The king of pop is dead
Michael Jackson, 1958-2009.
The life of Michael Jackson, so often in the public eye, so picked at by the world's press, is over. In the hours after he died, the speculation has already begun about whether his heart problem was known, or treatable, or exacerbated by his preparations for the his upcoming performances. But what will he be remembered for? His music, or his life?
In the coming days every aspect of his life will be combed over again, from the childhood star to becoming one of the leaders of the MTV video revolution, making his promotional videos for his songs into miniature films and events in and of themselves. He wrote We Are The World, for goodness sakes. It might not be a very good song, but it was a good thing - he was, for a long while, the biggest star in the world.
Like many people growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, Thriller was the first music video I ever remember watching, from behind a sofa – literally – so scared that I dreamt of his zombie horde for nights afterwards. He was the pop star of pop stars, the person wannabes, well, wanted to be. His were the songs that kids knew all the words to, and his dance routines the ones they faithfully tried to copy - often leading to an unsightly mess of juvenile crotch-grabbing and spinning on the spot.
And later on, the press had turned on his eccentricities, his apparent oxygen-tent sleeping, questions over the gradual lightening of his skin and changing of his facial features until, by the mid-1990s appearances, he looked less like the boy that became famous and more like a young Elizabeth Taylor.
The bizarre stories kept coming, in volume more frequent and shouting far louder than the music he continued to release. The marriage to Lisa Marie Presley, the three children born of surrogates, the baby-dangling from high-up Berlin hotel windows. The songs may still have been strong and soulful, but the man visibly became weaker, ever more reclusive and swaddled from the public gaze.
And then, of course, there was the extremely famous court case in 2005, charged with seven felony counts of child abuse and three of administering an intoxicant to an underage person. He was found innocent of the charges, but the case polarised people in their opinion of him.
Whatever he was, and despite all his troubles he remained popular, the King of Pop for millions of people. He was a complex being, seeking fame and shunning it, he is unarguably, an icon. Michael Jackson fans are fervent and fiercely defensive of their hero – they took the fan out of fanatic and really decided to run with it. As I write this there are shots of people in Los Angeles, running toward the hospital where he died, in their thousands, to mourn – and to say they were there at the end.
Michael Jackson is dead
Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead today after paramedics found him in a coma at his Bel-Air mansion, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told The Times that paramedics responded to a 911 call from the home. When they arrived, Jackson was not breathing.
The paramedics performed CPR and took Jackson to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda said. Hundreds of reporters gathered at the hospital awaiting word on his condition. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said family members rushed to Jackson’s bedside, where he was in a deep coma.
The circumstances of Jackson’s death remain unclear. Law enforcement sources said that Los Angeles Police Department robbery-homicide detectives have opened an investigation into the death, though they stressed that there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
The detectives plan to interview relatives, friends and Jackson’s doctors to try to figure out what happened. The L.A. County coroner’s office will determine a cause of death. A Los Angeles Fire Department source told The Times that Jackson was in full cardiac arrest when rescue units arrived.
A doctor was in the house performing CPR on Jackson, said the source who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Paramedics were called to a home in the 100 block of Carolwood Drive off Sunset Boulevard.
Jackson rented the Bel-Air home — described as a French chateau built in 2002 with seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and a theater — for $100,000 a month. The home is about a six-minute drive from UCLA Medical Center. Jackson has three children — sons Prince Michael 7, and Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 12, and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11.
Jackson, 50, died as he was attempting a comeback after years of tabloid headlines, most notably his trial and acquittal on child molestation charges.
In May, The Times reported that Jackson had rented the Bel-Air residence and was rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London's O2 Arena. Jackson had won the backing of two billionaires to get the so-called "King of Pop" back on stage.
His backers envisioned the shows at AEG's O2 as an audition for a career rebirth that could have ultimately encompassed a three-year world tour, a new album, movies, a Graceland-like museum, musical revues in Las Vegas and Macau, and even a "Thriller" casino. Such a rebound could have wiped out Jackson's massive debt.
SOURCE: L.A. Times
Chris Brown charged with making criminal threats
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Chris Brown was arrested and charged with making criminal threats on Sunday for an early morning attack on an unidentified woman widely thought to be his girlfriend, pop star Rihanna.
Los Angeles police would not confirm the name of the victim, but both Brown and Rihanna missed their performances at Sunday's Grammy Awards, and several media outlets speculated that Rihanna was the unidentified woman.
Brown, 19, was scheduled to perform his love song "Forever" at the music awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, and Rihanna was set to sing her hit single "Disturbia."
Neither Rihanna, who was nominated in three categories, nor Brown, who was nominated twice, walked the red carpet, and they were not in attendance for the awards ceremony. Their representatives could not be reached for comment.
As the show was getting underway, Brown turned himself in for questioning by police. Later, he was booked on a charge of making criminal threats and released on 50,000 bail, according to a Los Angeles Police Department statement.
Brown was being investigated for alleged domestic violence felony battery, and additional charges could be filed after officials review the case, the LAPD said in its statement.
Rihanna canceled her performance shortly before the Grammys started, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences said.
"We have just been informed that Rihanna will not be attending tonight's 51st Annual Grammy Awards. We're sorry she is unable to join us," the academy said. There was no further explanation for her absence.
Soul legend Al Green performed alongside pop star Justin Timberlake in Rihanna's place.
Grammy officials made no mention of Brown's performance but he did not appear on stage as scheduled.
Police said Brown got into an argument with an unidentified woman while sitting in a parked car in the city's Hancock Park neighborhood at around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.
"After stopping his car, Brown and the woman got out and the argument escalated," the police said. "The woman suffered visible injuries and identified Brown as her attacker."
Police received a 911 call reporting the disturbance and according to the statement, when officers arrived they found the victim, but Brown had already left the scene.
Brown, who broke onto the Billboard charts at the age of 16 with his hit single "Run It" and sold 2 million copies of his self-titled debut album, also scored a pair of hits on his sophomore effort, "Exclusive," in 2007.
Barbados-born Rihanna also released her debut album in 2005 and had a number one hit single with "SOS" less than a year later. She followed with three more number ones: "Umbrella," "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia."
She won a 2007 Grammy Award for her single "Umbrella," a collaboration with the rapper Jay-Z.
(Additional Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Sandra Maler)