I Just Can't Stop Loving Michael Jackson

If anyone asked me who my first love was, I would definitely say, without hesitating, Michael Jackson. I think I was just 6 or 7 years old when I first saw him, and it was truly love at first sight. It was the year 1985 and the unforgettable Grammy Album was launched, which featured Billie Jean & Beat It, Flashdance, Telephone, Sweet Dreams, among others. It remains for me, till this day, the best Grammy album ever! Anyway that started my total, all-consuming obsession with Michael which would last till this very day. I still have a scrap book filled with pictures of him since his Jackson 5 days; and I recall my first ‘introduction’ to this bitch called depression in 1994….the year he got married. Like many females out there, I of course dreamed of being the ‘one’ in his life. I tell you I cried for a week! And later in 1996 when he came to Malaysia, I was soo soo hoping to be the one pulled onto the stage cos I wanted him to give me my first kiss. Unfortunately they pulled up this stupid girl who didn’t even have the cow-sense to plant one on him.

Anyway a few months ago I purchased the Bad album (again) but this time it was a Special Revised Edition which features an extra song entitled Streetwalker which is like absolutely excellent, and the Spanish version of I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, which is unfortunately quite painful to listen to. But the album gets 100% from me….once I pop it into the CD player, it stays in for weeks.

This album is a testament to what a total genius he is. From his little nuances and beat-boxing on Speed Demon (even the video as seen in Moonwalker was cool); to the breathy and sensual Liberian Girl; the haunting melody of Man in the Mirror; to I Just Can’t Stop Loving You which to me is one of the best love duets ever; the funky keyboard riff at the beginning of Leave Me Alone; and of course the incomparable Smooth Criminal. Genius! I also just adore Just Good Friends, his duet with Stevie Wonder.

And the videos!! We girls still swoon over him in The Way You Make Me Feel, where he looked so so so the yummy!! And of course the choreography in Smooth Criminal totally kicks ass! Although Bad failed to outsell its predecessor (which album hasn’t?!) and only managed 20 million copies, it has the distinction of being the first album ever to have 5 #1s on it!

And then we come to its predecessor….the biggest selling album of all time…Thriller. 45 million worldwide sales and 8 Grammy awards!! This album alone should shut your foul mouths about his personal life. This is another album that I find hard to remove from my

player. My one and only gripe with this album……too short!!!!! But I love every single song on this album….Michael at his total best! Beat it, with the awesome guitar solo by Van Halen, set the standard for dance videos everywhere with its overly cool and flawless choreography. I still get goose bumps just thinking about the video.

And Thriller with Vincent Pryce…again, brilliant! I should think you’d be hard-pressed to find any video with near-perfect dance moves with such a raw edginess to it. I mean the dancing was totally flawless. Did you notice how they all jumped up and landed at exactly the same time! Perfection, man.

And the iconic Billie Jean, which is without a doubt Jackson’s best track ever! His first performance on stage at the Motown 25th Anniversay Special, with that glove and moonwalking spawned a rage that has lasted till this very day. And of course the video…..how many of us used to walk on tiles and pretend it was lighting up?!! Truly the King of music videos!!

I mean you really can’t expect him to be ‘normal’ given his difficult childhood. An abusive father; being forced to give-up his childhood at such a young age to practice for hours; being a huge international star before even reaching puberty; having your older brothers have sex with countless numbers of groupies in his bed right next to him! That would royally fuck-up anybody. No matter what people say about him, no matter the drama…you have to admit that he is a bloody genius.

He has single-handedly influenced generations of artists such as Missy, Usher, Destiny’s Child, Justin Timberlake, Mya….the list is endless. He is soo the man….so the single man….mmmmmmmmmm

*All pictures from Google Images