First, it will be difficult to find a bigger Michael Jackson fan than myself. I was fortunate to see him perform live twice: once in Toronto for 1984's "Victory" tour, and then the "History" tour in 1996 in Auckland, New Zealand. I remember both concerts like they were yesterday, but I must say I enjoyed the "History" concert much more than the "Victory" show. I remember thinking: why is Michael dragging along his brothers on this tour? They seemed to be in the way, and I don't mean to sound mean, but the show would have been better with out them. The most awkward moment of the show was when Jermaine performed his solo "Dynamite" - he seemed out of place, and clearly, the audience was not interested - you could almost feel the sense of "Okay, finish your song, then get Michael back on stage....that is why we are here." Apparently, MJ wasn't keen on the idea of touring with his brothers - he wanted to do something like a "Thriller" tour on his own. But, I think he felt family obligations, plus his mother and father were apparently nagging him to tour with his brothers. I think MJ probably thought "Okay, one last tour, then that is it!"... when the tour ended, the other brother's argued over money and Michael donated all of his profits to charities. Isn't it amazing how the media never reported how generous and humble this man truly was? It is estimated that he gave over 300 million to charities in his lifetime (not to mention the millions he left to many causes in his will). The "Victory" concert was excellent, but I think it would have been far better as a solo "Thriller" tour.
However, although I'm a huge MJ fan - there are aspects to Michael that bothered me. For example, when the whole Chandler fiasco emerged I couldn't believe how naive MJ truly was. It seemed to me that he was far too generous with all the gifts he gave that family, and all this sleeping in the same bed nonsense. Come on Michael - you were a very intelligent man - how come you did not see how vulnerable you were leaving yourself? Any man that sleeps with a child is really asking for trouble - even Oprah Winfrey said very clearly on her show "MIchael, you are wrong, wrong, wrong!" And Oprah was always a supporter of MJ overall. I've always loved her interview with MJ, I think she was totally enraptured by Michael! From the expression on her face it looked like she was in seventh heaven. And you can tell she loved it when MJ danced to the song "Dangerous" (why is it that the beat to that song also reminds me of Fine Young Cannibals "She Drives Me Crazy" - listen to the tracks back to back, I think you will see what I mean.)
One of Michael's biggest mistakes was to agree to the Martin Bashir documentary. Somehow, Michael felt Bashir's interview with Princess Diana (MJ always mistakenly referred to her as "Lady Di") did her a great deal of benefit to her public image. However, I have no idea where Michael came up with this idea. First, the Queen was so furious with the secret interview that she phoned Charles right afterwards and almost yelled into the phone : "GET A DIVORCE!". Also, the British press were not entirely kind - they felt that Princess Diana appeared rehearsed and coy, so I've always been baffled why MJ thought Bashir could turn his public image around, when he failed to do so for Princess Diana.
Bashir's documentary with Michael was an obvious disaster. Michael was horrified when he saw the final cut and felt like Bashir had stabbed him in the back. But, even in the documentary, you can see that Bashir is manipulating Michael. For example, Bashir encouraged Michael to share his tree climbing with him and I remember thinking "is Bashir "grooming" Michael - he was always pushing further into Michael's private world in a very calculated way - building trust with each step." At the very least why didn't Michael's "handlers" not see that Bashir was up to something? He praised MJ in private as a wonderful father ("seeing you with your children makes me want to cry"), and then presented MJ as an almost unfit father...I remember Bashir's pointed comment that he saw Michael literally forget about his children at the Berlin zoo...and it was left to MJ's handlers to protect the children from the press and crowds...because Michael was so caught up in the attention he was receiving.....Bashir seems to be implying here that Michael was self-absorbed and narcissistic. Then there was the interview with Gavin Arvizo. I just knew when I saw that part that something terrible was going to become of this documentary. Although, I think Michael never laid a finger on a child, it did look awkward and a little creepy with Gavin resting his head on MJ's shoulder....I think it was totally innocent. But, appearances are everything and the public response was very negative. I was actually angry with Michael over this documentary. He made so many obvious bad choices that he really brought this disaster upon himself to some degree.
My annoyance grew when the charges were laid in late 1993. Even Michael's handlers admitted: "He just kept hanging out with kids - we thought he would change after the Chandler mess, but he didn't . We just gave up!" (paraphrasing). I thought MIchael we've been more careful after the drama before, and, as a fan, I was quite frankly growing very bored with the melodrama surrounding Michael. I wanted to hear new music, not read legal dramas in the papers. Most of all I wonder: can you imagine the amazing music Michael would have released from 1993 onwards if he hadn't been distracted by these legal disasters? He once said in 1990 "to my fans: the best is yet to come!" I'm convinced Michael would have released even more incredible music after 1993 without all his legal problems.....It must have been a complete nightmare for him in 1993-94 and 2003-05 - how can you even focus on composing or singing and dancing when you are under such incredible stress?
People close to Michael said he changed dramatically after the 1993 mess - he went from being a loving, carefree soul..... to often paranoid, indecisive with difficulty focusing. Apparently, in the studio it really showed. There is a reason "Invincible" is the most expensive CD of all time - at 30 million much of the cost was because Michael kept changing his mind on the tracklisting.... also, some days he could focus like a laser and get a lot of recoding done and other days it was like he was on Pluto....
Madonna gave a very classy speech about Michael Jackson. Madonna said that she felt "she had abandoned him....the world abandoned him...." I never abandoned MJ, but he did try my patience sometimes....However, I still bought the limited edition "Visionary: Video Singles Collection" a few years back (and I'm glad I did because it is strictly a limited edition - each single has a different number and it is no longer available, I paid 200 Canadian, and I see it selling from 800 upwards in the marketplace)... I really wanted to hear a new MJ album (like the rest of us), but I think Michael Jackson sensed in a part of him that his days were limited. He stated once that the thought of growing old was the ugliest thing in the world. When asked "Well, what does that mean? Would you prefer a death at a younger age?".... Michael responded "I think it's best I do not answer that question" (paraphrasing).... I think Michael' response says a lot...
As Lisa Marie-Presley said of Michael - he either made incredible decisions or awful ones, there was no inbetween...
Incidentally, this is a characteristic of a perfectionist..... clearly Michael was an extreme perfectionist ... it was either wonderful or a disaster with MJ ... it is odd, one of his strongest traits was also his greatest weakness....
http://www.michaeljackson.com/uk/node/607910
However, although I'm a huge MJ fan - there are aspects to Michael that bothered me. For example, when the whole Chandler fiasco emerged I couldn't believe how naive MJ truly was. It seemed to me that he was far too generous with all the gifts he gave that family, and all this sleeping in the same bed nonsense. Come on Michael - you were a very intelligent man - how come you did not see how vulnerable you were leaving yourself? Any man that sleeps with a child is really asking for trouble - even Oprah Winfrey said very clearly on her show "MIchael, you are wrong, wrong, wrong!" And Oprah was always a supporter of MJ overall. I've always loved her interview with MJ, I think she was totally enraptured by Michael! From the expression on her face it looked like she was in seventh heaven. And you can tell she loved it when MJ danced to the song "Dangerous" (why is it that the beat to that song also reminds me of Fine Young Cannibals "She Drives Me Crazy" - listen to the tracks back to back, I think you will see what I mean.)
One of Michael's biggest mistakes was to agree to the Martin Bashir documentary. Somehow, Michael felt Bashir's interview with Princess Diana (MJ always mistakenly referred to her as "Lady Di") did her a great deal of benefit to her public image. However, I have no idea where Michael came up with this idea. First, the Queen was so furious with the secret interview that she phoned Charles right afterwards and almost yelled into the phone : "GET A DIVORCE!". Also, the British press were not entirely kind - they felt that Princess Diana appeared rehearsed and coy, so I've always been baffled why MJ thought Bashir could turn his public image around, when he failed to do so for Princess Diana.
Bashir's documentary with Michael was an obvious disaster. Michael was horrified when he saw the final cut and felt like Bashir had stabbed him in the back. But, even in the documentary, you can see that Bashir is manipulating Michael. For example, Bashir encouraged Michael to share his tree climbing with him and I remember thinking "is Bashir "grooming" Michael - he was always pushing further into Michael's private world in a very calculated way - building trust with each step." At the very least why didn't Michael's "handlers" not see that Bashir was up to something? He praised MJ in private as a wonderful father ("seeing you with your children makes me want to cry"), and then presented MJ as an almost unfit father...I remember Bashir's pointed comment that he saw Michael literally forget about his children at the Berlin zoo...and it was left to MJ's handlers to protect the children from the press and crowds...because Michael was so caught up in the attention he was receiving.....Bashir seems to be implying here that Michael was self-absorbed and narcissistic. Then there was the interview with Gavin Arvizo. I just knew when I saw that part that something terrible was going to become of this documentary. Although, I think Michael never laid a finger on a child, it did look awkward and a little creepy with Gavin resting his head on MJ's shoulder....I think it was totally innocent. But, appearances are everything and the public response was very negative. I was actually angry with Michael over this documentary. He made so many obvious bad choices that he really brought this disaster upon himself to some degree.
My annoyance grew when the charges were laid in late 1993. Even Michael's handlers admitted: "He just kept hanging out with kids - we thought he would change after the Chandler mess, but he didn't . We just gave up!" (paraphrasing). I thought MIchael we've been more careful after the drama before, and, as a fan, I was quite frankly growing very bored with the melodrama surrounding Michael. I wanted to hear new music, not read legal dramas in the papers. Most of all I wonder: can you imagine the amazing music Michael would have released from 1993 onwards if he hadn't been distracted by these legal disasters? He once said in 1990 "to my fans: the best is yet to come!" I'm convinced Michael would have released even more incredible music after 1993 without all his legal problems.....It must have been a complete nightmare for him in 1993-94 and 2003-05 - how can you even focus on composing or singing and dancing when you are under such incredible stress?
People close to Michael said he changed dramatically after the 1993 mess - he went from being a loving, carefree soul..... to often paranoid, indecisive with difficulty focusing. Apparently, in the studio it really showed. There is a reason "Invincible" is the most expensive CD of all time - at 30 million much of the cost was because Michael kept changing his mind on the tracklisting.... also, some days he could focus like a laser and get a lot of recoding done and other days it was like he was on Pluto....
Madonna gave a very classy speech about Michael Jackson. Madonna said that she felt "she had abandoned him....the world abandoned him...." I never abandoned MJ, but he did try my patience sometimes....However, I still bought the limited edition "Visionary: Video Singles Collection" a few years back (and I'm glad I did because it is strictly a limited edition - each single has a different number and it is no longer available, I paid 200 Canadian, and I see it selling from 800 upwards in the marketplace)... I really wanted to hear a new MJ album (like the rest of us), but I think Michael Jackson sensed in a part of him that his days were limited. He stated once that the thought of growing old was the ugliest thing in the world. When asked "Well, what does that mean? Would you prefer a death at a younger age?".... Michael responded "I think it's best I do not answer that question" (paraphrasing).... I think Michael' response says a lot...
As Lisa Marie-Presley said of Michael - he either made incredible decisions or awful ones, there was no inbetween...
Incidentally, this is a characteristic of a perfectionist..... clearly Michael was an extreme perfectionist ... it was either wonderful or a disaster with MJ ... it is odd, one of his strongest traits was also his greatest weakness....
http://www.michaeljackson.com/uk/node/607910
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