Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson passed away last thursday due to cardiac arrest. Though I wouldn't dare claim to be a die-hard fan of his, most of the English songs that I listen to, if at all, are his works. My favourites are Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Black Or White, Beat It, Heal The World and You Are Not Alone. I even sang Heal The World as part of a trio when I was in primary three in front of the whole school. =) My group also presented Black or White for one of our courses, Music: Adventures in Listening, when I was an undergraduate. His songs are so captivating that the only reason that someone do not like his songs can only be that the person has not heard them before. However, what I like most are his music videos, especially the earlier ones like Smooth Criminal and Thriller, which are electrifying to say the least. In addition, one of my all-time favourite video game is Moonwalker, featuring Michael Jackson himself.

I've been following news report about his death and about his life and what I realised is that his life was quite sad. Forced to perform since the age of 5, he didn't have a proper childhood which he felt was something missing from his life. That led to his love for children which in turn got him involved in the child molestation case and tarnished his reputation. In the end, he was acquitted of all charges but people still had their doubts. Only until his death did people start to believe him and remember the good things that he has done, the music that he has brought us. But isn't that a little too late?

That has always been the problem with human beings (myself included), always looking at others' bad points and overlooking the good ones. It is always until the person is gone that we will start to forgive, and start to remember all the good things he or she has done. But the person will never get to hear the good things about him or her again.

MJ had a bad childhood where he was always beaten up by his father. He was in a bad shape towards the end of his life too. I guess the only happy moments in his life was somewhere in between. According to news reports, he took up to 8 kinds of drugs everyday and was not eating much, making him very frail. He was also heavily in debt due to his child molestation court cases and poor financial management, not to mention many people trying to fleece him. And the worst thing is, he had to perfrom in 50 concerts in London. 50! Can you believe it? 50 concerts for a weak 50 year old man with all sorts of health problems. How can he manage that? I guess death is his only escape. It's sad that things have to end up this way. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson, your music will always be remembered.