American singer Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson's adult children, so similar to their father. How did he take care of his children?

During his lifetime, the king of pop carefully protected his children from annoying public attention. If the musician's family was caught by the paparazzi, the faces of Jackson's heirs were always covered. But everything changed after the tragic death of Michael. The faces of his children were revealed to the world at the memorial ceremony, and after that everyone wanted to know more about them than ever before.

Historical reference

The fact that the legendary singer has three children has been known for a long time, but the details were clearly not enough. Their birth was not secret and was covered in the press. Michael Jackson's first son was born on February 13, 1997. His mother was the old girlfriend of the pop king - Debbie Rowe, whom he still married at the insistence of his pious mother Catherine. The boy was given the name Prince Michael Literally a year later (April 3, 1998), his sister Paris Michael Katherine Jackson was born. And a year later, the couple Michael and Debbie officially filed for divorce.

The singer's fans, and indeed the entire world community, were very surprised when, in early 2002, he announced the birth of his third child. The youngest son of Michael Jackson was born from whose name is still a mystery. The king of pop claimed that he did not even know her, and the insemination was artificial. Prince Michael II's father named Blanket (which means "Blanket"). From the point of view of the performer, such a name meant love and care.

The children grew up with their father at his Neverland Ranch, biological mother Prince and Paris did not take any part in their lives and did not pretend to them in any way, but they had as many as 6 nannies, and Michael himself devoted all his time to them. Actually, this is almost everything that was known about the younger Jacksons before the death of their parent, but secrets are always overgrown with gossip.

Most of all, the media discussed the color of the children's skin and ranted with might and main that Michael was not their real father. That the eldest son of Michael Jackson, that the youngest, and even more so the light-eyed Paris, are white, it was considered strange for the children of an African American. At the same time, journalists were not embarrassed by the many similar children from other mixed marriages.

After the tragedy

When, after the death of the singer, the masks were finally thrown off, gossip about paternity subsided a bit. If the firstborn-weather still raised questions, then the youngest son of Michael Jackson, Blanket, turned out to be almost a copy of his father, except perhaps in a lighter version. From that moment on, the children came under the watchful eye of the lenses of the ubiquitous reporters. gossip, rumors, litigation for a long time riveted public attention to the Jackson family. Their grandmother Catherine became the guardian of the heirs of the pop king, and it was also revealed that back in the early 2000s, Debbie Rowe was deprived of any rights to her biological children.

The family tried to hide, besides, they could not recover from grief, but they failed to attract attention. Children very painfully endured the death of their beloved father. This was especially true of Paris, who survived severe depression and several suicide attempts, which, of course, got into the press.

Family Traditions

Years passed, and the hype around the orphaned offspring of the idol of millions faded away. Although the same Paris has repeatedly found herself on the pages of popular publications, but now thanks to her success. She played in the series, took up music and modeling career, becoming the face of the Calvin Klein brand. But the son of Michael Jackson Prince for the time being remained in the shadow of his older sister. Only recently he opened up to the press, gave a long heartfelt interview, in which he warmly recalled his father, his instructions and boundless love, hard times when his father was slandered by accusations of pedophilia (which were completely refuted after the musician's death).

Michael's first-born does not want to be promoted at the expense of the glory of the pop king, but also decided to go into the world of show business. He has always been interested in making music videos, producing and directing. At the age of 20, Michael Jackson's son created his own company, King`s Son Production, does what he loves, shot several videos, graduated from TV journalism courses and tries himself in this field, more and more often flashes on TV. I recently got a tattoo in honor of my father (like Paris, by the way). He hopes to be worthy of his famous parent's legacy.

The youngest is the hardest

Prince Michael II is still at school, by the way, recently, as he was previously at homeschooling. Relatives believe that he suffered the most from the tragedy, matured early and became withdrawn. The paparazzi began to catch him more often, noting also that this son of Michael Jackson is becoming almost a copy of his star dad. According to relatives, not only in appearance, but also in character.

He wears long hair because his father wanted it. The teachers praise the young man, but his peers do not really like him. Due to ridicule and bullying, Blanket changed his name to Bigi and asked his family and everyone else to call him that only. By the way, he is not very interested in his musical career yet, but he is fond of martial arts.

friend, protégé?

Interestingly, journalists and other gossips are actively identifying all the new kings of pop music. The most famous among them is the Norwegian dancer Guy 25, according to the estimates of those interested, he was born 9 months after the singer's tour in Norway. The rumors are fueled by the fact that the potential son of Michael Jackson (photo above) was sitting in the front row at the memorial service among the rest of the relatives, is part of the family, and his resemblance to the late musician is simply amazing. The Jackson family does not comment on the rumors in any way, and the dancer's mother pointedly stated that Michael was more than a pop king for them.

The legendary American singer Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana (USA). He was the seventh of nine children in the Jackson family.

At the age of five, Michael became a member of the Jackson Five family band and soon took over as lead vocalist.

In 1968, the Jackson Five signed a contract with Motown Records and recorded such hits as I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save and I "ll Be There. In the mid-1970s, the popularity of the Jackson Five began to decline, and a solo career Michael began to gain momentum.

In 1977, Michael Jackson made his debut in the film-musical The Wiz, which began his long-term collaboration with the famous producer and composer Quincy Jones. Together with him, Michael released a solo album Off the Wall in 1979. The disc took the top lines of the US and UK charts, and for the song Don "t Stop" Til You Get Enough, Jackson received his first Grammy statuette.

In 1982, the singer released his second album Thriller. The album became one of the most commercially successful in the history of pop music - its circulation amounted to 70 million copies worldwide. The Thriller disc brought Michael seven Grammy awards.

A video clip was shot for the album's main song of the same name, which is considered to be the beginning of the active development of the music video.

In 1983, at the Motown 25 years show, Michael Jackson walked his famous "moonwalk" for the first time.

In 1987, the singer released the album Bad. All the singles from this album reached the first lines of the charts. The album was sold with a circulation of 29 million copies.

In the same year, Jackson's autobiography Moonwalker was published.

In 1991, Michael Jackson signed a major contract with Sony Music and released his solo album Dangerous.

The singer finally secured the status of the first star in the world show business - his composition Black Or White became a number one hit on both sides of the ocean.

In September 1993, a Michael Jackson concert took place in Moscow, at the Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Stadium.

In 1995, Jackson released the double album HIStory, which paired a disc of 15 new songs with a greatest hits disc. The album has sold 7 million copies in the US (15 million worldwide).

In 1996, Jackson's second performance in Russia took place at the Dynamo Stadium in Moscow.

In 1997, an album of dance remixes for tracks from HIStory - Blood on the Dancefloor appeared in stores.

The album Invincible, released in October 2001, contained 16 tracks, including the single You rock my world, which featured the legendary actor Marlon Brando in the video. In the same year, Michael recorded the song What more can I give, the proceeds of which went to charity.

Michael Jackson's greatest hits album Number Ones was released in 2003. The only original track on this disc, One More Chance, spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard charts.

In 2004, Jackson released the anniversary edition of Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection, a five-disc collection of his biggest hits, demos, and an additional DVD of live recordings from the Dangerous tour.

In August 2008, Michael Jackson released an original studio album titled King of Pop. The collection consisted of compositions based on poems by the great Scottish poet of the 18th century, Robert Burns.

Jackson's album Thriller 25, released in February 2008 to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of the legendary Thriller album, was a great success. The new compilation includes nine original tracks from the old album, as well as remixes and a new song For All Time.
The disc reached number one on the charts in eight European countries, reached number two in the US and number three in the UK charts. It was sold in the USA.

As a forensic medical examination established, the king of pop music became an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol.

July 7, 2009 at the Staples sports and entertainment complex in Los Angeles was held with Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson has been married twice. The first time was on Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. The marriage did not last long, from 1994 to 1996, but the stars remained friends. In 1996, Michael Jackson married former nurse Debbie Rowe. For three years of marriage, they had two children: a son, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Sr. (1997) and a daughter, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson (1998). Jackson's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (2002), was born via a surrogate mother.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Michael Jackson is a legendary American musician, the most successful pop music performer in world history, dancer, actor, songwriter. 1 billion copies of Jackson's records have been sold worldwide, including albums, singles and compilations. The musician got into the Guinness Book of Records 25 times and received only 15 Grammy awards, and hundreds of other musical awards.

Michael Jackson became a pop idol during his lifetime. The singer is called by fans the king of this genre, and in 2009 he received the official title of Legend of America and Music Icon.

Childhood and youth

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in the family of Joseph and Katherine Jackson, in the American town of Gary (Indiana). The sign of the zodiac is Virgo. The boy became the seventh child of nine. The childhood of the future star cannot be called happy. Later, Jackson repeatedly mentioned that his father was a real tyrant, oppressing children morally and physically. The singer spoke about some of the atrocities of the head of the family on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1993.

Once, in the middle of the night, the father, wearing a terrible mask and uttering piercing cries, climbed into the window to the sleeping Michael. So he wanted to teach children to close windows before going to bed. After this incident, the child was tormented by nightmares about being kidnapped from his own bedroom. In 2003, Joseph Jackson himself admitted that he had actually assaulted children.

Cruel upbringing played a cruel joke with Michael, on the one hand, accustomed to iron discipline, which had a positive effect on his achievements, and on the other hand, crippled his psyche for life.

Nevertheless, it was his father who brought Michael to the stage: Joseph united his five offspring in the musical group The Jackson 5. Michael was the youngest member of the group, but this did not stop him from attracting attention even then. He had a unique style of performance and unusual choreography.

From 1966 to 1968, the team toured extensively in the Midwest, and in 1969 they signed a contract with the recording studio Motown Records. It was with this company that the artists released their hits, which became popular in subsequent years.

In 1970, the musical family managed to reach the national level - their first few singles were marked on the top line of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Since 1973, the group's success began to fade, and the ensemble had to sign a contract with another company, calling itself The Jacksons. Until 1984, the group released 6 more albums and traveled around the country with them.

Music

Simultaneously with his work in the family band The Jacksons, Michael Jackson released four solo albums and several singles that gained popularity. This is Got to BeThere, and Rockin "Robin, and a composition called Ben, which topped the charts in 1972.

In 1987, the singer starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway production of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. During filming, he met Quincy Jones. It was this musical director who subsequently became the producer of the star's most famous albums. The first of these was Off the Wall (1979).

The album introduced Michael Jackson to the world as a bright, original young performer and dancer. Then hits Don't Stop "Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You" soared to the top of the charts. The album was sold out in 20 million copies.

Then, in November 1982, Thriller was released, which went down in history as the best-selling album in the world and gave America and everyone else such immortal singles as The GirlIs Mine, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin "Somethin", Human Nature, P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) and Thriller. This album stayed at the top of the charts for a record 37 weeks and brought Michael Jackson eight Grammy Awards.

In 1983, the musician released the track Billie Jean. Almost immediately, Michael Jackson shoots a music video for this song, in which he combines dancing, special effects, a complex plot and star cameos.

The singer is trying to get on MTV, but to no avail. Music critics of this period acknowledge that such a rejection of Michael Jackson's work was most likely due to racial stereotypes, but MTV staff denied any manifestation of racism. However, "Billie Jean" became the first video by an African-American artist to get into hot rotation on the channel.

By the spring of 1983, under pressure from CBS Records, the channel gives up and launches the clip "Billie Jean" on the air. Then the video for the song Beat It appears on the screens, and a long-term cooperation is established between the musician and the channel.

The video for the song Thriller hit the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful music video. According to critics, the 13-minute "Thriller" is more of a full-fledged short film than a video sequence for the song. Until the moment when the composition begins to sound in the clip, 4 minutes of the plot pass, in which Jackson manages to reincarnate as a werewolf. Against the background of Michael's song, a voice-over is heard, characteristic of classic horror films, and the action in the video unfolds according to the canons of thrillers, ending with the legendary dance of the performer surrounded by zombies.

These music videos, which were more like short films, became a unique feature of Jackson. And for other artists, by doing so, Michael raised the bar high.

The idol of millions first demonstrated the famous “moonwalk” on March 25, 1983 on the show Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, while performing the song Billie Jean. In addition to completely new choreography, Michael brought synchronized dance performance to live concerts, ushering in the era of variety performances, during which performers recreate music videos on stage. Now it seems ordinary to the viewer, but then it made a splash, if not a revolution.

In 1984, the pop singer, along with the song Say, Say, Say, became an instant hit.

But not all clips were successful with critics and the public. In 1987, an 18-minute video for the song Bad was released, it was directed by. The budget for the video was $2.2 million. An unknown actor also took part in the film at that time. The shortened 4-minute version got into rotation. Time magazine called the song's music video "shameful", all because of Jackson's overly sexy and provocative movements. And here he meant his trademark touch of the crotch.

Subsequently, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the musician admitted that these movements came out involuntarily, the music required such emancipation.

In 1988, the musician presented his new job Smooth Criminal. It was here that Jackson first performed a move known as the "anti-gravity tilt". A complex element required the musician to lean forward almost to the floor, and then straighten up without bending his legs. Special boots were developed for this choreographic trick, for which Jackson received US patent No. 5255452.

In the same year, a film dedicated to another famous choreographic movement of Jackson - "Moonwalk" was released. The picture earned $ 67 million at the box office, a year later the tape was released on video cassettes, 800 thousand copies were sold.

In 1990, Michael Jackson received the "MTV Artist of the Decade" Video Vanguard Award for his achievements in the 80s, and already in 1991 this award was renamed in honor of the musician. At the end of the same year, a controversial video for the song Black or White was presented. The clip was watched by 500 million people, which was a record at that time. The composition called for racial tolerance and non-violence.

People in the video different nationalities. Also, Peggy Lipton and George Wendt took part in its creation. But in full version The video contained scandalous elements, which the public regarded as a call to violence. The musician apologized and was forced to edit the video.

In 2001, the album In vincible was presented, and in 2003, a collection of songs, Number Ones, appeared. A long break in the recording of new albums provoked a conflict between Jackson and the record label. Sony did not want to continue to finance the protracted process.

In 2004, the singer released a collection of songs Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection, consisting of 5 discs. It includes recognized hits of the musician and unreleased compositions for the entire 30-year creative biography Michael Jackson.

In 2009, the king of pop intended to release a new disc, but, unfortunately, did not have time to do so. Also this summer, the musician planned a concert tour This Is It Tour. Initially, it was about ten concerts, but the demand for tickets turned out to be so high that the organizers provided for an additional 40 performances.

In addition to music and dancing, Michael Jackson was fascinated by cinema. During his life, he managed to star in more than 20 films. The musician made his debut in cinema at the age of 20, it was the fantastic tape "Wiz" by Sidney Lumet. Then he starred in short films, for example, "Captain Io".

The king of pop also played in the films Men in Black 2, Moonwalk, and Ghosts. His latest work became a role in the film "That's it", the film was filmed in 2009.

Operations

With the advent of popularity, the singer had considerable cash, a decent part of which he immediately began to spend on changing his appearance. Since the mid-80s, the appearance of Michael Jackson began to change dramatically: the skin became lighter every year, the shape of the nose, lips, chin and cheekbones changed. Soon it became impossible to recognize in the artist that dark-skinned boy with a wide nose and full lips, which he was in childhood.

There were rumors that the king of pop was trying to get rid of the appearance characteristic of African Americans and become white. Journalists assumed that the musician was influenced by racism towards Michael at the beginning of his career: the studios and TV channels did not want to cooperate with the black singer.

Jackson himself denied rumors about a special change in skin color, explaining the fact of her lightening by a violation of pigmentation. According to the musician, stress has become a catalyst for the progressive genetic disease vitiligo. Evidence of Michael's words was a photo with uneven pigmentation.

At performances, the musician covered up areas of skin with missing pigment with dark make-up, but soon he had to switch to a light shade, as there were fewer and fewer dark areas. The disease also forced the singer to protect himself from the sun, wear closed clothes and hide under an umbrella, hide his face under a hat and dark glasses.

The artist called the situation with facial plastic surgery a necessity associated with severe head burns that were received during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. The singer officially confirmed only three plastic surgeries, before and after which Jackson's appearance changed so dramatically: two nose jobs and an operation that created a dimple on the artist's chin. Michael Jackson explained the rest of the appearance changes with age and the transition to a vegetarian diet.

According to doctors, the musician underwent surgery that made his lips thinner, his forehead higher, and changed the shape of his cheeks and eyelids. In the early 2000s, Michael Jackson began to appear in a medical mask. Rumors spread that the singer's nose was collapsing, and allegedly he underwent emergency surgery to restore it. Moreover, he soon appeared in public with a band-aid. But the musician denied the information about the surgical intervention, explaining the presence of the patch with allergies.

Later, plastic surgeon Arnold Klein admitted to reporters that he performed a second operation on Jackson's nose to restore the singer's ability to breathe.

Scandals

The life of Michael Jackson caused no less excitement than his work. Every step of the star artist was covered in the media. And there were a lot of scandals in the life of the pop king.

In 2002, Michael Jackson carried his newly born son to the balcony of a hotel room in Berlin and, throwing the child over the railing, waved him in front of fans. Everything happened at a height of four floors, and the danger was obvious. After the photo caring father” circled the whole world, Jackson gave a speech in which he recognized his behavior as a terrible mistake.

But there was in his life a scandal more serious than an irresponsible attitude towards his son. The musician was accused of molesting minors. Perhaps this is what ultimately put an end to his musical career and health.

Back in 1993, the singer was charged with sexual acts against 13-year-old Jordan Chandler, who was friends with the musician and often spent time at his Neverland ranch. According to the boy's father, Michael Jackson forced his son to touch his genitals.

The police conducted an investigation, during which they even demanded that the musician show his genitals for comparison with the testimony of a teenager. But the matter did not reach the court, the parties entered into an amicable agreement. Then the situation was resolved by paying the Chandler family $ 22 million.

Ten years later, in 2003, Michael was charged with the same. This time, the relatives of 13-year-old Neverland regular Gavin Arvizo made claims. The parents claimed that the boy, along with other children, slept in the same room with Jackson, who drugged the children with alcohol and then felt them.

The singer himself denied the accusations, arguing that the Arvizo family was simply extorting money. The trial lasted four months and caused a massive stir in the media. 2,200 publishing houses and TV channels accredited correspondents to cover the details of the scandalous case. In 2005, a jury acquitted him for lack of evidence.

Despite the victory in court, the services of lawyers devastated the bank accounts of the pop king, and the trial itself greatly undermined the health of the idol of millions. Michael Jackson was forced to take strong antidepressants. After the death of the singer, Jordan Chandler admitted that his father forced him to slander the artist for the sake of money, who then committed suicide.

Personal life

In 1994, Michael Jackson again surprised the whole world by secretly tying the knot with his daughter.

The event became a sensation, in which some saw a calculation to save the singer's reputation, others saw it as a touching merger of two of the most famous families in the world of music. Be that as it may, the marriage lasted only a year and a half.

In November 1996, after breaking off relations with his first wife, Jackson registered a marriage with Debbie Rowe, who once worked as a nurse. From this woman, the singer left two children. Son Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. was born in 1997, and a year later, the wife gave the pop king a daughter. The union of Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe lasted until 1999.

In 2002, the third child of the artist, Prince Michael II, was born from a surrogate mother.

In 2012, information appeared on the Web that Michael Jackson had an affair with the singer. This was announced by David Guest, an American producer and a mutual friend of Whitney and Michael. According to him, the woman was truly in love with Jackson and wanted to marry him. But he was too humble to propose to her.

It is known that Michael's only daughter became an actress. She starred in the series "Star" and the feature film "Dangerous Business". His son Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. works in television, though behind the scenes. He is a producer and director. The youngest son is still in school. Fans believe that he is more like his father than anyone else. He has dark skin, long black hair, brown eyes. Many hope that he will follow in his father's footsteps and become a musician.

Death

Biographers of Michael Jackson claim that long before his death, the musician experienced physical ailments, suffered from lack of weight and depended on painkillers. Their words are confirmed by doctors, to whom the musician turned for medicines. Jackson's surgeon Arnold Klein confirmed that the pop musician abused prescription drugs, but at the same time noted that Michael was in good physical and psychological condition, danced for the doctor's patients and did not look dying.

On the morning of June 25, 2009, the singer was in a rented house in the west of Los Angeles. The artist's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, gave him an injection of propofol and left. Two hours later, he found Michael Jackson on the bed with his eyes and mouth wide open and tried to resuscitate him, but the attempts were unsuccessful. At 12:21 am ambulances were called.

Medics arrived in less than 4 minutes and found the lifeless body of the king of pop. Doctors, without losing hope, continued resuscitation for several hours, but they failed to bring the idol of millions back to life. The pop star died at 14:26 local time, the cause of death was recognized as a drug overdose.

The media talked about the suicide of a celebrity, about the deliberate murder at the hands of ill-wishers, and about the tragic negligence of a doctor. The investigation confirmed the latter option. Jackson's doctor was later stripped of his license to medical practice and found guilty of manslaughter for which he went to prison for 4 years.

On June 25, a number of musicians recorded the song Better on the Other Side in memory of Michael Jackson. The song was covered by The Game, Diddy, DJ Khalil, Mario Winens, Polow da Don, Usher and Boyz II Men.

On July 7, 2009, a farewell ceremony was held in Los Angeles, beginning with a family service at Liberty Hall at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, followed by a live broadcast on live farewell to the audience at the Staples Center. The news of Michael Jackson's death broke online records and overloaded search engine traffic, creating internet traffic jams.

Michael Jackson's funeral is shrouded in mystery. The location of the body was kept secret. Rumors leaked to the Internet that the pop star was buried on August 8 or 9, then the media reported that the funeral took place at the end of August. Soon, the news was published on the Web that the ceremony would take place only in September. Michael finally found peace on September 3 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in suburban Los Angeles.

These mysteries surrounding the burial spawned a rumor that Michael Jackson is alive and imitated own death and a funeral to end the life of a star under the guns of cameras and live quietly away from the hustle and bustle, the media and the paparazzi. Proponents of this theory cite hundreds of proofs.

Fans are confused by the situation with the funeral. Jackson was buried in a closed coffin, the date of the funeral was postponed several times, and transported to the crypt. Forest Lawn Cemetery is listed in the documents as a place of temporary burial, and where the singer's body is now is not known for certain.

Reliable details established by the investigation were also not made public, the police did not give intelligible comments on the investigation. The cameras from Jackson's house are gone. There are inaccuracies in the autopsy report. An interesting fact is that the musician's family refused to do a DNA test.

Fans also noted that reports of the singer's death had already been released a couple of times during his lifetime, but Michael denied them. The events after the death of the musician also look mysterious: Jackson's personal belongings were bought by an anonymous collector at a closed auction, and an unknown friend of Michael manages the late artist's finances. In addition, fans claim that they have seen their favorite singer more than once in England, Mexico, Bahrain and other countries.

Some believe that the death was beneficial to Jackson. It's no secret to anyone that last years the pop idol was broke. His debts ran into the millions of dollars. Just to correct his deplorable financial situation, he agreed to 50 concerts of the farewell tour.

Already at that time, tickets worth about $85 million had been sold. The amount is colossal, only doctors believe that holding such a large-scale event for the singer practically meant suicide, since even then he did not differ in iron health.

The news of the death of Michael Jackson provoked an unprecedented demand for his albums. Thriller topped the iTunes charts. CD sales soared 721 times, making the king of pop top the list of richest dead stars.

One way or another, after the death of the artist, his musical biography didn't end. Sony signed a contract with the Jackson family for the release of 10 of his albums. They will include previously unreleased songs, as well as reissues of old records of the King of Pop. True, the fans music critics received this idea ambiguously.

In 2010, Michael Jackson's first posthumous album, called Michael, was released. The album received mixed reviews, but fans admitted that the album turned out to be even better than they expected. Together with the disc, a number of singles and clips for the songs included in the album were released.

A year later, the Immortal remix album was released, which included 15 recognized hits of the musician. Some of his compositions became the soundtracks of the production of Cirque du Soleil by Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour. The show consisted of the usual acrobatic numbers and dancing in the style of Michael Jackson. Choreographers who collaborated with the singer during his lifetime worked on the program of the show.

In May 2014, the second full-fledged posthumous album of the King of Pop Xscape was presented, containing 8 tracks. On May 18, the musician even performed live at the Billboard ceremony. A Pepper's Ghost holographic image of Jackson appeared on stage and "performed" the song Slave To The Rhythm.

Michael Jackson has and now popular "Instagram". By the way, the page is verified. But still, it would be more correct to consider this page as a fan page, since the singer died before the creation social network. It is known that his Instagram is led by a large American advertising agency, which was hired by representatives of the Michael Jackson Legacy Company.

Discography

• 1972 - Got to Be There
• 1972-Ben
• 1973 - Music & Me
• 1975 - Forever, Michael
• 1979 – Off the Wall
• 1982 - Thriller
• 1987 - Bad
• 1991 -Dangerous
• 1995 - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
• 2001 - Invincible
• 2010 – Michael
• 2011 - Immortal
• 2014 – Xscape

Filmography

• 1978 - Wiz
• 1983 - "Thriller"
• 1988 - "Moonwalk"
• 1988 - "Smart Criminal"
• 2002 - "Men in Black 2"
• 2009 - "That's it"

, Los Angeles) is an American entertainer, songwriter, dancer, composer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. The most successful performer in the history of pop music, over 260 million albums sold worldwide, not counting singles, winner of 15 Grammy awards and hundreds of other awards. 13 times listed in the Guinness Book of Records; Around a billion copies of Jackson's albums have been sold worldwide. In 2009, he was officially recognized as an American Legend and Music Icon. Michael Jackson has made a significant contribution to the development of popular music, music videos, dance and fashion. Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 as a result of an overdose. medicines in particular propofol.

Biography

Childhood and The Jackson 5

Michael Jackson was born to Joseph and Katherine in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine children. Jackson claimed that his father repeatedly humiliated him mentally and physically. However, he respected his father's strict discipline, which played a large part in Jackson's success. In one of the confrontations with his father, described by Michael's older brother Marlon, his father, holding him upside down, delivered blows to his back and buttocks. One night, while Michael was sleeping, his father snuck into his room through the window. He was in a frightening mask, piercingly screamed and roared. Joseph explained his action by saying that he wanted to teach his children to close the window before going to bed. Four years later, Michael confessed to suffering from nightmares in which he was kidnapped from his bedroom. In 2003, Joseph admitted to the BBC that he had beaten Michael when he was a child.

Jackson first spoke openly about the humiliation he endured as a child in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that in childhood he often cried from a feeling of loneliness and vomited after talking with his father. In another high-profile interview, Living with Michael Jackson (2003), while talking about childhood abuse, the singer covered his face with his hand and began to cry. Jackson recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand when he rehearsed with his brothers, and that "if you did something wrong, he will bring you to tears, really get you."

Jackson has been performing in front of classmates at Christmas concerts since the age of five. In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined The Jacksons, a band formed by their brothers Jackie, Tito and Jermaine, as understudies, playing congo and tambourine, respectively. Jackson later began performing as a backing vocalist and dancer; at the age of eight, he and Jermaine became the main vocalists and the group was renamed The Jackson 5. The band toured extensively in the Midwest from 1968 to 1968. Often they performed in a number of "black" clubs and places known as " Chitlin" circuit", Often warming up the audience before a striptease. In 1966, they won a local talent competition, performing with hits from Motown Records and "I Got You (I Feel Good ) » by James Brown with Michael as the main vocalist .

The Jacksons soon rose to the national level, and in 1970 their first four singles hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Gradually, Michael stood out as the frontman of the children's quintet, in fact, it was he who got the main solo parts. He drew attention to himself with his unusual manner of dancing and behavior on stage, which he copied from his idols - James Brown, Jackie Wilson and others.

The beginning of a solo career

Thriller

Jackson in 1988

"Black music has been forced to play second fiddle for a long time, but its spirit is the whole driving force in pop music that Michael connected with every soul in the world"

• "The Girl Is Mine" (No. 2, duet with Paul McCartney).
• "Billie Jean" (No. 1, Grammy Award, the biggest hit of Jackson's entire career and one of the most sampled tracks in funk music).
• "Beat It" (No. 1, another Grammy).
• "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin"" (No. 5).
• "Human Nature" (No. 7).
• P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (No. 10).
• "Thriller" (No. 4).
• "Baby Be Mine".
• "The Lady in My Life".

On October 29, 1988, the musical film "MoonWalker" was released, which was a success at the box office and earned $ 67 million, and then published on video in the amount of 800 thousand copies (for 1989). In 1989, at the Soul Train Heritage Award ceremony, actress Elizabeth Taylor in her speech called Michael Jackson "the true king of pop, rock and soul", that is, "the real king of pop, rock and soul music", and the unofficial title " the king of pop" stuck with Michael Jackson forever.

However, the 80s were marked not only by achievements and records. January 27, 1984 - the day that changed a lot in the life of Michael Jackson. Michael and his brothers starred in Pepsi commercials. At the request of the director, he lingered dangerously close to pyrotechnic devices. His hair caught fire and Michael suffered 3rd degree burns to his scalp. . While in the hospital, Michael visited a children's burn unit, and after that he decided, instead of receiving a multi-million dollar settlement from Pepsi, to open a children's burn center with the help of Pepsi in his name. This was the beginning of Michael's charitable activities, which he did not stop until the end of his days. At the opening of the same burn center, Michael was asked to pose in an oxygen pressure chamber for patients with extensive body burns. Michael posed lying on his back, and then turned on his side and pretended to be asleep. Thus was born the most famous myth in show business. In fact, this was the only time that Michael Jackson "sleep" in a pressure chamber. Another consequence of the burn was that the stress transferred by the body provoked the development of " vitiligo", a disease transmitted to Michael through the maternal line, and disrupting skin pigmentation. This led to the need to apply heavy makeup, and to avoid sunlight. Another consequence: Jackson never recovered from this injury, and the pain did not leave Michael for the rest of his life, and he was forced to start taking painkillers regularly. In addition, after the burn, Michael first met plastic surgery when his damaged skin was repaired and hairline heads. After that, he decided to have nose and chin surgery. All this, combined with the transition to a vegetarian diet, and weight loss led to significant changes in the appearance of the singer, which was constantly fodder for discussion in the press. .

The nineties

Due to the increased attention to his person, Jackson spent most of his time in seclusion at his strictly guarded Neverland Ranch. Few friends visited him there, including Elizabeth Taylor. Children also lived on the ranch, to whom the singer was always partial. In 1991, he wrote two singles for The Simpsons, of which he was a fan. However, due to restrictions imposed by the contract, his name was not mentioned in the credits.

On November 26, 1991, the album "Dangerous" was released, the release of which was preceded by the premiere of a large-scale video clip for the single "Black or White" ("Black or White"). For five weeks, "Black or White" was at the top of the charts and became Jackson's biggest hit since "Billie Jean". As with previous albums, seven singles were released from this album. In addition to "Black or White" (No. 1), they included "Remember the Time" (No. 3), "In the Closet" (No. 6) and "Will You Be There" (No. 7). For "Remember the Time", a multi-million dollar budget video with CGI was filmed, in which the pharaoh of Egypt and his consort were portrayed by Eddie Murphy and top model Iman.

Throughout the 1990s, Jackson's face changed a lot, and his skin became completely white.

On June 16, 1995, the double album "HIStory: Past, Present and Future - Book I" was released: on the first disc - a collection of greatest hits, on the second - 15 new songs. It was supposed to be the first part of a trilogy. The first single released was "Scream", a duet between the singer and his sister, Janet Jackson. The song was accompanied by a futuristic music video that cost over seven million dollars to film.

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over 20 million copies (7 million copies in the US). Many new songs from it were released as singles, among them a ballad about Moscow (“Stranger in Moscow”; Jackson promised to record a song about the Russian capital when he first visited here in 1993), a composition on environmental theme"Earth Song" (five weeks at No. 1 in the UK) and "You Are Not Alone" (his thirteenth "number one" on the Billboard Hot 100), a contemporary rhythm and blues composition written and produced for him by R. Kelly. In the video for "You Are Not Alone", Michael appeared half-naked along with his first wife - Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley.

In 1997, the album "Blood on the Dance floor" was released: the soundtrack to the film "Ghosts" and a collection of dance remixes for tracks from "HIStory". Reviews for this disc were mostly positive, with the title track topping the sales charts in many countries, including the UK. In the US, the album went largely unnoticed and did not reach number one on the charts.

Performances in Russia

Album Invincible

Jackson's next studio album was recorded only six years later, its release was repeatedly postponed. The Sony label was reluctant to invest millions of dollars in the protracted process of recording and subsequent promotion of the album, which ultimately led to a falling out between the singer and the recording giant. "Invincible" (Invincible), released in October 2001, contained 16 tracks, including the single "You Rock My World", which starred in the video famous actors Marlon Brando and Chris Tucker. The album was met with a mixed critical reception, and its sales figures were half that of "HIStory".

The song Invincible is dedicated to a 15-year-old Afro-Norwegian boy named Benjamin Hermansen, who was killed by a group of neo-Nazis in Oslo (Norway, January 26, 2001). Omer Bhatti, close friend Jackson, was good friend Benjamin Hermansen. Michael Jackson writes in a message:

“This album is dedicated to Benny Germansen. We must remember that a person can be judged not by the color of his skin, but by his personal qualities. Benjamin, we love you. Rest in peace".

To promote the album, a special celebration of the 30th anniversary of Michael Jackson's solo career was organized at Madison Square Garden in September. Jackson appeared on stage alongside his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also included performances by Britney Spears, Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Tamia, "N Sync, Slash, Aaron Carter. A world tour was also planned to support the album, but due to the September 11 attacks, the tour was canceled. The album spawned three singles," You Rock My World", "Cry" and "Butterflies", the latter of which did not have a music video. "Unbreakable" was supposed to be released as a single, but due to a number of funding issues, Sony refused to release it.

In March 2009, Michael announced that he was going to play the last series of concerts in London called "This Is It Tour". The concerts were scheduled to begin on July 13, 2009 and end on March 6, 2010. When Jackson announced his return to the stage at a special press conference on March 5, 2009, they were talking about 10 concerts at the stadium.

Clips and choreography

Jackson is also called the King of the music video. Steve Hay of Allmusic watched as Jackson turned the clip into a work of art through complex storylines, dancing, special effects and celebrity cameo appearances while breaking down racial barriers. Prior to Thriller, Jackson tried in vain to break into MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records convinced MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and then "Beat It", leading to a long-term partnership with Jackson and also helping other black musicians gain recognition. MTV staff denied racism in their shows or pressure to change their stance. MTV claims they played rock music regardless of race. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped put the relatively young channel on the line; Attention on MTV shifted towards pop and R&B. His performance on Motown: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of the live show on stage; "The fact that Jackson performed "Billie Jean" in sync is not extraordinary in itself, but the fact that it didn't change the impression of performing extraordinary, whether it was live or in sync, doesn't affect the audience," thus creating an era in which the artists recreate the imagery of the music video on stage. Short films like Thriller mostly remained unique to Jackson, while the dance group dance in "Beat It" was repeatedly imitated. Thriller's choreography has become part of global pop culture, being copied everywhere from Indian films to a prison in the Philippines. The short film Thriller marked the rise of music videos and was named the most successful music video ever to enter the Guinness Book of Records.

In the 19-minute video for the song "Bad" - directed by Martin Scorsese - Jackson began to use sexual imagery and choreography not seen before in his work. From time to time he grabbed or touched the chest, torso and crotch. Asked by Oprah in an interview in 1993 about why he grabs his crotch, he replied, "I think it's subconscious," and he described it as something that wasn't planned, but rather something that was forced by the music. "Bad" received a mixed reception from fans and critics, with Time magazine calling it "infamous". The film also features Wesley Snipes, and future Jackson videos will often feature celebrity cameos. For "Smooth Criminal", Jackson experimented with an innovative "anti-gravity tilt" in his performances. This maneuver requires special shoes, for which he received US Patent #5255452. Although the video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, it was nominated for three Billboard Music Video Awards in 1989; he received the Golden Lion award the same year for the quality of the special effects used in his productions. In 1990, "Leave Me Alone" won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.

He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988 and the MTV Video Vanguard Artist of the Decade Award in 1990 to honor his artistic accomplishments in the 1980s, and in 1991 the first award was renamed in his honor. "Black or White" was accompanied by a controversial music video, which premiered on November 14, 1991, simultaneously in 27 countries to an estimated audience of 500 million, the largest ever watched music video. The scenes shown have been interpreted as being sexual in nature, as well as depicting violence. The offending scenes in the final section of the 14-minute version were edited to prevent the video from being banned, and Jackson apologized. Along with Jackson, the video featured Macaulay Culkinn, Peggy Lipton and George Wendt. This work helped introduce morphing as important technology in music videos.

Personal life

Family

Michael (under an umbrella) and his two children wearing masks

Michael Jackson has been married twice. From 1996 to 1996 he was married to Lisa-Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. They first met in 1975 during one of the celebrations at the MGM Grand Hotel, in the casino. Through a mutual friend, they met again in early 1993, and their relationship became serious. Every day they called up.

When Jackson was accused of child molestation and it became public, Jackson became dependent on Presley: he was chasing after her, he needed emotional support, and she was preoccupied with his health and addiction to relaxing drugs. Presley explained:

“I believed that he did nothing wrong and that he was innocent, I became closer to him. I wanted to save him. I felt I could do it"

She soon persuaded him to settle the charges out of court, as well as the need for rehabilitation to restore health. In October 1993, Jackson proposed to Presley over the phone, "If I asked you to marry me, would you?" They married on May 26, 1994 in the Dominican Republic in secret, denying it for nearly two months. The marriage took place at the home of local judge Hugo Alvarez Pérez in the city of Santo Domingo. The wedding took place in the church of St. Stanislaus in the town of Altos de Chavon. The marriage has been called "semi-fictitious" because, under the laws of the Dominican Republic, no woman can remarry unless three months have passed since the divorce. And Lisa Maria in those days only divorced her former spouse. Jackson and Presley divorced less than two years later, but remained friends. In 1997, Presley accompanied Michael, who was married to Debbie Rowe, on the HIStory tour.

He was on good friendly terms with Princess Diana.

Health

Since the mid-1980s, Michael Jackson's appearance has changed markedly. His skin was getting lighter. As Jackson himself said, the reason for his "whiteness" is a rare genetic disease of vitiligo, and there is a lot of evidence for this in photographs showing white milky spots on Michael's body. These changes were hidden with makeup. Jackson categorically denied rumors that he was deliberately trying to turn into white man.

According to some doctors, he underwent several nose surgeries, as well as forehead lifts, lip thinning, cheek surgeries, eyelid surgeries, and chin dimples. The singer himself stated that he only changed the shape of his nose 2 times, and also made a dimple on his chin. He categorically denied everything else, explaining the changes in appearance by growing up, a strict vegetarian diet. In the future, Jackson experienced problems associated with the consequences of operations.

In the early 2000s, Michael briefly appeared in public wearing a medical mask. Rumors began to circulate that Jackson's nose was collapsing and that he had to plastic surgery for nose reconstruction. Later, Jackson appeared in public with a band-aid on his nose. The performer himself said that it was an anesthetic patch that he put on because of an allergy. Surgeon Arnold Klein subsequently confirmed that he operated on the singer's nose to restore Michael's ability to breathe.

Child molestation allegations

Michael's fans held demonstrations in support of him during the allegations. The inscription on the poster - "Michael is innocent"

Michael Jackson has been tried twice on charges of child molestation, both times boys.

In 1993, he was accused of molesting 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. Jordan was a fan of Jackson and often visited him at Neverland Ranch. According to the boy's father, the son confessed to him that the singer forced him to touch his genitals. The police investigated these allegations, during which Michael had to show his genitals to compare with what the boy described. As a result, the parties entered into a settlement: Jackson paid the Chandler family $ 22 million, and Jordan refused to testify against Michael.

Ten years later, in 2003, Michael was again charged with a similar charge. This time, the singer was accused of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo, also a regular guest at the Neverland Ranch. During their stay at the ranch, the children often slept in the same room with Jackson and even on his bed. According to the prosecution, Jackson allegedly got Gavin drunk, which is already a crime under US law, and then masturbated with him. In addition, he allegedly often groped Gavin and other children.

On December 18, the police raided Neverland Jackson Manor, and on the 20th, the singer was arrested and released on bail a day later. Like the previous time, Jackson vehemently denied the accusation, stating that the Arvizo family was simply trying to engage in extortion. Michael's trial lasted from February to May 2005. More than 2,200 media outlets from around the world have accredited their journalists to cover the scandalous trial. The jury ruled that there was not enough evidence and Jackson was innocent.

Constant litigation led to the deterioration of Jackson's health, he even began to use painkillers to cope with stress. In addition, the court led to the complete devastation of bank accounts: the services of the best lawyers in the United States cost more than 100,000,000.

After the singer's death in 2009, Jordan Chandler admitted that he slandered Michael Jackson, his father Evan Chandler (who later committed suicide) forced him to do this for the sake of money.

Religious views

Michael Jackson was not an open follower of any church, but showed interest in the religion of various denominations.

Katherine Jackson (Michael's mother) was christened in 1963 when Michael was five years old. The mother tried to raise Michael as a Jehovah's Witness and encouraged him to study the Bible, attend Christian meetings in Kingdom Halls, and preach. However, his relationship with the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses did not work out. Jehovah's Witnesses were shocked by his defiant behavior on stage and his video Thriller unacceptable to members of the organization.

By 1984, despite his immense fame, Michael Jackson continued to preach as a Jehovah's Witness, twice a week, maybe an hour or two. He also attended Christian meetings at the Kingdom Hall with his mother four times a week when he was in the city. He refused to eat blood, celebrate Easter and Christmas, which he regarded as "pagan holidays", and celebrate his own birthday.

However, in 1987, Jackson left the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in response to disapproving reviews about the Thriller video. This, in particular, was facilitated by the fact that Michael's sister La Toya Jackson was expelled from the organization around the same time. Michael, like all other members of the organization, was forbidden to communicate with her on spiritual topics (on everyday topics in a forced situation, you can communicate), which was a blow to him. Michael violated this principle and, as a result, stopped attending meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses himself. In 1987, it was announced that Michael Jackson was no longer a Jehovah's Witness.

Michael's brother, Jermaine Jackson, is an open Muslim, and often gave his brother books about the religion. Germain hoped that his passion for religion would protect Michael from nervous breakdowns and bad habits.

Jackson was also intimately acquainted with Andre Crouch, a Christian musician and gospel singer. Shortly before his death, the singer visited with Crouch christian church and sang several Christian songs. According to Crouch and his sister, Jackson asked about their customs but said nothing about wanting to join their denomination.

Death, farewell ceremony and funeral

There were reports that Michael Jackson was secretly buried on August 8 or 9, 2009 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, but later it was reported that he would not be buried until September. Jackson's final funeral took place on Thursday, September 3 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in suburban Los Angeles.

Authorities in Los Angeles, meanwhile, are investigating the death of Michael Jackson. The Los Angeles coroner qualified the doctors' actions as murder and did not rule out a trial against them. In November 2011, Conrad Murray was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to 4 years in prison. He also lost his license to practice medicine.

After death

Flash mobs (fan mobs)

Michael Jackson flash mob (fan mob)(English) michael jackson flash mob) - flash mobs in memory of Michael Jackson, arose after the death of Michael. Flash mobs in memory of Jackson, with their scale and frequency of conduction, went beyond the usual fan mobs and began a completely new, unique movement. These flash mobs are different from the usual ones, they do not correspond to the rules of the classic mob, just like the fan mob, the participants of this mob are dressed in Jackson's attributes and clothes, thereby copying his style. All choreography and movements copy the movements of Michael Jackson. The music of this flash mob must be selected from Michael's repertoire. Basically the choreography of this mob is taken from Jackson's original choreography, but is sometimes lightened or simply changed, as it is very difficult for non-professionals to repeat it.

Jackson was also awarded "For outstanding contribution V world culture» for contributions of hundreds of millions of dollars to the 39 charities and his own foundation Heal the World .

He was awarded (posthumously) at the "Muz-TV 2010 Prize" for his huge contribution to the global music industry. The prize was awarded to the sister of the singer Jackson, La Toya (LaToya Jackson).

In total, the singer has 395 awards.

Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

1. 1978 - Scarecrow / The Wiz
2. 1986 - "Captain IO / Captain EO"
3. 1988 - Moonwalker
4. 1996 - "Ghosts / Ghosts"
5. 2002 - "People in Black 2" - "Agent Em" (uncredited)
6. 2004 - "Miss Robinson / Miss Cast Away"
7. 2009 - "That's it / This is it"
8. 2011 - "Michael Jackson: The Life of a Pop Icon / Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon"

Books

• Michael Jackson "Moonwalk" Publisher: William Heinemann, London, 2009
• Michael Jackson "Dancing the Dream" Publisher: DoubleDay, 1992

Literature

• N. Ya. Nadezhdin. Michael Jackson: "Thriller": Biographical stories. Moscow: Mayor, Osipenko, 2012. 192 p., Informal Biographies Series, 2000 copies, ISBN 978-5-98551-200-7

Michael Jackson in philately

Postage stamps and other philatelic materials from the British Virgin Islands, Saint Vincent Island, Angola, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Guinea and other countries are dedicated to Michael Jackson.

see also

• Hollywood Walk of Fame - list of honorees for contributions to the recording industry
• Mesoparapylocheles michaeljacksoni- extinct hermit crab, named after the singer in 2012

Notes

Links

• Official site (English)
• Official site (Russian)
• Michael Jackson video channel on a video hosting service

On September 13, 1996, the King of Pop and Debbie Rowe got married. And even if the press considered this marriage fake, the singer allegedly married the former assistant of his dermatologist not out of love, but already on February 13, 1997, Michael Jackson had a son, who was named after the grandfather and great-grandfather of the celebrity.

What is the name of Michael Jackson's oldest son?

The singer named his child Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. He is also known as Prince Michael. Unfortunately, the childhood of this kid, like his father, was not completely filled with happy moments.

Immediately after birth, the baby was taken to a ranch in Neverland, where about 6 nannies took care of him, one of whom somehow let the media know that Debbie does not pay attention to her child, and if she appears near his cradle, she always looks gloomy .

In her interview, Rowe admitted: “My children never called me mom. Moreover, I tried to spend as little time with them as possible just in order not to get used to the kids. Besides, it's hard for me to call them "my children." They are Michael's future, but not mine. I understand that society condemns me and wonders why I refused them. Again, they belong to their father and I gave birth to them because I wanted Michael Jackson to become a dad.”

Recall that the Rowe-Jackson couple also has a daughter, Paris (born in 1998), named after the capital of France, where she was allegedly conceived.

Michael Jackson's youngest son

On February 21, 2002, the singer became a father for the third time. Prince Michael II was born from (Jackson divorced Rowe in 1999).

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It will not be superfluous to mention that the boy had the nickname "Blanket", but quite recently a 14-year-old boy said that he was ashamed of this name and asked to be called Bigi.