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US pop star and entertainer Michael Jackson performs before an estimated audience of 60,000 in Brunei on July 16, 1996.

Michael Jackson Tribute Show Comes To Israel

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Michael Jackson’s death in June of 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest sent shockwaves across the world

The Michael Jackson tribute show “Forever King of Pop” premiered in Israel on Thursday night and will run until Saturday, paying homage to the legacy of the longtime pop star. 

“Forever King of Pop” left lasting impressions on over a million viewers during its international tour in Mexico, France, Germany, Spain, and other countries in what has been called “an emotional and deep journey through Michael Jackson’s greatest hits.”

The show features 40 artists on stage, from dancers to singers, according to the website. Additionally, it showcases “bold staging and audiovisual design, an incredibly high artistic quality, the best voices, musicians, dancers and hip-hop, new songs and effects that will surprise fans and fans of his music and work.”

Carl DE SOUZA (AFP/Archives)
Carl DE SOUZA (AFP/Archives)Michael Jackson on March 5, 2009, in London, England.

In a review, La Toya Jackson, Michael Jackson’s sister, said, “It is not only his talent and his music, on stage, but also his heart. I’d like to see this show on Broadway.”

Dubbed the “King of Pop,” Jackson was one of the most significant cultural figures of the past century, with a career spanning four decades. Known for his hits “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” and “Thriller,” Jackson was a once-in-a-lifetime star.  

His death in June of 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest sent shockwaves across the world, and tributes soon poured in. 

“Forever King of Pop” will be staged at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Israel’s central city of Tel Aviv. 

#Michael #Jackson #Tribute #Show #Israel



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Michael Jackson's ex Debbie Rowe felt she 'should have done something' to curb his addictions – The Elkhart Truth

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  1. Michael Jackson’s ex Debbie Rowe felt she ‘should have done something’ to curb his addictions  The Elkhart Truth
  2. Debbie Rowe Breaks Down In Tears While Discussing Her Ex-Husband Michael Jackson’s Drug Addiction In New Documentary: ‘I Should Have Done Something’  ETCanada.com
  3. Michael Jackson’s former wife shockingly hints she was partly to blame for his death…  The US Sun
  4. Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe reveals she feels ‘partly to blame’ for singer’s death  Daily Mail
  5. Michael Jackson’s former wife Debbie Rowe hints she was partly to blame for his death  New Zealand Herald
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

#Michael #Jackson039s #Debbie #Rowe #felt #039should #something039 #curb #addictions #Elkhart #Truth



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Britney Spears and Michael Jackson stand in front of a cake.

Britney Spears and Michael Jackson Baffled the VMAs Audience When She Gave Him an Imaginary Award

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In 2002, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson accidentally hijacked the awards system at the VMAs. The awards ceremony took place the night of Jackson’s birthday. Spears took the stage to present him with a birthday cake. The problem was, nobody seemed to have informed Jackson that this was happening. Misreading the situation, Jackson walked onstage and accepted a prestigious and nonexistent award from Spears. 

Britney Spears and Michael Jackson stand in front of a cake.
Britney Spears Michael Jackson | Kevin Kane/WireImage

Britney Spears’ performance with a snake was an iconic moment at the VMAs

In 2001, Spears gave one of the VMAs’ most memorable performances when she sang “I’m a Slave 4 U.” She took the stage with a 7-foot Burmese python draped over her shoulders. While she made this look effortless, snake-wrangler Mike Hano said it was no easy feat. 

#Britney #Spears #Michael #Jackson #Baffled #VMAs #Audience #Gave #Imaginary #Award



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Madonna’s Manager Suggested Like a Virgin Sound More Like Thriller

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If Madonna‘s early manager, Freddy DeMann had gotten his way, one of her most iconic albums could have sounded different.


In a recent sit-down chat with Chic musician and funk legend Nile Rodgers — the sole producer of 1984’s Like a Virgin album — for Paper magazine, the two reflected on their days working together early in the Queen of Pop’s career.


The pair recalled that when Madonna’s second album was finished, her self-titled debut album (featuring the hits “Holiday,” “Everybody” and “Lucky Star”) was “still the focus” and delayed the release of Like a Virgin.


“She was ready to go, like, ‘Come on, come on, let’s put this out,’ and then ‘Borderline’ hit out of the clear blue sky. We didn’t expect that,” Rodgers told the outlet. “I know that you were definitely ready to put out Like a Virgin.”


Madonna, 64, shared, “I was irritated that another song of mine was doing so well, and now I had to wait to put something out that I was so excited about. Not that I didn’t love Reggie Lucas and ‘Borderline’ and my first record, but the thing is, when I put out my first record it didn’t really do that well.”


Nile Rodgers and Madonna.
James Devaney/GC Images

She said Madonna had “a resurgence” right as they were gearing up to release Like a Virgin. Madonna admitted that while it was a “good thing” the album was doing well, its success did cause frustration.


Rodgers said Madonna was signed to a label — Sire Records — that was “sort of a little bit unsure” about her artistic direction and remembered the reaction that DeMann, Madonna’s manager at the time, expressed following his first listen of Like a Virgin.


“I’ll never forget when we played the album, and Freddy [DeMann, Madonna’s manager at the time] said, ‘Can it sound a little more like this?’ And he put on f—— Thriller [laughs]. And we said, you know, Michael Jackson has been a star his entire life, and he worked his way up to Thriller,” Rodgers said. “So he said, ‘Well can you put a little more bass on it?’ And all Madonna did was just write, ‘Bass Up,’ on the record. We never changed a thing. She just wrote it on the box the next time.”


Madonna added that she sometimes incorporates a bit of one of her late-friend Jackson’s signature hits into the track “Like a Virgin” when she performs it live.


“But I mean, ‘Like a Virgin’ does have a little bit of a ‘Billie Jean’ bassline to it, in my opinion,” she admitted. “It’s similar sounding, not that we ever aimed for that. But I’ve done ‘Like a Virgin’ live where I’ve segued from that song to ‘Billie Jean’ just for 16 or 18 bars or whatever, and then gone back to my song, which is always fun to do.”


Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

While appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon earlier this month, Madonna opened up about that time in her career and shared the harsh words DeMann had following her now-iconic performance of “Like a Virgin,” at the very first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984.


Reflecting on the release of her sophomore album, host Jimmy Fallon pointed out that Rodgers wanted her to drop “Material Girl” as the album’s lead single, but “Like a Virgin” was used instead.


“I don’t know why they chose ‘Like A Virgin’ because I thought it was quite controversial,” Madonna told the host, 47. “It turned out that the controversial thing wasn’t the song itself but my performance at the MTV [Video Music] Awards, the first MTV [Video Music] Awards.”




She continued, “I walked down these very steep stairs… and I got to the bottom, and started dancing around, and my white stiletto pumps fell off,” which caused her white wedding dress to flip up and expose her butt as she reached to grab the shoes.


At the time, showing that much skin was scandalous in itself, the star said.


“Those were the days when you shouldn’t show your butt to have a career,” Madonna joked. “Now it’s the opposite… I didn’t even know my butt was showing!”


After the accident, when the performance wrapped, the pop legend said her manager told her backstage that her “career was over with.”


“Wow,” Fallon replied.


“Like a Virgin” would become Madonna’s first of 12 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2014, 30 years after the performance, MTV called Madonna’s performance “one of the most important and most unforgettable VMA performances ever, if not one of the most iconic pop performances of all time.”


On Friday, Madonna released a career-spanning remix album called Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones featuring both classic and fresh mixes of all 50 songs she’s topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart with over her decades-long time in the industry. “Like a Virgin” appears on the compilation in its “7” Version” format.

#Madonnas #Manager #Suggested #Virgin #Sound #Thriller



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Michael and Boy George up top… but what about Prince? – Muddy River News

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The late Prince Rogers Nelson and the late Michael Jackson

Daily Dirt for Friday, Aug. 5, 2022

In many ways, the 1980s welcomed more of a return of the traditional musical artist. The flower power of the 1960s and the disco craze of the 1970s were little more than long-ago memories when the 1980s’ artists settled into their niches. Here are my 10 favorite male singers from that decade … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 360 of The Daily Dirt

1. We conclude our week of examining the leading male and female rock voices of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

It’s been fun. Hope you have enjoyed it half as much as me. (Reminder: No artist can appear in more than one decade. My rankings. My rules.)

  • 1. Michael Jackson: Can you imagine the music he would have provided the world if his life had not ended at age 50? The King of Pop had 28 top-10 hits in a relatively short span. My favorite? “The Way You Make Me Feel.”
  • 2. Boy George: If you wade through all of the peripheral issues that engulfed his life, there was an amazing artist. He may have had the finest overall voice of any artist in this decade. “Karma Chameleon” remains one of my all-time favorites.
  • 3. John Mellencamp: He will always be the king of “heartland rock.” Songs like “Hurt So Good” and “R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A.” never get old.
  • 4. Freddie Mercury: I’m not sure what was more impressive, his flamboyant stage presence or his four-octave range.
  • 5. Bryan Adams: One of the most distinctive voices in rock annals — not too mention an accomplished guitar player, few realize Adams carved out an equally successful second career scoring a number of major hit movies.
  • 6. Prince: Most consider “Purple Rain” his finest effort. I still lean toward “When Doves Cry.”
  • (PUBLISHER’S NOTE…Steve…good God…You have Boy Freaking George ahead of Prince? And while the small-town Midwestern boy in me loves some Cougar and Adams…really? The debate here is Prince or MJ for the top spot. JRG)
  • 7. Lionel Richie: Of all his hits, “Stuck On You” may be the best.
  • 8. Huey Lewis: The 1983 LP “Sports” from Huey Lewis and The News was one of the decade’s most celebrated.
  • 9. Billy Ocean: “Get Out of Dreams, Get Out Of My Car”: one of the best song titles ever. Leslie Sebastian Charles is the native of Trinidad and Tobago’s actual name. Fun fact: Billy Ocean has three lungs.
  • 10: Steve Perry: A crippling hip injury ended Perry’s career a little more than 25 years ago. At one time, there were no hotter talents in rock, or more in demand, than Perry and Journey. Best Steve Perry song? How about “Don’t Stop Believin’”? Just ask the girls athletic teams at Quincy Notre Dame High School.

2. Here’s an update from babynames.com for the most popular baby names so far this year:

Male

  • 1. Oliver
  • 2. Asher
  • 3. Theodore
  • 4. Noah
  • 5. Henry

Female

  • 1. Violet
  • 2. Charlotte
  • 3. Aurora
  • 4. Amelia
  • 5. Hazel

Gender Neutral

  • 1. Willow
  • 2. Rowan
  • 3. Sage
  • 4. Avery
  • 5. Quinn

3. Some strange, but oh-so-true facts, thanks to Reader’s Digest:

Gold medal: Froot Loops are all the same flavor. (As soon as I’m done with this, I’m going to Hy-Vee on Harrison and buying a box of Froot Loops.)

Silver medal: The actual name for a flock of ravens is a “conspiracy” or “unkindness. (Not sure what is actually wrong with flock.”)

Bronze medal: Octopuses (Octopi? JRG) have three hearts. So do squids. (I only have one, but is big.)

Steve Thought O’ The Day — If all the Froot Loops taste the same, why not just have them all be red, purple or whatever?

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He is actually the person in charge of the newsroom today. God help us all.

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#Michael #Boy #George #top.. #Prince #Muddy #River #News



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Michael Jackson memorial that mysteriously disappeared from his childhood home found | Entertainment

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GARY — A Region mystery has been solved and it was a real thriller.

Five years ago, the Michael Jackson memorial that was carved from stone after his abrupt death in 2009 mysteriously disappeared from its longtime pedestal in the front yard of the Jackson childhood home in Gary.

The massive 5,000-pound granite monument featuring images and song lyrics of the King of Pop had for years greeted visitors to the house at 2300 Jackson Street where the world-renowned Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Jackson 5 were raised.

Then in 2017, it vanished without a trace.

It turns out, the disappearance may not have been the work of a smooth criminal. The huge memorial didn’t go very far.

Gary documentarian Paul King, whose Steel City Storm videos have more than 1.7 million views and about 8,000 subscribers on YouTube, discovered the monument while shooting a video at the house.

It was tucked away under tarp and bricks in the backyard of the neighboring home, which was originally supposed to be a Michael Jackson museum that has not yet opened.

“When it came down, people were really upset,” King said. “People come from all over the world to see that house and the monument is part of it. People were outraged. I don’t know why they took it down when it was donated to the city. People should be able to see it.”

Gary police told The Times in 2018 that the monument was taken down when Janet and Randy Jackson visited their family home in Gary in October 2017. Lt. Thomas Pawlak said the department reached out to the family and found out that it was taken down to do a video shoot and would be put back up after some landscaping work was done.

“My understanding is the memorial is private property as is 2300 Jackson St.,” city of Gary spokesman Michael Gonzales said. “If it’s there and under a tarp, I don’t know any details.”

King said the monument appears to have been left behind the neighboring house for years, given the condition of the tarp draped over it and the skids it rests on.

“It’s just sat there under a tarp on some skids at the house next door,” he said. “I was walking around the house just looking and there it was. It’s a shame that it’s just sitting there.”

The landmark statue was unveiled in June 2010. On the front, the black granite monument reads “King of Pop Michael J. Jackson August 29, 1958 to June 25, 2009. Hometown of Michael Jackson – Gary, Ind. Never can say goodbye.” It features an image of Jackson moonwalking against a backdrop of the moon.

The statue was originally located at the U.S. Steel Yard in downtown Gary, where it was displayed for his memorial service the July after his death.

It stood outside his childhood home since Katherine Jackson, other family members and then-mayor Rudy Clay unveiled the “beautiful piece of art” in front of hundreds of cheering fans who sang “We are the World” in June 2010.

“It’s a big slap in the face to the King of Pop that the plaque is just sitting there in the backyard,” King said. “The city just put signs on the highway and the street directing people to the Jackson House. You would go there expecting to see a monument.”

King hopes it will be restored to where it was originally displayed.

“Nobody really knows why they took it down and never put it back,” he said. “It’s a mystery. There’s no official explanation. It’s a tourist attraction and an impressive plaque. Nobody knows why it was taken down. It would be cool if bringing attention to it got it put back up. It’s beautiful and they’re trying to bring tourists in to see the house.”

Over the years, King has filmed more than 1,100 Steel City Storm videos in his native Gary. He’s often chronicled Michael Jackson sites, such as the schools he attended, Lucky’s Lounge where he did his first paid performance, Gilroy Stadium where he sung in a talent show and Steel Town Records that put out the first Jackson 5 album.

He wishes more of the buildings associated with the Jackson family had been preserved and more was done to highlight their legacy, given their outsized impact on pop culture in the 20th century.

“Almost nothing’s been preserved beside the house,” he said. “There’s nothing for tourists to do and look at. It’s a huge missed opportunity. There are all those Michael Jackson fans who still come to the city of Gary. At least open the museum and sell souvenirs.”

He hopes the city will do more to recognize its native son, one of the most critically acclaimed and best-selling musical artists of all time.

“It’s a damn shame they took the memorial down,” he said.

For more information, visit youtube.com/c/TheSteelCityStorm.

#Michael #Jackson #memorial #mysteriously #disappeared #childhood #home #Entertainment



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