Even 8 years after his death, Michael Jackson is still the most successful pop singer in the history of the music industry. The total number of sold albums, collections and singles of the singer is one billion copies. Through his work, the artist made an invaluable contribution to the global development of video clips, music, choreography and fashion. In addition, Michael Jackson, in his youth, took part in the film adaptation of the musical Visa, the feature films Miss Robinson, Moonwalk and Men in Black 2.
Childhood
The boy, born August 29, 1958 in the family of Catherine and Joseph Jackson, decided to call Michael. The future musician was born in the town of Gary. In 2003, his father publicly admitted the moral and physical humiliation on his part that all ten of his children faced, including Michael Jackson. The child suffered beatings, intimidation and insults, which grew into nightmares. In an interview for Oprah, Winfrey Michael said that talking with Joseph caused him to vomit and tear from a feeling of helplessness and loneliness. Despite this, the singer tried to justify the brutal actions of his father by the fact that he wanted to teach his son to discipline, which helped him become the best of the best.
In 1964, the brothers of the future artist created the musical group The Jackson 5. The guys performed in the genre of disco, soul and rock and roll and played on tambourine and Congo. Some time later, in the same year, Michael Jackson joined the group. The child had little experience performing at Christmas concerts in front of his classmates. Later, Michael tried himself as a dancer and backing vocalist.
The youth of the artist
Since 1966, Jackson has been actively touring with his brothers in the Midwest. Four years later, The Jackson 5 singles lead the Billboard Hot 100 American hit parade. Despite the fact that Michael was the youngest in the group, it was he who attracted the attention of the public due to the unusual for that time dance movements and manner of performance.
While he was involved in working with The Jackson 5, the singer managed to release four solo albums. Michael Jackson in his youth has achieved stunning results in the world of music. The ballad Ben from the second album, which he dedicated to his domestic rat, took first places in the charts in the early 70s.
Michael Jackson: biography, personal life, religion
His amazing talent brought him hundreds of awards, including 15 Grammy statuettes. Jackson is listed in the Guinness Book of Records 25 times. The artist was on friendly terms with many celebrities, including Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston, Macaulay Culkin, Eddie Murphy, Elton John and the Princess of Wales Diana.
Michael was married to Elvis Presley's daughter Lise-Marie from 1994 to 1996. After the divorce, they remained good friends, as evidenced by the HIStory tour, in which a woman accompanied the singer, despite the fact that he was married to Debbie Rowe. From the second marriage, the artist has a daughter and a son - Paris and Prince.
Michael Jackson was a Jehovah's Witness in his youth. As a child, Katherine's mother urged him to study the Bible and attend sermons. In protest, Jackson refused to celebrate Christmas, Easter and his own birthday. The singer’s brother, Jermain, is a supporter of Islam. He often gave Michael books about his religion in the hope that faith would make his struggle with many diseases easier.
King's solo career
Thriller is the best-selling album in music history. The album included hits such as Billie Jean, PYT, as well as the song The Girl Is Mine, on which Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson worked. The Bad and Dangerous albums were almost as successful as Thriller.
In late January 1984, Michael took part in the filming of Pepsi commercials. During this process, the artist's hair caught fire from pyrotechnic devices. He received burns of 3 degrees. The terrifying case was the impetus for the development of vitiligo. Michael Jackson, whose black skin color was one of his many features, began to partially whiten. But, despite the next difficulties in life, he continued to engage in the business of his whole life.
After his death, the artist’s family signed a contract with Sony for the release of ten records, the songwriter of which was Michael Jackson. The albums Michael (2010) and Xscape (2014) were much better than fans expected. The last record was Love Never Felt So Good, recorded in two versions: solo and in a duet with Justin Timberlake.
Scandals
Michael Jackson in his youth provoked negative comments about music videos with his frank dance moves. After some time, the former reason for the stormy scandal became a feature and an integral part of the singer's choreography.
In 1993, Michael was charged with sexual harassment of thirteen-year-old Jordan Chandler. The situation was resolved by 22 million dollars that Jackson paid to the boy’s family. After 10 years, the parents of thirteen-year-old Gavin Arvizo accused the artist of soldering and feeling for children. In 2005, the court acquitted Jackson, as it was proved that the prosecutors sought to quickly get rich at the expense of the singer. Already after the death of the artist, Jordan Chandler said that his father slandered Michael for the sake of huge compensation. By the way, after a failed deception, a negligent parent committed suicide.
Appearance and plastic surgery
Michael Jackson survived many physical and mental health problems. Black skin became pale due to Vitiligo disease, which was diagnosed in 1986. The illness forced the artist to hide from sunlight with the help of multilayer clothes, umbrellas and masks.
According to the singer’s autobiography, in addition to rhinoplasty and the addition of a dimple on his chin, he did nothing else. Nevertheless, surgeons claim that Michael Jackson in his youth, before the operation, had a different shape of his forehead, lips and cheekbones. The artist’s mother asked her son to stop adjusting her appearance and believed that he was addicted to plastic surgery. Michael himself explained the changes in facial features with weight loss, puberty and a change in hairstyle.
Exhausting vegetarian diets brought Jackson's weight to 48 kg with a height of 175 cm. By the end of the 80s, the artist recovered a little, but in 1993, due to worries about the unfair accusation of child molestation, he practically stopped eating and lost weight even more. Two years later, he was hospitalized due to a panic attack, irregular heart rhythm, inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, dehydration and malfunctioning of the liver and kidneys. It should be noted that none of Jackson's doctors found drugs in his blood.
The musician lived his last years with addiction to painkillers, could not speak clearly and could hardly remember the names of loved ones and the names of his recent albums.
Death of a singer and funeral
The favorite of millions passed away on June 25, 2009. As it was established by the investigation, death occurred due to an overdose of Propofol. Attempts to resuscitate Michael lasted more than an hour and were unsuccessful. A posthumous autopsy revealed that Jackson had a strong heart and normal weight for his height. The most serious problem was chronic pneumonia, although this was not the cause of death. Zeev Kane, a doctor at the University of California, analyzed the autopsy and said that his overall health was within normal limits.
On the eve of the death of the artist, Christopher Rogers, who was the head of a group of forensic experts, claimed that Jackson’s health has been good lately and called him a murder victim. The funeral ceremony took place on September 3, 2009 at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.