the days of vinyls and CDs.
I was watching a football game, and a friend from my brother came to work with him in something and he told me… And I was like “really?” I didn’t believe it at first, but then, in the break of the football match, they said it… It was soo shocking and sad. On the next day, we started talking about it with a few friends in highschool… And a group of maybe 20-25 persons walked by us with black straps around their arms!
Xenia,
I just had the CRAZIEST dream!!! You were in it! Bear with me, it was really crazy!
So I got this genetic test result in the mail, and somehow, it turned out that you were my mom!! In my dream you were much older, maybe in your late 40s, but you still looked the same, teehee. I’m a young adult already so it was like the long lost news sort of. So I rushed to find you and tell you. When I got to your own little clothing line store I showed you the paper and you were estatic. After all the hugs we decided to work next to each other, table to table. And we both have different styles so it’d be interesting to see what we put on the walls next to eachother’s desks!
Then I had to run to a party, and I was wearing this light brown Native American looking dress and couldn’t find the right yellow low-cut boots to go with it. You started helping me and right before we found a pair it started pouring outside. And that’s when I woke up!!
Weird, huh????
And I don’t think of you as an old lady, don’t worry! I just love reading your blogs! You’re VERY inspiring, and one day I hope to meet you!!!!!
I had gotten my IUD put in, and was sleeping off the pain. When I woke up, I read that he had passed from a few people on my Twitter. I went to check the gossip blog I read (ONTD on LiveJournal), and the site was down, which is when I knew it was true.
So sad to see him go. <3