Michael Jackson’s big London comeback has been officially announced, with the slogan ‘This Is It.’
And now we know what ‘it’ is. Previously we assumed that it was just Michael Jackson’s damage limitation technique – as in “This is it, folks, a middle-aged man who looks like a walking osteoporosis-crippled jawbone singing songs from 25 years go. Happy now?” Turns out he’s just retiring afterwards.
Either way, if you live in London and you don’t like the idea of spending an entire summer listening to everyone bang on about Michael Jackson every day, you should leave immediately.
Well look at that. Michael Jackson’s big announcement – the one that required a flight to London, a gigantic press conference and a £5,000 a night hotel – was to inform everyone of his final comeback shows after all. Better luck next time, everyone who thought that he’d announce Moonwalker 2 or admit that actually he did feel up those teenage cancer victims after all.
Earlier today in London, Michael Jackson told the whole world that he’d be performing his final shows in London at a 10-night residency at the 20,000 capacity O2 Arena in July, putting an end to an extended period of silence that’s either been down to chronic stage-fright, a conscious decision to back away from the limelight or the fact that he’s reportedly riddled with MRSA, has lungs the size of M&Ms and can’t go longer than half an hour without his face falling apart like a marketstall Mr Potato Head.
And, just like the man himself, Michael Jackson’s comeback announcement was over-the-top, self-important and almost impossible to witness without being a little tiny bit creeped out. BBC News reports:
“This is it. I just want to say that these will be my final show performances in London.” His first words to fans were: “I love you so much.” He added: “This will be it. When I say this is it, it really means this is it. I’ll be performing the songs my fans want to hear. This is the final curtain call.”
But why has Michael Jackson really decided to stage a comeback now? Well, despite everything he’s said, it’s almost certainly because of the financial pickle he’s rumoured to be in. Hit with lawsuits left, right and centre, forced to sell his home and even reduced to selling a golf cart with a picture of him as Peter Pan painted across the bonnet, Michael Jackson knows that singing every night for a week and a bit is probably the easiest way to start repaying his debts.
All in all, Michael Jackson is rumoured to be earning over £1 million a night for his run which, sure, will be exhausting for him, but as exhausting as shaking Japanese people’s hands for cash? Hardly – those Japanese businessmen sure do love to shake.
But anyway, like it or lump it, it looks like Michael Jackson is back. And by performing ten nights at the O2, it certainly shows us where Michael Jackson stands in terms of the greats. To be more specific, this is official proof that Michael Jackson is now half as good as Prince – who performed 21 dates at the O2 – but ten full times better than Led Zeppelin, who only performed one.
Try arguing with logic like that. Just try it.
You! Follow hecklerspray on Twitter!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Michael was billed to be on stage at 4 today. He only LEFT HIS HOTEL at 4. He showed up at 5:30. Anyone who was still waiting is AN IDIOT.
well….ask him the reason why he came late b4 u say those bad words.
use ur brain to think why not your anger for person you dnt know.
He is SO not going to play those gigs. As you’re already presaged.
who ever fucking wrote this is a complete and utter immature, ignorant, just fucking worthless human being who doesnt deserve to walk the face of the earth. fuking piece of shit.
Only ONE crazed fanboi to defend Wacko? His star truly faded, eh? Chris Brown threads are chock-full of lunatics spouting bile, yet Wacko has only one Paladin to defend him. C-minus, BTW, that tirade needed work. And more spelling mistakes.
Any fans of MJ reading this? Here’s something for you to try:
[1] Make a date with someone.
[2] Show up 90 minutes late. Are they still waiting?
[3] If they’re still waiting, do they greet you ecstatically or hit you upside the head?
[4] Try to patch over your horrible rudeness by saying: “I love you. I really do, you have to realize that, I love you so much. Really, from the bottom of my heart.”
If this all WORKS: congratulations, you are dating a moron and you can shaft them up the ass, just like MJ wants to shaft you.
you a$@holes need to stop saying sh#t about michael jackson!!! first of all he’s innocent!! If you idiots took the time to read what actually happened instead of reading what the media says you would see that. Second of all you need to get a life!! Michael is a much better human being than any of you!! I don’t see you morons giving over $300 million to charities all over the world, and fans are loyal because they know he is a wonderful person!!
>> If you idiots took the time to read what actually
>> happened instead of reading what the media says
OK, where can I “read what actually happened” without using the “media”?
JM – ‘OK, where can I “read what actually happened” without using the “media”?’
You use the Powers of Your Imagination, and then indignantly
and self-righteously defend your imaginations as the One True Reality™.
God take Michael Jackson to Him side.
Hope any other people Like Michael Jackson, can give a message about protecting world. God Bless You Michael Jackson.
(Gomgom Hutapea – Indonesia – Sumatera Utara – Tobasamosir – Laguboti – Sitangkola)
Michael Jackson, 1958-2009
‘KING OF POP’ DIES
Singer Michael Jackson dead at 50
Legendary pop star had been preparing for London comeback tour
Michael Jackson had been planning to start a series of comeback concerts in London and had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months. Promoters of the shows said in March that he had passed a lengthy physical examination.
updated 9:16 p.m. ET June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the “King of Pop” and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday. He was 50.
Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.
The circumstances of Jackson’s death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to the hospital, Ruda told the newspaper.
Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
His 1982 album “Thriller” — which included the blockbuster hits “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Thriller” — is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.
The public first knew him in the late 1960s, when as a boy he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the music group he formed with his four older brothers. Among their No. 1 hits were “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.”
Ranked with Elvis, Beatles
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
“For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words,” said Quincy Jones, who produced “Thriller.” “He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”
Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. He united two of music’s biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson’s death immediately evoked that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.
As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure — a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He surrounded himself with children at his Neverland Ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.
“It seemed to me that his internal essence was at war with the norms of the world. It’s as if he was trying to defy gravity,” said Michael Levine, a Hollywood publicist who represented Jackson in the early 1990s. He called Jackson a “disciple of P.T. Barnum” and said the star appeared fragile at the time but was “much more cunning and shrewd about the industry than anyone knew.”
Jackson caused a furor in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.
The case followed years of rumors about Jackson and young boys. In a TV documentary, he had acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.
Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.
Comeback had been planned
Jackson was preparing for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13. He was in rehearsals in Los Angeles for the concert, an extravaganza that was to capture the classic Jackson magic: showstopping dance moves, elaborate staging and throbbing dance beats.
Slideshow
Fans react to loss
Fans gather to mourn and shed tears as news spreads that the “King of Pop” is dead at 50.
more photos
Singer Dionne Warwick said: “Michael was a friend and undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest entertainers that I fortunately had the pleasure of working with. … We have lost an icon in our industry.”
Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital as word of his death spread. The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson’s rented home, was roped off with police tape.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson has just died,” a woman boarding a Manhattan bus called out shortly after the news was announced. Immediately many riders reached for their cell phones.
So many people wanted to verify the early reports of Jackson’s death that the computers running Google’s news section interpreted the fusillade of “Michael Jackson” requests as an automated attack for about half an hour Thursday evening.
In New York’s Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.
“No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow,” Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend sent to his telephone. “It’s like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31552029?gt1=43001
This is what happened with Michael Jackson.He called his doctor to tell him he was about to die.So his doctor rushed over as soon as he could.When he got there he gave Michael Jackson some pills,but he gave him too many.Then an hour later he died and his doctor called the hospital.He was out there so quick so nobody could figure out what happened.Now they found him and now there questioning him.I got this all from my friend.
Hello what i will say is that i tell his family to be strong and bold and may michael jackson RIP
MAY GOD KEEP HIS SOUL AND WE MUST PRAY FOR HIS FORGIVENESS SO THAT GOD WILL KEEP THE SOUL AS WELL AS POSSIBLE THANK YOOU AND I LOVE YOU ALL
Rest in Peace for MJ…
We Luv you!
ARE YOU SERIOUS WITH THIS SHIT?
Stuart..you should not be allowed to print this bullshit. You are a pathetic loser. Find something worthwhile to do with yoruself other than ranking on other human beings, this one which is sadly no longer with us.