Michael Jackson is my hero.

Let's have a little backstory before we start, shall we?

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. This little girl would never sit still and create a riot for her parents. She would steal things from the kitchen and pretend she was a mini-Kyle Peek. She wanted to be a drummer, you see. Her parents, not wanting any more shenanigans from her, decided to tape random music videos, sit her in the cot and let her watch all these music videos. The 80s was a great year for music. She grew up to Duran Duran, Prince, Lionel Richie, Cutting Crew, Europe, New Kids on the Block, Johnny Hates Jazz, Fleetwood Mac, A-Ha and so much more.

One name that stuck out for her during the times she watched these videos when she was young was Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.

This man played a huge part in her life. She would watch his videos and tried to dance like him but failed. She was born with two left feet. She would sing along to his songs. She had all his albums. When she was 5, she used to pretend she was in a band with her brother and two older nephews. One of them would do the moonwalk, and they'd all sing even if they didn't know the words.

Her best friend of 18 years and her would sing 'Bad' because that's what they wanted to be.

One of her favourite uncles called her 'Dangerous' because of two things:
01. She was a cheeky little thing who'd go around wreaking a mini-havoc.
02. It was her favourite Michael Jackson song.

Said favourite uncle passed away somewhere in late June of 2002. She misses him because of the fact that he gave that nickname for her. No one else.

When Michael Jackson came here in 1996, she was only 9 and couldn't afford to go see him. She was obviously sad, but she made a promise that she would go the next time he comes here. It'll be worth every penny, she said.

She would still listen to the songs and dance along, even if she still cannot dance properly.

When one of her favourite people covered a song of his on American Idol last year, all she thought of was "OMG WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THIS SONG? PLEASE DO NOT BUTCHER THIS CLASSIC SONG". Obviously, he didn't because it was a hit and it left her with goosebumps. You need not know who this person is.

Someone once said that people who covered any Michael Jackson songs DID NOT like the original version to the point they needed to change it up because it is horrible to the ears. To this girl, it is nonsense and an insult to not only Michael Jackson, but also his fans. Anyone who covers his music obviously loves it and they're just trying to be innovative and inject their own vibe into the song so that they would not be deemed as being 'copycats'. Have you seen the remake versions of 'Billie Jean' or even 'Beat It'? Do they NOT sound amazing? Had there been no Michael Jackson, these covers would cease to exist and YOU would be listening to nothing.

Most people she knows now think that "YERR...YOU LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?". She would call them 'stupid' and 'ignorant', but she was taught better than that. One man's meat is another man's poison, no?

To her, she doesn't need to know the person's backstory to like him or the music he makes. As long as he puts out great records and amazing songs, that's all that mattered. To borrow a line from a song: Music is believing, the more you close your eyes the more you hear.

This morning, she went to bed at 4AM after learning that Farrah Fawcett lost the battle against cancer. She woke up two hours later and heard that her childhood idol had died. Not a pretty way to start the morning.

She cried and cried.

You may see it as ridiculous because she is not close to Michael Jackson.

But you forgot something.

Remember her backstory? This is how her love for music grew stronger. She loves music so much that she would rather lose the sense of taste and smell than lose the sense of sight and hearing. Music is an integral part of her life, especially his. She felt that a part of her childhood has died too. He helped shape the person this girl grew up to be.

That little girl eventually grew up to become this person typing this note.

Rest in peace, Michael Jackson. You are a legend in my eyes forever and many more people will grow and learn to appreciate your music. Thank you for being a great part of my childhood.


In his honour, let's revisit these classics.
Earth Song.
This songs always makes me tear up. He puts this song out about wars, lands being destroyed by people who cannot care less about the environment, slaughtering of animals and so much more for us to see and stop condoning such acts. Has it stopped? Have we changed? Are you listening?

Thriller.
One of my all-time favourites. YOU CAN NEVER NOT LOVE THIS SONG.

Dangerous.
For my late favourite uncle.


**Wrote this originally at 9:45AM in my Facebook note while I was making use of the PCs in the library, but I just got home after a long and crazy day, so I just had the time to post this up here. Oh, by the way, I just got interviewed by a couple of NST reporters about Michael Jackson while I was out with my dad at Rock Corner in Bangsar Village. This thing I have with music is crazy. I talk or do something about a musician I love and the next thing you know, I get interviewed about them, I get to meet them and talk to them. Ryan Star, David Cook and now Michael Jackson. Lucky me, huh?