Rest in Peace Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson reportedly collapsed at a home he was renting in west Los Angeles. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a 911 call at 12:21 pm local (Pacific) time and arrived at 12:30 pm. Jackson was reportedly not breathing and CPR was quickly performed.  He fell into a coma and died shortly after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center.  The cause of death is reported to be cardiac arrest.  Jackson was pronounced dead at about 2:26 pm local time.

A Life of Achievement

In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as “Beat It”, “Billie Jean” and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as “Black or White” and “Scream” made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.

One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time”—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world’s most famous men, Jackson’s highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades.

Prior to his death, Jackson had been scheduled to perform 50 sold-out concerts to over one million people, at London’s O2 arena, from July 13, 2009 to March 6, 2010. During a publicity press conference, Jackson made suggestions of possible retirement.  Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, had stated that the first 10 dates alone would have earned the singer approximately £50 million.

-Wikipedia

For all Michael Jackson’s fans out there, it is a sad day. Let us pray for his family at this time of mourning.

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