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So, I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but Michael Jackson died. Unless you’ve been hanging out on Mars or buried deep within the earth’s core since late June of 2009, where you couldn’t be reached by the televised tributes and commemorative movies and continuous radio airplay of “Beat It”, you’re well aware that today is the one-year anniversary of Jackson’s death. Despite his unexpected passing, the last year has been very much alive with MJ stories, covering everything from Michael memorabilia to where the three Jackson juniors are now.
The King of Pop
You may have already paid tribute to the King of Pop with silk screen shirts, DVD copies of This Is It, and planning to learn the moonwalk via videogame, but the latest memorabilia must-have? A commemorative belt.
Fans everywhere will undoubtedly don their own MJ apparel to honor the late entertainer when attending Friday’s memorial services at his burial site and at Saturday’s event in Beverly Hills paying homage to the star, approved by Michael’s mother herself. TMZ reports Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, also plans to pay his respects at the singer’s gravesite
Michael Jackson's Kids
While the 25th marks fans’ first year without the pop legend, it also signifies Jackson’s children’s first year without their father. Since the revelation that Jackson was not the biological father of his eldest children Prince, 13, and Paris, 12, among other custodial issues, there was much questioning as to the future of the two children along with their 8-year-old brother Blanket. With masks off, the world spent the year staring curiously into the fishbowl of the three children’s lives, hoping to catch a glimmer of insight on the Jackson world and what it’s like without Michael.
Despite the information on the $33 million dollar trust fund awarded to each of the three children and the national news coverage of leaked YouTube videos, showing the Paris and Blanket dancing, acting out Star Wars scenes and doing things that a preteen would do given a video camera and internet access, the glimpses into the Jackson children’s lives throughout the year seemed to humanize the family that has been notoriously placed on the pedestal of bizarre relatives. In the fall, Prince, Paris, and Blanket will transition from the world of homeschooling into the realm of classrooms and classmates. One blogger acknowledges the necessity for school given the forced isolation the children have experienced in their father’s attempts to shield them from public scrutiny. And while their school shopping cart may not contain as many clearance backpacks as the average back-to-schooler’s, there stomachs will surely be filled with those all too familiar first-day nerves—because in light of everything else, they are still children.
Jackson's Legacy
Not unlike any other Michael fan, Paris, as told by her grandmother in a recent interview, has also devoted her room as a shrine to her father, complete with photograph plastered walls and hour-long sessions listening to Jackson’s greatest hits with her brothers. Maybe they’ll even have their faces submitted among the likes of Maya Angelou in the pointillism portrait tribute to Jackson consisting of the faces of thousands of MJ fans. An event avid Jackson fans will also be thrilled, pun completely intended, to hear about is the 2011 Cirque Du Soleil show, will fuse the famous musical styling and awe-inspiring acrobatics of two world-renowned entertainers.
The tributes haven’t been limited to professional acrobats and artists. Over the past year, fellow musicians and fans alike have also honored pop’s legendary icon through Jackson medleys and dance performances:
Michael Jackson Medley by YouTube Sensation Sam Tsui
Dance Tribute to Jackson in Bucharest, Romania
American Idol’s Andrew Garcia and Friends Do Jackson Medley
Pianist David Sides’ Rendition of MJ’s Greatest Hits
Just Some of the BlogHer Reaction Over the Past Year
- How Should We Mourn Michael Jackson?
- The Blogosphere Reacts to Jackson's Death
- Mixed on Michael Jackson's Children Redux
- Jackson's Memorial: The Words of a Daughter
- BlogHer Voice of the Week: Mommy Nani Booboo on How Michael Jackson Made Me Cool
- Jackson's Mother Gets Custody of the Children
- Jackson on TMZ, Iran
