Biography of Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson's adult children, so similar to their father American singer Michael Jackson

During his lifetime, the king of pop carefully protected his children from annoying public attention. If the musician's family was caught by the paparazzi, the faces of Jackson's heirs were always covered. But everything changed after the tragic death of Michael. The faces of his children were revealed to the world at the memorial ceremony, and after that everyone wanted to know more about them than ever before.

History reference

The fact that the legendary singer has three children has been known for a long time, but the details were clearly not enough. Their birth was not secret and was covered in the press. Michael Jackson's first son was born on February 13, 1997. His mother was the old girlfriend of the pop king - Debbie Rowe, whom he still married at the insistence of his pious mother Catherine. The boy was given the name Prince Michael Literally a year later (April 3, 1998), his sister Paris Michael Katherine Jackson was born. And a year later, the couple Michael and Debbie officially filed for divorce.

The singer's fans, and indeed the entire world community, were very surprised when, in early 2002, he announced the birth of his third child. The youngest son of Michael Jackson was born from whose name is still a mystery. The king of pop claimed that he did not even know her, and the insemination was artificial. Prince Michael II's father named Blanket (which means "Blanket"). From the point of view of the performer, such a name meant love and care.

The children grew up with their father at his Neverland Ranch, the biological mother of Prince and Paris did not take any part in their lives and did not claim them in any way, but they had as many as 6 nannies, and Michael himself devoted all his time to them. In fact, that's pretty much all we know about younger Jacksons until the death of their parent, but secrets are always overgrown with gossip.

Most of all, the media discussed the color of the children's skin and ranted with might and main that Michael was not their real father. That the eldest son of Michael Jackson, that the youngest, and even more so the light-eyed Paris, are white, it was considered strange for the children of an African American. At the same time, journalists were not embarrassed by the many similar children from other mixed marriages.

After the tragedy

When, after the death of the singer, the masks were finally thrown off, gossip about paternity subsided a bit. If the first-born-weather still raised questions, then younger son Michael Jackson Blanket turned out to be almost a copy of his father, except perhaps in a lighter version. From that moment on, the children came under the watchful eye of the lenses of the ubiquitous reporters. Gossip, rumors, litigation for a long time riveted public attention to the Jackson family. Their grandmother Catherine became the guardian of the heirs of the pop king, and it was also revealed that back in the early 2000s, Debbie Rowe was deprived of any rights to her biological children.

The family tried to hide, besides, they could not recover from grief, but they failed to attract attention. Children very painfully endured the death of their beloved father. This was especially true of Paris, who survived severe depression and several suicide attempts, which, of course, got into the press.

Family Traditions

Years passed, and the hype around the orphaned offspring of the idol of millions faded away. Although the same Paris has repeatedly found herself on the pages of popular publications, but now thanks to her success. She played in the series, took up music and modeling career, becoming the face of the Calvin Klein brand. But the son of Michael Jackson Prince for the time being remained in the shadow of his older sister. Only recently he opened up to the press, gave a long heartfelt interview, in which he warmly recalled his father, his instructions and boundless love, about the hard times when his father was slandered by allegations of pedophilia (which were completely refuted after the death of the musician).

Michael's first-born does not want to be promoted at the expense of the glory of the pop king, but also decided to go into the world of show business. He has always been interested in making music videos, producing and directing. At the age of 20, Michael Jackson's son created his own company, King`s Son Production, does what he loves, shot several videos, graduated from TV journalism courses and tries himself in this field, more and more often flashes on TV. I recently got a tattoo in honor of my father (like Paris, by the way). He hopes to be worthy of his famous parent's legacy.

The youngest is the hardest

Prince Michael II is still at school, by the way, recently, as he was previously homeschooled. Relatives believe that he suffered the most from the tragedy, matured early and became withdrawn. The paparazzi began to catch him more often, noting also that this son of Michael Jackson is becoming almost a copy of his star dad. According to relatives, not only in appearance, but also in character.

He wears long hair as his father wanted him to. The teachers praise the young man, but his peers do not really like him. Due to ridicule and bullying, Blanket changed his name to Bigi and asked his family and everyone else to call him that only. By the way, he is not very interested in his musical career yet, but he is fond of martial arts.

friend, protégé?

Interestingly, journalists and other gossips are actively identifying all the new kings of pop music. The most famous among them is the Norwegian dancer Guy 25, according to the estimates of those interested, he was born 9 months after the singer's tour in Norway. Fueling the rumors is the fact that the potential son of Michael Jackson (photo above) was sitting in the front row on memorial service among the rest of his relatives, he is part of the family, and his resemblance to the late musician is simply amazing. The Jackson family does not comment on the rumors in any way, and the dancer's mother pointedly stated that Michael was more than a pop king for them.

It would truly be the duel of the century - an epic audio and video contest between two of the most powerful talents of the generation. One-Glove Man vs. Purple Rain Man. The King of Pop vs. His Majesty the Rebel. Michael Jackson vs Prince.

The pop stars met in late September 1986 to discuss a proposed "duel". A little earlier, at Disneyworld and Disneyland parks, the premiere of a revolutionary science fiction film featuring Jackson took place in 4-D, Captain EO, and collected a full house . The film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by George Lucas, showed, among other things, Jackson's significant position in the entertainment industry. After the release of the album Thriller artists, film producers and multi-million dollar corporations lined up to work with him. Everything he touched turned to gold. After spending a few months on set Captain EO, the artist is once again busy recording songs and creating concepts for short films for the much anticipated new album - Bad.

Meanwhile, at the very beginning of the summer, Prince released his own musical film, Under the Cherry Moon, and its soundtrack Parade. Filmed on the beautiful French Riviera and directed by the Prince himself, the stylized black-and-white romantic comedy-drama failed to do well at the box office (nor did it enthrall most critics). However, the film had clear artistic ambitions; in addition, the film brought Prince one of the most successful singles of his career, the funk hit Kiss, which took first place in the charts. Upon his return from France, the highly creative Prince began work on a collection of songs, with plans to release a triple album titled crystal ball, which later turned into a critically acclaimed masterpiece - Sign O' the Times.

Thus, in 1986, Prince and Michael Jackson each led their own niche. Both have just released massive record albums - Thriller and purple rain. Both created legendary mystery personas as they rarely gave interviews and cultivated eccentric, volatile personas. Both forced their listeners to endlessly speculate. No other star of the eighties - not Madonna, not Bruce Springsteen, not Bono - did not arouse such a powerful level of admiration from the public.

Of course, the interest of the public only increased when it came to their mysterious relationship with each other. In the 1980s, hundreds of journalists wrote sometimes close to the truth, but mostly contrived sensational stories about their rivalry. Journal article National Enquirer in 1985 claimed that the Prince used psychic abilities to drive Jackson's chimpanzee, Bubbles, crazy.

Most of the articles that compared the two artists described them as complete opposites: Jackson is an innocent child in a male body, while Prince is a promiscuous rebel. Jackson was the polished, sophisticated prodigy of Motown, and Prince was the uncouth, self-taught genius from the streets of Minneapolis. Jackson was the mainstream commercial juggernaut, and Prince was the alternative avant-garde challenger. Jackson is all magic and miracles; Prince - sex and defiance. To a large extent it was a new version confrontation between the charming "Beatles" and the bad guys of the Rolling Stones.

There was certainly some truth in these distinctions. But they also simplified the reality. Indeed, it was part of their incredible resemblance to each other that made their rivalry so exciting.

Both are the same age, born a couple of months apart in 1958 (Prince on June 7, and Jackson on August 29). They were born just a few years after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger in public transport in Montgomery, Alabama, which marked the beginning of the era of the struggle for civil rights. When Prince and Jackson were three years old, John F. Kennedy became President of the United States. When they were five, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington. Motown's music, "the sound of young America," was leaked onto the radio. It was a time of great change and opportunity.

Both artists hail from industrial cities in the Midwest: Jackson is from Gary, Indiana, a steel town south of Chicago; Prince is from northern Minneapolis, Minnesota, also known for its rugged industrial character. Their homes at 2300 Jackson Street and 915 Logan Avenue were very humble homes where their parents dreamed big. Like Gary, northern Minneapolis was predominantly African-American, but unlike Gary, local reporter Neil Carlen called it "the whitest metropolitan area in the country."

The roots of both performers went south. Jackson's parents were from Arkansas and Alabama; Prince's parents are from Louisiana. Freed from slavery only two generations ago and still struggling with blatant disparity against blacks, they moved north in search of new opportunities, as did hundreds of thousands of other African Americans. Both fathers (both Prince and Jackson) kept their families in a tight grip of discipline and worked hard day and night to feed the children.

Joseph Jackson was a crane operator at a steel plant in East Chicago and often worked overtime to provide for his family of 11. Young Michael recalled how he returned home after a long day of work, completely exhausted. Music was his only outlet. Joseph's band, The Falcons, rehearsed late into the Jackson family's tiny house and often played local clubs hoping for a breakthrough. When it became clear to Joseph that this would not happen, he switched all his efforts to the children.

Prince's father, John Nelson, also dreamed of becoming famous musician. He was a talented jazz pianist and played all over Minneapolis with his band, The Prince Rogers Trio. However, like Joseph Jackson, he had to do heavy manual labor to pay the bills (he worked at the Honeywell plant in Minneapolis). Music was his passion, but everyday realities did not allow him to fully devote himself to his favorite pastime. The prince grew up watching his father fall more and more into despair and anger, never being able to fulfill his dreams. Like Joseph, he focused all his efforts on the children. “I named my son Prince,” said John Nelson, “because I wanted him to achieve what I could not achieve.”

Of course, such aspirations had their price. Both artists experienced childhood abuse and lacked paternal love. Jackson was forced to rehearse and work like an adult from the age of eight, and Prince was kicked out of the house as a teenager. Both were desperate to earn their fathers' love; indeed, it was partly because of their troubled, painful childhoods that Jackson and Prince were so tirelessly honing their craft. Their obsession with art was so great that sometimes it completely ruled out long-term close relationships. Music has always come first. Both carried out an almost messianic task in order to achieve their goals with the help of their art.

The list of similarities goes on and on: both were lonely, vulnerable, absorbed information like a sponge when they were children; both idolized James Brown, Sly Stone and Stevie Wonder; both preferred crossover as they believed in the fusion of musical styles and surrounded themselves with professionals from different races; both believed that music should be accompanied by high-quality visuals; both freely manipulated the concepts of race, gender and sexuality, rethinking what it means to be a man; both defended their privacy (and sometimes behaved introverted), rarely gave interviews (especially in the eighties) and created mysterious images that seemed incomprehensible; both were religious and had been members of the community of Jehovah's Witnesses for some time; both built grandiose utopian worlds (Paisley Park and Neverland Ranch); both fought tooth and nail with their record companies and the industry as a whole, upholding the principles of fair compensation, corporate exploitation and creative control; both experienced significant commercial and critical declines in the US following the scandals; and both died suddenly and tragically in the midst of their return to the stage.

In addition to these similarities, there was another very important common feature: their competitive spirit. Both were extremely ambitious and were not at a loss when it came to their place in the pop hierarchy. They knew about each other's albums, tours, awards and records; and whether they admitted it publicly or not, secretly they yearned to catch up and overtake each other, especially in the eighties.

Prince saw Jackson collect a record number of Grammy awards in 1984. This aroused in him a desire to reach similar heights and receive the same high recognition for his work. "We watched the first montage purple rain, recalls Bobby Zee, “and knew that the Prince wanted next year to be his year.” Later that year, Jackson observed the "Purple Rain" phenomenon. He was at the premiere of the film and attended the concerts of his opponent more than once, carefully planning his return to the throne.

This rivalry was on full display in the legendary game of ping-pong in December 1985. Jackson, accompanied by bodyguards, arrived at Samuel Goldwyn's studio in West Hollywood, where Prince was finishing work on Under the Cherry Moon. After an exchange of pleasantries, the Prince invited Jackson to play a game of ping-pong. Jackson had never played before, but he said he would try. All work in the studio stopped - everyone came running to see how the superstars would play.

The Prince started slowly, but soon his competitive streak kicked in, and he started pitching the ball hard past (or even right into) the unfortunate Jackson. "He played like Helen Keller!" the Prince joked later. ( Helen Keller is an American writer and activist who suffered a serious illness in infancy, as a result of which she became completely blind and deaf. - approx. per.) Jackson licked his ego wounds by chatting with Prince's then-girlfriend, actress Sherilyn Fenn. “Michael knew how to present himself and how to carry himself,” recalls Prince's sound engineer Susan Rogers. It didn't look like he was upset about the game. He began to flirt with Sherilyn, who came to visit the Prince in the studio. This annoyed the prince, but he did not intervene. They parted ways quickly."

In the same year, giving an interview to the magazine Rolling stone, The prince boasted: “How I wish people would understand that I always considered himself cool. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think so." Perhaps Jackson remembered this quote when, just a couple of months later, he wrote his new song: Who's bad?

Secret meeting

Quincy Jones arranged a secret meeting between Jackson and Prince in the summer of 1986. They had discussed the concepts many times before, but now the ideas have taken on a more concrete form. Jackson had a demo ready to go, tentatively titled "Pee" (some claim it meant "pressure" as the theme of the song and video, while others thought the P stood for Prince, a possible creative partner). The song had an absolutely killer bass synth hook, jazz organ infusions and an explosive chorus. Jackson and his crew, including Quincy Jones, manager Frank Dileo and sound engineer Bruce Sweeden, followed Prince as he listened to the track in their studio's control room.

“It was a very strange meeting,” journalist Quincy Troupe wrote for the magazine Spin. - They were so competitive with each other that neither of them wanted to make any concessions. They just sat and studied each other, but said almost nothing. An exciting stalemate involving two very powerful guys."

Jackson suggested that stories of the intensifying rivalry be slowly leaked to the press (which would not be difficult at all, since the media were already overly interested in any signs of conflict between the performers). At the time, he admired P. T. Barnum and his ability to use publicity gimmicks to create hype and intrigue. “I want my whole career to be the greatest show on the planet,” he told his manager. Shortly before this, he successfully pulled off the first successful trick by implanting in the press the story that he was sleeping in an oxygen chamber (this gossip was immediately picked up by the media around the world).

The prince, being no stranger to self-promotion, was intrigued but generally skeptical. He was interested in working with Jackson, but did not like the fact that Jackson was in complete control of the project. He believed Jackson was setting the stage to look better than Prince on and off screen. “Prince said: “Yeah, he wants to make me look like an idiot in this record. Does he think I'm stupid? recalls Prince's manager, Alan Leeds. He couldn't rise above the situation enough to realize that just such a turn would benefit both of them. However, it would still be a 100% Michael video with Prince only playing a guest role. Therefore, such a relationship was impossible. Like Ali vs Frazier. And the press just couldn't stop playing these guys against each other."

Prince later explained to comedian Chris Rock his decision to pull out of Bad: "You know, this character played by Wesley Snipes - it was supposed to be me. Imagine this clip. The first line in the song is “I will get to your ass” (Your butt is mine). And I said: well, who will sing it to whom? I can't stand it if you treat me like that. And you definitely won’t tolerate if I sing it ... So, yes, we have a problem.

Prince also suggested a song to a friend instead of Bad: he reportedly sent Jackson an updated demo of Wouldn't U Love to Love Me, an infectious groove later recorded by Prince's protégé, Taja Sevelle. But Jackson decided to refuse. Definitely, both artists simply could not accept the idea that one of them would have to transfer control of a joint project to the other.

As he walked out of that legendary meeting, Prince turned to Jackson and his team and graciously concluded, "This song is going to be a big hit even if I'm not in it." That was the end of the most real opportunity collaboration of two legends.

And although Prince and Jackson never worked together, their careers intersected and complemented each other from time to time in the most unthinkable and exciting ways. In October 1988, Prince performed at the Madison Sker Garden while Jackson performed at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. The press described it as "a battle of the titans across the Hudson River". These two concerts highlighted the unique talent and creativity of each artist. Jackson Concert Bad was supposed to be the biggest and best, attracting everyone from young to old, blacks and whites, and the Prince's tour lovesexy consciously went beyond all the possible expectations of the pop mainstream.

Jackson danced better; The prince played better musical instruments. Jackson approached the live performance with the precision and narrative of a filmmaker—the concert was a carefully crafted production. Prince, on the other hand, demonstrated the approach of a jazz musician; he behaved more freely and improvised a lot. Both could change the set list or the way the songs were performed. But both had the powerful charisma of a superstar and were able to give their viewers an ecstatic feeling of complete immersion. As gospel shepherds, they created a backflow of call, call and response energy that has become a unique transcendental experience for many fans.

Of course, the press considered it their duty to take one side. “Bruce Springsteen may be the most passionate pop artist, Prince the most provocative and David Bowie the most spectacular. But Michael Jackson is the most stunning artist in the industry,” wrote John Brim of Minneapolis Star Tribune. Jon Pareles of the New York Times objected, "Mr. Jackson requires only a simple exchange of his efforts for the approval of the public, while Prince's performance celebrates the joy and risk of total freedom." To this day, the controversy continues: the Prince could play more instruments; Jackson made cooler videos; Prince was better at writing lyrics; Jackson was a more professional vocalist; The prince was more prolific; Jackson is a more patient perfectionist; The prince is more durable; Jackson had a greater cultural impact.

As with all rivalry arguments (Stones vs. Beatles, Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam, Janet vs. Madonna, Gaga vs. Beyonce), the outcome is subjective—and the choice is often driven by more personal reasons. Quincy Jones felt that Prince was often used by music critics and journalists to undermine Jackson's authority, rather than recognizing the unique talent and creative vision of both of them. Moreover, the press' fixation on superiority and conflict often makes it hard to see what they have achieved in tandem.

Jackson and Prince not only pushed and challenged each other, they set the standard for thousands of artists and performers for generations to come. Never before have two African-American performers reached such stratopheric heights, breaking down racial barriers in radio, television and film in the process. Both were absolutely unique, versatile artists who wrote their own songs, made their own films, and brought out the concept of their performances. Both produced vast and varied catalogs covering the entire spectrum of human emotions and experiences. Both have penetrated the DNA of American (and world) culture thanks to their author's styles, sounds and images. Both broke the traditional boundaries of self-determination. Both broke records with their albums, music videos and tours.

In the eighties alone, they collectively produced 30 Top 10 hits, including 13 number one songs. Between 1982 and 1984 Jackson album Thriller spent a record 37 (albeit inconsistent) weeks at number one on the charts. The album would become the best-selling album of all time, and the accompanying music videos revolutionized the MTV music channel and redefined the possibilities of music media. Meanwhile, Prince's album purple rain topped the charts for a full 24 weeks - from August 1984 to January 1985 - the fourth album in the history of music, which has achieved such indicators. Prince also became the first artist since the Beatles to have an album, single and film hit number one at the same time.

None of them were satisfied with the usual commercial success. Their empires were built to protect, nurture and advance their creative ambitions. Both saw themselves as not just performers - they had something to say, and they used all the means available to them to express themselves.

The King of Pop and His Majesty the Rebel remained rivals until the very end. In preparation for his epic stage comeback at London's O2 Arena in 2009, Jackson allegedly wanted to make sure his streak of 50 single-venue performances would beat Prince's 2007 record of 21 consecutive shows to 350,000 people. Jackson couldn't sleep at night and told director Kenny Ortega that his head was full of creative ideas and he couldn't "turn it off". Ortega asked if there was any way Jackson could shelve these ideas for later. "You don't understand," Jackson replied. “If I don’t accept these ideas, God may give them to the Prince.”

Someone, and even the Prince, knew exactly what Jackson's words about the willingness to accept a creative idea, regardless of its source, mean. Like Jackson, the Prince constantly “conducted the energy of the higher realms” and also could not turn off this process. To a journalist's question Rolling stone about whether he was “addicted” to recording music, the artist replied that he felt an irresistible need to “download” everything that was in his head. “It’s all there, inside,” he explained. “I hear it all right now. There are five albums playing in my head right now.”

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 - the 25th anniversary of the release purple rain. Several of the largest news sites have hung and even collapsed under an avalanche of requests. The farewell to Jackson was viewed by approximately one billion people; only the funeral of Princess Diana of Wales can be compared with this figure. The prince did not make a public statement, but, according to numerous sources, he was deeply shocked by this event. Writer and broadcaster Travis Smiley recalls how he and Prince "talked for hours ... about his own mortality and what the loss of Michael Jackson meant to him." When asked about Jackson's death in an interview in October of that year, Prince simply replied, "Losing someone you love is always hard." On subsequent tours, he frequently covered Jackson's Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough. Many years later, in a 2014 interview for a magazine Rolling stone, he was asked about how he feels about Jackson's death, but again he refused to give a detailed comment: “I don’t want to talk about it. I was too close to it."

As it turned out, Prince was much closer to Jackson than one might expect. As with Jackson, his life was tragically cut short in the midst of a creative renaissance. On April 21, 2016, Prince was found unconscious in the elevator of his mansion, Paisley Park. A few hours later he was declared dead. The news spread quickly. As with Jackson, the response from the world has been overwhelming. Famous monuments around the world were lit up in purple, and social media was flooded with memories and tributes. President Obama stated that Prince was "one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time ... a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and a captivating performer."

In the immediate aftermath of Prince's death, several journalists dug up rumors of a feud between the performers, but reduced their rivalry to petty animosity. The truth was less sensational. Michael Jackson and Prince respected each other. Yes, they competed; no, they weren't best friends, but as African Americans, trailblazers, and colleagues, they recognized each other's accomplishments. After all, their paths to fame were very similar.

Only a small handful of artists change the world; Michael Jackson and Prince were one of them. Circumstances permitting, they would have worked together on Bad in 1986 or some other incredible project. But, alas, in the eighties and nineties, both went along parallel paths, not intersecting. And in doing so, they became two of the most influential performers of their generation.

Today's world of pop music lives only in the shadow of their revolution.

Translation: Julia Sirosh

Michael Jackson is the greatest performer, the genius of his time, truly the king of pop music. It is unfortunate that such people leave us too soon, leaving behind a feeling of deep loss and understatement. Who knows, perhaps one of his three heirs will be able to adequately continue the work of his father. It is about the children of Michael Jackson that today's story will go.

As mentioned earlier, there are three of them: a daughter and two sons.

1. The eldest son of Michael Jackson - Prince Michael Joseph Jackson - was born in Los Angeles on February 13, 1997. He, like his sister Paris, are the sons of the singer and his wife, Debbie Rose. Prince I received his education together with his sister in one of the private California schools.

From an early age, the boy liked journalism and everything connected with it. The child himself said more than once that he never knew how to sing and dance like his father. That's why I started training. From an early age, the boy began to attend journalism courses. After a while, this attraction paid off.

Prince's debut as a correspondent is a feature filmed in 2013 on Entertainment Tonight.

Today, the eldest of Jackson's children continues to develop in the field of journalism, and also has experience as a TV presenter. In the near future, as the Prince himself states, he would like to try his hand at directing, or writing a script for a film.

2. Paris - Michael Katherine Jackson. Michael's only daughter, born April 3, 1998. The girl spent the early years of her life with her father.

Paris began to acquire her education, along with her older brother Prince, at the Buckley School.

Since 2011, the young girl has been actively working on her career in Hollywood. The first significant victory was the approval of leading role in the novel-adventure Landon Bridge and Three Keys. A feature of this film adaptation is a special idea of ​​​​combining animation and cinema. It is noteworthy that our heroine became the only "live" actress - all the other participants in the picture are drawn.

Another significant achievement of Paris is getting into the list of "The most beautiful people in the world", published in People magazine in 2012. In 2013, the girl quits science, thereby devoting herself entirely to her acting career.

In early June 2013, the world was shocked by the news of the suicide attempt of Michael Jackson's daughter. Paris swallowed pills and cut her wrist with a kitchen knife. Fortunately, she was saved.

She married soccer player Chester Castello in 2015. Today, the girl is engaged in active acting and modeling activities, often appears at social events.

3. The third, and accordingly, the youngest heir to the pop king, is born from a surrogate mother on February 21, 2002, Prince Michael Jackson II.

As noted by people close to the family, as well as teachers, the youngest of the Jacksons has a completely different character than his older brother and sister. Close relatives claim that Prince II: "a very sweet and calm boy, always ready to help."

It is impossible not to note the amazing resemblance of the boy to his father. Most recently, the youngest of the Jacksons decided to change his name, as he considers increased interest in his person. Now the guy is named Bigi Jackson.

Unlike his brother and sister, the boy leads a more domestic lifestyle, and devotes a lot of time to his education. Perhaps very soon Prince II will achieve even greater heights than his father, but already in the scientific field.

Michael Jackson is a legendary American musician, the most successful pop music performer in world history, dancer, actor, songwriter. 1 billion copies of Jackson's records have been sold worldwide, including albums, singles and compilations. The musician got into the Guinness Book of Records 25 times and received only 15 Grammy awards, and hundreds of other musical awards.

Michael Jackson became a pop idol during his lifetime. The singer is called by fans the king of this genre, and in 2009 he received the official title of Legend of America and Music Icon.

Childhood and youth

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in the family of Joseph and Katherine Jackson, in the American town of Gary (Indiana). The sign of the zodiac is Virgo. The boy became the seventh child of nine. The childhood of the future star cannot be called happy. Later, Jackson repeatedly mentioned that his father was a real tyrant, oppressing children morally and physically. The singer spoke about some of the atrocities of the head of the family on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1993.

Once, in the middle of the night, the father, wearing a terrible mask and uttering piercing cries, climbed into the window to the sleeping Michael. So he wanted to teach children to close windows before going to bed. After this incident, the child was tormented by nightmares about being kidnapped from his own bedroom. In 2003, Joseph Jackson himself admitted that he had actually assaulted children.

Cruel upbringing played a cruel joke with Michael, on the one hand, accustomed to iron discipline, which had a positive effect on his achievements, and on the other hand, crippled his psyche for life.

Nevertheless, it was his father who brought Michael to the stage: Joseph united his five offspring in the musical group The Jackson 5. Michael was the youngest member of the group, but this did not stop him from attracting attention even then. He had a unique style of performance and unusual choreography.

From 1966 to 1968, the team toured extensively in the Midwest, and in 1969 they signed a contract with the recording studio Motown Records. It was with this company that the artists released their hits, which became popular in subsequent years.

In 1970, the musical family managed to reach the national level - their first few singles were marked on the top line of the American Billboard Hot 100 chart. Since 1973, the band's success began to fade, and the ensemble had to sign a contract with another company, calling itself The Jacksons. Until 1984, the group released 6 more albums and traveled around the country with them.

Music

Simultaneously with work in the family band The Jacksons, Michael Jackson released four solo albums and several singles that gained popularity. This is Got to BeThere, and Rockin "Robin, and a composition called Ben, which topped the charts in 1972.

In 1987, the singer starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway production of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. During filming, he met Quincy Jones. It was this music director who later became the producer of the star's most famous albums. The first of these was Off the Wall (1979).

The album introduced Michael Jackson to the world as a bright, original young performer and dancer. Then hits Don't Stop "Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You" soared to the top of the charts. The album was sold in 20 million copies.

Michael Jackson - Don't Stop "Til You Get Enough"

Then in November 1982, Thriller was released, which went down in history as the best-selling album in the world and gave America and everyone else such immortal singles as The GirlIs Mine, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin "Somethin", Human Nature, P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) and Thriller. This album stayed at the top of the charts for a record 37 weeks and brought Michael Jackson eight Grammy Awards.

In 1983, the musician released the track Billie Jean. Almost immediately, Michael Jackson shoots a music video for this song, in which he combines dancing, special effects, a complex plot and star cameos.

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

The singer is trying to get on MTV, but to no avail. Music critics of this period acknowledge that such a rejection of Michael Jackson's work was most likely due to racial stereotypes, but MTV staff denied any manifestation of racism. However, "Billie Jean" became the first video by an African-American artist to get into hot rotation on the channel.

By the spring of 1983, under pressure from CBS Records, the channel gives up and launches the clip "Billie Jean" on the air. Then the video for the song Beat It appears on the screens, and a long-term cooperation is established between the musician and the channel.

Shot from Michael Jackson's video for the song "Thriller"

The video for the song Thriller hit the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful music video. According to critics, the 13-minute "Thriller" is more of a full-fledged short film than a video sequence for the song. Until the moment when the composition begins to sound in the clip, 4 minutes of the plot pass, in which Jackson manages to reincarnate as a werewolf. Against the background of Michael's song, a voice-over is heard, typical for classic horror films, and the action in the video unfolds according to the canons of thrillers, ending with the legendary dance of the performer surrounded by zombies.

These music videos, which were more like short films, became a unique feature of Jackson. And for other artists, by doing so, Michael raised the bar high.

Michael Jackson moonwalk

The idol of millions first demonstrated the famous “moonwalk” on March 25, 1983 on the show Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, while performing the song Billie Jean. In addition to completely new choreography, Michael brought synchronized dance performance to live concerts, ushering in the era of variety performances, during which performers recreate music videos on stage. Now it seems ordinary to the viewer, but then it made a splash, if not a revolution.

In 1984, the pop singer, along with the song Say, Say, Say, became an instant hit.

Michael Jackson - Say Say Say

But not all clips were successful with critics and the public. In 1987, an 18-minute video for the song Bad was released, it was directed by. The budget for the video was $2.2 million. An unknown actor also took part in the film at that time. The shortened 4-minute version got into rotation. Time magazine called the song's music video "shameful", all because of Jackson's overly sexy and provocative movements. And here he meant his trademark touch of the crotch.

Subsequently, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the musician admitted that these movements came out involuntarily, the music required such emancipation.

Michael Jackson - Bad

In 1988, the musician presented his new work Smooth Criminal to the audience. It was here that Jackson first performed a move known as the "anti-gravity tilt". A complex element required the musician to lean forward almost to the floor, and then straighten up without bending his legs. Special boots were developed for this choreographic trick, for which Jackson received US patent No. 5255452.

In the same year, a film dedicated to another famous choreographic movement of Jackson - "Moonwalk" was released. The picture earned $ 67 million at the box office, a year later the tape was released on video cassettes, 800 thousand copies were sold.

In 1990, Michael Jackson received the "MTV Artist of the Decade" Video Vanguard Award for his achievements in the 80s, and already in 1991 this award was renamed in honor of the musician. At the end of the same year, a controversial video for the song Black or White was presented. The clip was watched by 500 million people, which was a record at that time. The composition called for racial tolerance and non-violence.

The video features people of different nationalities. Also, Peggy Lipton and George Wendt took part in its creation. But in full version The video contained scandalous elements, which the public regarded as a call to violence. The musician apologized and was forced to edit the video.

Michael Jackson - Black Or White

In 2001, the album In vincible was presented, and in 2003, a collection of songs, Number Ones, appeared. A long break in the recording of new albums provoked a conflict between Jackson and the record label. Sony did not want to continue to finance the protracted process.

In 2004, the singer released a collection of songs Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection, consisting of 5 discs. It includes recognized hits of the musician and unreleased compositions for the entire 30-year creative biography Michael Jackson.

King of Pop Michael Jackson

In 2009, the king of pop intended to release a new disc, but, unfortunately, did not have time to do so. Also this summer, the musician planned a concert tour This Is It Tour. Initially, it was about ten concerts, but the demand for tickets turned out to be so high that the organizers provided for an additional 40 performances.

In addition to music and dancing, Michael Jackson was fascinated by cinema. During his life, he managed to star in more than 20 films. The musician made his debut in cinema at the age of 20, it was the fantastic tape "Wiz" by Sidney Lumet. Then he starred in short films, for example, "Captain Io".

Michael Jackson in "Men in Black 2"

The king of pop also played in the films Men in Black 2, Moonwalk, and Ghosts. His latest work became a role in the film "That's it", the film was filmed in 2009.

Operations

With the advent of popularity, the singer had considerable cash, a decent part of which he immediately began to spend on changing his appearance. Since the mid-80s, the appearance of Michael Jackson began to change dramatically: the skin became lighter every year, the shape of the nose, lips, chin and cheekbones changed. Soon it became impossible to recognize in the artist that dark-skinned boy with a wide nose and full lips, which he was in childhood.

There were rumors that the king of pop was trying to get rid of the appearance characteristic of African Americans and become white. Journalists assumed that the musician was influenced by racism towards Michael at the beginning of his career: the studios and TV channels did not want to cooperate with the black singer.

Jackson himself denied rumors about a special change in skin color, explaining the fact of her lightening by a violation of pigmentation. According to the musician, stress has become a catalyst for the progressive genetic disease vitiligo. Evidence of Michael's words was a photo with uneven pigmentation.

At performances, the musician covered up areas of skin with missing pigment with dark make-up, but soon he had to switch to a light shade, as there were fewer and fewer dark areas. The disease also forced the singer to protect himself from the sun, wear closed clothes and hide under an umbrella, hide his face under a hat and dark glasses.

Michael Jackson confirms only 3 plastic surgeries

The artist called the situation with facial plastic surgery a necessity associated with severe head burns that were received during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. The singer officially confirmed only three plastic surgeries, before and after which Jackson's appearance changed so dramatically: two nose jobs and an operation that created a dimple on the artist's chin. Michael Jackson explained the rest of the appearance changes with age and the transition to a vegetarian diet.

According to doctors, the musician underwent surgery that made his lips thinner, his forehead higher, and changed the shape of his cheeks and eyelids. In the early 2000s, Michael Jackson began to appear in a medical mask. Rumors spread that the singer's nose was collapsing, and allegedly he underwent emergency surgery to restore it. Moreover, he soon appeared in public with a band-aid. But the musician denied the information about the surgical intervention, explaining the presence of the patch with allergies.

Later plastic surgeon Arnold Klein admitted to reporters that he performed a second operation on Jackson's nose to restore the singer's ability to breathe.

Scandals

The life of Michael Jackson caused no less excitement than his work. Every step of the star artist was covered in the media. And there were a lot of scandals in the life of the pop king.

In 2002, Michael Jackson carried his newly born son to the balcony of a hotel room in Berlin and, throwing the child over the railing, waved him in front of fans. Everything happened at a height of four floors, and the danger was obvious. After the photo of the “caring father” went around the world, Jackson gave a speech in which he admitted his behavior was a terrible mistake.

Scandalous video with son

But there was in his life a scandal more serious than an irresponsible attitude towards his son. The musician was accused of molesting minors. Perhaps this is what ultimately put an end to his musical career and health.

Back in 1993, the singer was charged with sexual acts against 13-year-old Jordan Chandler, who was friends with the musician and often spent time at his Neverland ranch. According to the boy's father, Michael Jackson forced his son to touch his genitals.

The police conducted an investigation, during which they even demanded that the musician show his genitals for comparison with the testimony of a teenager. But the matter did not reach the court, the parties entered into an amicable agreement. Then the situation was resolved by paying the Chandler family $ 22 million.

Ten years later, in 2003, Michael was charged with the same. This time, the relatives of 13-year-old Neverland regular Gavin Arvizo made claims. The parents claimed that the boy, along with other children, slept in the same room with Jackson, who drugged the children with alcohol and then felt them.

Michael Jackson Ranch "Neverland"

The singer himself denied the accusations, arguing that the Arvizo family was simply extorting money. The trial lasted four months and caused a massive stir in the media. 2,200 publishing houses and TV channels accredited correspondents to cover the details of the scandalous case. In 2005, a jury acquitted him for lack of evidence.

Despite the victory in court, the services of lawyers devastated the bank accounts of the pop king, and the trial itself greatly undermined the health of the idol of millions. Michael Jackson was forced to take strong antidepressants. After the death of the singer, Jordan Chandler admitted that his father forced him to slander the artist for the sake of money, who then committed suicide.

Personal life

In 1994, Michael Jackson again surprised the whole world by secretly tying the knot with his daughter.

The event became a sensation, in which some saw a calculation to save the singer's reputation, others saw it as a touching merger of two of the most famous families in the world of music. Be that as it may, the marriage lasted only a year and a half.

In November 1996, after breaking off relations with his first wife, Jackson registered a marriage with Debbie Rowe, who once worked as a nurse. From this woman, the singer left two children. Son Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. was born in 1997, and a year later, the wife gave the pop king a daughter. The union of Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe lasted until 1999.

Michael Jackson's children with singer's sister Janet Jackson

In 2002, the third child of the artist, Prince Michael II, was born from a surrogate mother.

In 2012, information appeared on the Web that Michael Jackson had an affair with the singer. This was announced by David Guest, an American producer and a mutual friend of Whitney and Michael. According to him, the woman was truly in love with Jackson and wanted to marry him. But he was too humble to propose to her.

It is known that only daughter Michaela became an actress. She starred in the series "Star" and the feature film "Dangerous Business". His son Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. works in television, though behind the scenes. He is a producer and director. The youngest son is still in school. Fans believe that he is more like his father than anyone else. He has dark skin, long black hair, Brown eyes. Many hope that he will follow in his father's footsteps and become a musician.

Death

Biographers of Michael Jackson claim that long before his death, the musician experienced physical ailments, suffered from lack of weight and depended on painkillers. Their words are confirmed by doctors, to whom the musician turned for medicines. Jackson's surgeon Arnold Klein confirmed that the pop musician abused prescription drugs, but at the same time noted that Michael was in good physical and psychological condition, danced for the doctor's patients and did not look dying.

On the morning of June 25, 2009, the singer was in a rented house in the west of Los Angeles. personal doctor artist Conrad Murray gave him an injection of propofol and left. Two hours later, he found Michael Jackson on the bed with his eyes and mouth wide open and tried to resuscitate him, but the attempts were unsuccessful. At 12:21 am ambulances were called.

Medics arrived in less than 4 minutes and found the lifeless body of the king of pop. Doctors, without losing hope, continued resuscitation for several hours, but they failed to bring the idol of millions back to life. The pop star died at 14:26 local time, the cause of death was an overdose medicines.

The media talked about the suicide of a celebrity, about the deliberate murder at the hands of ill-wishers, and about the tragic negligence of a doctor. The investigation confirmed the latter option. Jackson's doctor was later revoked from his license to practice medicine and found guilty of manslaughter, for which he went to prison for 4 years.

On June 25, a number of musicians recorded the song Better on the Other Side in memory of Michael Jackson. The song was covered by The Game, Diddy, DJ Khalil, Mario Winens, Polow da Don, Usher and Boyz II Men.

On July 7, 2009, a farewell ceremony was held in Los Angeles, beginning with a family service at Liberty Hall at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, followed by a live broadcast on live farewell to the audience at the Staples Center. The news of Michael Jackson's death broke online records and overloaded search engine traffic, creating internet traffic jams.

Michael Jackson's funeral is shrouded in mystery. The location of the body was kept secret. Rumors leaked to the Internet that the pop star was buried on August 8 or 9, then the media reported that the funeral took place at the end of August. Soon, the news was published on the Web that the ceremony would take place only in September. Michael finally found peace on September 3 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in suburban Los Angeles.

These secrets around the burial gave rise to the rumor that Michael Jackson is alive and simulated his own death and funeral in order to end the life of a star under the cameras and live quietly away from the hustle and bustle, the media and the paparazzi. Proponents of this theory cite hundreds of proofs.

Fans are confused by the situation with the funeral. Jackson was buried in a closed coffin, the date of the funeral was postponed several times, and transported to the crypt. Forest Lawn Cemetery is listed in the documents as a place of temporary burial, and where the singer's body is now is not known for certain.

Reliable details established by the investigation were also not made public, the police did not give intelligible comments on the investigation. The cameras from Jackson's house are gone. There are inaccuracies in the autopsy report. Interesting fact that the musician's family refused to do a DNA test.

Fans also noted that reports of the singer's death had already been released a couple of times during his lifetime, but Michael denied them. The events after the death of the musician also look mysterious: Jackson's personal belongings were bought by an anonymous collector at a closed auction, and an unknown friend of Michael manages the late artist's finances. In addition, fans claim that they have seen their favorite singer more than once in England, Mexico, Bahrain and other countries.

Is Michael Jackson alive?

Some believe that the death was beneficial to Jackson. It's no secret to anyone that last years the pop idol was broke. His debts ran into the millions of dollars. Just to correct his deplorable financial situation, he agreed to 50 concerts of the farewell tour.

Already at that time, tickets worth about $85 million had been sold. The amount is colossal, only doctors believe that holding such a large-scale event for the singer practically meant suicide, since even then he did not differ in iron health.

The news of the death of Michael Jackson provoked an unprecedented demand for his albums. Thriller topped the iTunes charts. CD sales soared 721 times, making the king of pop top the list of richest dead stars.

Michael Jackson - Thriller

One way or another, after the death of the artist, his musical biography didn't end. Sony has signed a contract with the Jackson family for the release of 10 of his albums. They will include previously unreleased songs, as well as reissues of old records of the King of Pop. True, fans and music critics ambiguously perceived this idea.

In 2010, Michael Jackson's first posthumous album, called Michael, was released. The album received mixed reviews, but fans admitted that the album turned out to be even better than they expected. Together with the disc, a number of singles and clips for the songs included in the album were released.

michael jackson

A year later, the Immortal remix album was released, which included 15 recognized hits of the musician. Some of his compositions became the soundtracks of the production of Cirque du Soleil by Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour. The show consisted of the usual acrobatic numbers and dancing in the style of Michael Jackson. Choreographers who collaborated with the singer during his lifetime worked on the program of the show.

In May 2014, the second full-fledged posthumous album of the King of Pop Xscape was presented, containing 8 tracks. On May 18, the musician even performed live at the Billboard ceremony. A Pepper's Ghost holographic image of Jackson appeared on stage and "performed" the song Slave To The Rhythm.

Michael Jackson has and now popular "Instagram". By the way, the page is verified. But still, it would be more correct to consider this page as a fan page, since the singer died before the creation of a social network. It is known that his Instagram is run by a large American advertising agency, which was hired by representatives of the Michael Jackson legacy company.

Discography

• 1972 - Got to Be There
• 1972-Ben
• 1973 - Music & Me
• 1975 - Forever, Michael
• 1979 – Off the Wall
• 1982 - Thriller
• 1987 - Bad
• 1991 -Dangerous
• 1995 - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
• 2001 - Invincible
• 2010 – Michael
• 2011 - Immortal
• 2014 – Xscape

Filmography

• 1978 - Wiz
• 1983 - "Thriller"
• 1988 - "Moonwalk"
• 1988 - "Smart Criminal"
• 2002 - "Men in Black 2"
• 2009 - "That's it"

The children of King of Pop Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, 18-year-old Prince Michael and 17-year-old Paris, are already quite adults.

Life goes on - Prince Michael Jackson with Aunt LaToya at his high school graduation, his sister Paris with her boyfriend at a theatrical premiere.

The eldest of the sons of Jackson Prince Michael celebrated the end high school along with his family - sister Paris, aunt LaToya, as well as grandmother Katherine, cousin TJ, who is also the official guardian of the Jackson children, and other family members came to congratulate him. “Prince, you have grown into an incredibly special young man,” TJ wrote in social networks Words cannot express all the pride I feel for you. I will always support you wherever life takes you. I love you!". Aunt LaToya Jackson also wrote how she loves and is proud of her nephew.

The other day, another member of the Jackson family, 17-year-old Paris, made her first public appearance with her 18-year-old boyfriend Chester Castello. Teenagers in love went to the premiere of the play " spring awakening” in Los Angeles, and before the start of the performance, they posed for photographers in an embrace.

In November 1996, after a divorce from Lisa Marie Presley, Michael Jackson married Debbie Rowe (a former nurse), with whom he has two children: a son, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Sr., who was born on February 13, 1997, and daughter - Paris Michael Katherine Jackson (Paris Michael Katherine Jackson) was born April 3, 1998. Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson divorced in 1999. The second son - Prince Michael Jackson II (Prince Michael Jackson II) aka Blanket, was born on February 21, 2002 from a surrogate mother, whose identity is unknown.