Fans in NY, LA, elsewhere remember Michael Jackson

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY (AP) – June 25, 2010

NEW YORK — As the first anniversary of Michael Jackson's death drew near, Julia Thomas clutched her "Thriller" liner notes and stood outside the Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, Calif., the final resting place for the King of Pop, with about two dozen other fans.

"Michael has just always been a part of my life," the 40-year-old Thomas, who has a tattoo of Jackson's dancing feet on her left wrist, said Thursday night. "I'm just hoping to embrace the fans from everywhere."

Barricades were already set up at the Los Angeles-area cemetery for the huge throng of fans and some of Jackson's family members expected to arrive on Friday, which marks a year since Jackson died at age 50. Five large wreaths of flowers and dozens of bouquets, drawings and photos of Jackson had been placed outside his private mausoleum.

Evdokia Sofianou, 46, and her 9-year-old daughter, Rebecca, traveled from Athens, Greece, to pay their respects.

"I came because I love Michael very much," Sofianou said. "I came to grieve."

Forest Lawn was to be just one of the many places around the world where Jackson's fans would gather to remember their fallen legend on Friday. But not everyone planned to be grieving.

On Friday, DJ Jon Quick was to spin Jackson tunes at the club Taj in Manhattan for a festive affair.

"They wanna celebrate his life and music," Quick said of the expected partygoers. "His albums are like timelines in your life. You can remember what you were doing ... when 'Thriller' came out."

Some anniversary events began even before Friday. In London, a memorial was unveiled Thursday to a gaggle of press who packed the foyer of the Lyric Theatre, the site of an impromptu wake following the pop superstar's death last year.

Perri Luc Kiely, 14, a member of the dance troupe Diversity, pulled back a pair of dark purple curtains to reveal a small plaque featuring a young Jackson with a wide, beaming smile.

In Hong Kong, Jackson imitators performed to the late singer's classics at a suburban mall Thursday. Four-year-old Wang Yiming danced to "Dangerous" wearing Jackson's trademark black fedora hat, a black suit with a silver armband and white socks.

In Gary, Ind., Jackson's hometown, there was to be a tribute at the family home; city officials said they expected Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and his niece Genevieve Jackson to show up, along with thousands of others.

But his brother Randy Jackson was hoping to make the official family commemoration at Forest Lawn on Friday morning.

"My family and I will be in attendance as we mourn the loss of my brother," he said in a statement Thursday. "I would like to thank the fans and friends for their continued love, support and prayers."

Katherine Jackson has thrown her support behind a "Forever Michael" fan event to be held Saturday at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles. Tickets range from $150 to $500.

The Apollo Theater in Harlem, where a young Michael Jackson and his brothers won amateur night, on Friday was to host a commemoration of Jackson's life in front of the recently installed plaque honoring him in the legendary theater's new hall of fame.

And later in the afternoon in Harlem, around the hour of Jackson's death, the Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network were to hold a moment of silence.

Sharpton, a longtime associate of Jackson and his family, gave impassioned remarks at Jackson's televised memorial last July and said he thought a moment of silence was appropriate to show "the sanctity of the hour."

"He meant a lot to us of all races in terms of bringing us together in another kind of spirit," Sharpton said. "I wanted to make sure that we showed that in the middle of all this that is going on in the world that Michael is someone that we would all stop for ... . He was more than just a singer, he was a social force and a sense of inspiration."

Editors: AP Entertainment Writers Anthony McCartney and Min Lee and AP writer Andrew Khouri contributed to this report.

 

A Rememberance of Michael Jackson
MICHAEL JACKSON IN REMEMBERANCE CZ COLOR BELT BUCKLE #1
Michael Jackson Superstar of The 80's " THRILLER " Outfit Doll
Michael Jackson (Poses) 3-D Music Poster Lenticular Print - 18x26

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Mission concert finale to pay tribute to Jackson

By BERNARD CARPINTER - The Dominion Post



A mass tribute to Michael Jackson will be the finale to the Mission Concert in Napier tonight.


The concert celebrates 50 years of Motown music and features Motown acts including the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Miracles and Martha and the Vandellas.

At the end of the show these groups will get together with the other headline acts - Mary Wilson from the Supremes, Joan Osborne, and Australians Jimmy Barnes and Ian Moss - to perform Jackson's song I'll Be There.


Jackson, the "prince of pop" who died in June last year, began his career as part of the Jackson Five, a Motown act.

The weather for the big night is looking far better than for last year's event, when Lionel Richie's concert was cancelled because of rain. MetService is predicting a hot, sunny day with a high of 28 degrees celsius and an overnight low of 17C.

Tickets are still available, starting at $105, but promoter Garry Craft of Sports & Entertainment Ltd said the concert had a good chance of reaching its 25,000 limit.

Concertgoers may bring two bottles of wine each, or equivalent amounts of other alcohol.

An alcohol ban is in force in Church Rd and police have warned they will be out in force taking a zero-tolerance approach to drunken and aggressive behaviour.


The first support act, starting at 3.45pm, is Daniela Young and Friends, a group of past and present pupils of Woodford House girls' school in Havelock North.

Young, 18, said she was preparing to go to Victoria University this year to study classical voice, aiming for a career in opera.

"I love singing everything," she said. "For the Mission concert we'll do a more soulful R'n'B style. We'll do Fallin' by Alicia Keys and Impossible by Christina Aguilera."

Stagefright would not be an issue, she said: "The more people you can make happy with your music, the better."

Other support acts are Mick Charles and Mike Garner, the Darcy Perry Band and the Revival Corporation.

Kiri Te Kanawa launched the Mission series in 1993. Other previous artists include Ray Charles, the Beach Boys, Cliff Richard, Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton.

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P/S: I found this somewhere in Youtube and wishes to share with all of you, MJ lovers.
       I bet, we'll miss you MJ!

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Michael Jackson's Grammy Tributes

Michael Jackson's Grammy Tribute Goes Beyond Remembering His Music, Reinforces His Message

Posted Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:27pm PST by Billy Johnson, Jr.

All the music-themed award shows have paid their respects to Michael Jackson with heartfelt tributes. But the Grammys topped them all Sunday night because they not only displayed the King of Pop's music but captured the sentiment of one of the issues closest to his heart--saving the planet.

Then for the shocking finale, Jackson's two eldest children, Prince Michael and Paris, accepted the Grammys' Lifetime Achievement on their father's behalf. (Michael's youngest son, Prince II aka "Blanket," remained backstage.)

Instead of offering a medley of his biggest records, Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Smokey Robinson joined for a performance of Jackson's "Earth Song" as a 3D version of the video from This Is It played in the background. Additionally, some of Jackson's lead vocals were also used for the live rendition.

 

The featured artists were great choices and offered broad, diverse appeal to the sound of the record. It also made "Earth Song" bigger, like the global anthem "We Are The World" that Jackson co-wrote along with Lionel Richie 25 years ago.

Smokey said he was honored to be a part of the tribute. "I hope that people were listening to even more so than seeing," Robinson said to press backstage. "This is it for us. We need to be aware of what we're doing and do something about it before it's too late."

The most moving part of the song was its climax, when each of the performers had a moment to get front-and-center and belt. Hudson shined here, as it was a gospel moment that suited her well. Underwood also captured the passion of the record.

The 3D element was a nice touch, but only offered a few bonuses of dandelions and a fluttering butterfly. But this segment was clearly about the message not the special effects.

After the performance, Lionel Richie, who introduced the performance, announced that Jackson's children and their cousins (Tito Jackson's sons) would be accepting their dad's award.

Seeing Jackson's kids walk out was emotional. It was sad because seeing them reminded me of their daily struggle of coping their father's death. But seeing them was also a joyous experience because they looked vibrant and beautiful. He would be proud.

They appear to have matured so much since we last saw them at the memorial in July.

But even more impactful was their composure and strength.

Big brother Prince Michael had the stage presence of his dad as he boldly approached the microphone with his sister and offered an acceptance speech that singled that he and his siblings were OK.

"[We] like to thank the fans, our father loved you so much," Prince Michael said. "Our father was always concerned about the planet."

Prince Michael added that his father's music had a universal theme of love. "We will continue to spread his message," he said

Backstage after the tribute, Prince Michael, Paris, and "Blanket" posed with Lionel Richie for an historical, cross-generational photo opp.

 

As cool as the other award show tributes were, I honestly think this presentation is closer to what Jackson would have wanted. It was not just about him, but about all of us.