Topical: Michael Jackson returns, and I’ll be there to witness it.

Michael Jackson- Xcape (Link 2)

Michael Jackson- Pretty Young Thing (Demo) (U-Tern Edit) (Link 2)

I’ve been waiting for this day for a long, long time. I’m a Michael Jackson fan, (pre-meltdown at least) and the chance to see him live has been a long time coming.

There is something about this man, something beyond all the shit that has started to infect his public image, transforming MJ from a super star and world treasure to an absolute joke. He represents quintisential pop music, and yet his fall from grace has been quick and brutal. ‘THIS IS IT’, the billboards proclaim. Yes, it is. This is Michael Jackson’s last chance. No more screw ups. Is it time to become a star again?

An email flew into my inbox yesterday, informing me that I had been succesful in obtaining a code for the pre-sale. You see, I watched the press-conference on the internet, grasping at every word, trying to crack the code. I just didn’t see how I could buy a ticket. Those who doubted his relevance were short-sighted… sure, his influence may not be as large anymore, but Michael can still draw a crowd. Ticketmaster would surely go down, and I would miss this once in a lifetime opportunity.

So I logged into ticketmaster at 7 this morning, to search for some tickets. The insane 16000 hits per second michaeljacksonlive.com had been receiving were a deterrent, but I thought a pre-sale would be fairly exclusive. How wrong I was. An estimated 100000 tickets were up for grabs, and were all gone within an hour. A further 90000 tickets were added and these were also gone before the day was out. I feel sorry for those waiting for Friday morning, when the open sale starts. It will be mayhem.

Working in tandem with a friend, I managed to buy 4 tickets. They were £75 quid each, but are in row J (yes, I’ll be right next to the stage) and are on a later date, 21st September. We only managed to buy these after Michael obviously agreed to further dates.

Behind these UK dates is a much larger business plan. Jackson is currently exploring a £230 million deal with EAG Live, a promotion group. The O2 deal alone is worth £35 million, a figure large enough to cover much of Jackson’s purported £100 million debt. The rest of the figure is to come from the Thriller Live performances, a film, perhaps the new CD (see a demo, ‘Xcape’ above) and more promotional material.

There is much more to this than money, however. Most of the doubts lie over whether Michael can actually pull off the tour. Walking on stage, he still looked frail, fragile and far-away. It’s clear that whilst he might have passed the supposed ‘fitness test’, Michael is still a long way from being ready. His last tour was  over 10 years ago, and his last album, ‘Invincible’, was released in 2001.

The expectations will be sky high. Most expect his classic moves, live vocals, a long show than encompasses all his hits, and most of all, they want to see Michael back to his best. And whilst the aging star may look reserved and in a bubble, once on stage, you can be sure he’ll step it up a notch. Will it be enough?

This is it. Michael Jackson’s ‘final curtain call’. His star is beginning to fade. Will he go out with a bang? I hope so.



One Response to “Topical: Michael Jackson returns, and I’ll be there to witness it.”

1. Music Player says:

   March 12, 2009 at 4:51 am

   Micheal Jackson the superstar! Woohhooo!!. I am also a fan of him. I like the beat and his active performance! I wish I could get also some tickets for me and my friends. This could be a great one!