Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Jackson 'best father' ever, daughter tells the world
Michael Jackson's young daughter, Paris, stepped out of the shadows Tuesday to pay moving tribute to the late star saying: "Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine."
The 11-year-old, speaking for the first time in public, fought back tears as she addressed millions of people around the world watching the ceremony, and hit back at all the gossip about their strange family life.
"Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much," she told the hushed audience, before breaking down in tears.
After tributes from Jackson's brothers, Jermaine and Marlon, Paris said she wanted to talk and struggled only slightly with adjusting the microphone to her height.
"Speak up," her aunt Janet Jackson said softly, as Paris, dressed in a simple black dress, with a white waistband and holding a black clutch bag, bade her father a public goodbye.
Paris Katherine and her brothers, Prince Michael, 12, and Prince Michael II, seven, had joined a host of stars on the stage at the end of the long tribute singing along to "We are the World."
It was the first time the world had caught more than just a fleeting glimpse of the three youngsters, as Jackson, 50, always fiercely shielded his children from the public limelight.
His former wife of three years, Debbie Rowe, is the mother of the two eldest children, while the third also known as "Blanket" was born in 2002 to a surrogate whose identity has never been made public.
After being thrust into the spotlight from the age of five, Jackson went to extreme lengths to protect his children such as covering their faces in veils or masks whenever they were in public.
And they have not been seen since his mysterious death on June 25 from an apparent cardiac arrest.
But the three children joined other members of the Jackson clan at the Los Angeles Staples Center ceremony Tuesday, sitting between their grandparents Katherine and Joe Jackson just in front of the 14-karat gold casket bearing the body of their father.
At times Paris dissolved into tears as star after star spoke of Jackson's legacy to the world, while her youngest brother played with a Michael Jackson doll on his lap.
But she stood and applauded as civil rights leader Al Sharpton addressed the children directly and said fiercely: "There weren't nothing strange about your daddy."
"It was strange what your daddy had to deal with, but he dealt with it," Sharpton said, his voice rising in the rich cadence of a sermon.
Temporary custody of the children has so far been granted to Katherine Jackson, in line with the terms of Jackson's will, which also names pop diva Diana Ross as a back-up guardian.
But Rowe, who signed away her parental rights to her two children in 2001, has vowed to fight for them in what could presage a bitter legal battle, even though they are believed to have had little contact over the years.
"I want my children," Debbie Rowe told NBC television's local network in Los Angeles last week, adding she was willing to submit to any testing, including DNA, to prove she was the biological mother of Prince Michael and Paris.
Her lawyer Eric George later appeared to dial back on his client's comments, saying in a conference call no final decision had been made.
A custody hearing has now been set for Monday.
The 11-year-old, speaking for the first time in public, fought back tears as she addressed millions of people around the world watching the ceremony, and hit back at all the gossip about their strange family life.
"Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much," she told the hushed audience, before breaking down in tears.
After tributes from Jackson's brothers, Jermaine and Marlon, Paris said she wanted to talk and struggled only slightly with adjusting the microphone to her height.
"Speak up," her aunt Janet Jackson said softly, as Paris, dressed in a simple black dress, with a white waistband and holding a black clutch bag, bade her father a public goodbye.
Paris Katherine and her brothers, Prince Michael, 12, and Prince Michael II, seven, had joined a host of stars on the stage at the end of the long tribute singing along to "We are the World."
It was the first time the world had caught more than just a fleeting glimpse of the three youngsters, as Jackson, 50, always fiercely shielded his children from the public limelight.
His former wife of three years, Debbie Rowe, is the mother of the two eldest children, while the third also known as "Blanket" was born in 2002 to a surrogate whose identity has never been made public.
After being thrust into the spotlight from the age of five, Jackson went to extreme lengths to protect his children such as covering their faces in veils or masks whenever they were in public.
And they have not been seen since his mysterious death on June 25 from an apparent cardiac arrest.
But the three children joined other members of the Jackson clan at the Los Angeles Staples Center ceremony Tuesday, sitting between their grandparents Katherine and Joe Jackson just in front of the 14-karat gold casket bearing the body of their father.
At times Paris dissolved into tears as star after star spoke of Jackson's legacy to the world, while her youngest brother played with a Michael Jackson doll on his lap.
But she stood and applauded as civil rights leader Al Sharpton addressed the children directly and said fiercely: "There weren't nothing strange about your daddy."
"It was strange what your daddy had to deal with, but he dealt with it," Sharpton said, his voice rising in the rich cadence of a sermon.
Temporary custody of the children has so far been granted to Katherine Jackson, in line with the terms of Jackson's will, which also names pop diva Diana Ross as a back-up guardian.
But Rowe, who signed away her parental rights to her two children in 2001, has vowed to fight for them in what could presage a bitter legal battle, even though they are believed to have had little contact over the years.
"I want my children," Debbie Rowe told NBC television's local network in Los Angeles last week, adding she was willing to submit to any testing, including DNA, to prove she was the biological mother of Prince Michael and Paris.
Her lawyer Eric George later appeared to dial back on his client's comments, saying in a conference call no final decision had been made.
A custody hearing has now been set for Monday.
Michael Jackson's This Is It Concert Merchandise Sold Online
By Gil Kaufman
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As the world gathered to mourn and pay tribute to Michael Jackson on Tuesday (July 7), fans were given one more chance to grab a piece of the singer's legacy.
Just a week before Jackson was slated to kick off his 50-date This Is It concert series at the O2 Arena in London, the merchandise that would have accompanied his attempted return to form went up for sale online.
For sale are dozens of items, including shirts, hats, belt buckles, tote bags and mugs that were reportedly selected and personally approved by Jackson. The T-shirts bear classic images of Jackson in his heyday: posing in his signature black suit, white glove and black fedora; balancing on his toes in front of the moon; looking serious as a pre-teen; and showing off his glittery fashions in later years. There are also official This Is It shirts, featuring Jackson dancing in front of a microphone. The hat styles include a trucker cap with a spray painted "Who's Bad" insignia and a Ed Hardy-style cap with roses flanked by the words "This Is It" and "King of Pop" on the brim. Among the eight belt buckles are images from throughout Jackson's solo career, from the Off the Wall cover shot to a Thriller montage, the Bad cover and a commemorative O2 edition.
And, for just $20, you can now own your very own black Michael Jackson King of Pop socks, which come with Jackson's initials next to his famous self-appointed royal title. The concert merch is sure to join other items marking Jackson's final bow, such as the hard-to-get tickets for Tuesday's Staples Center memorial, bootleg items being hawked by street vendors and the keepsake tickets for the O2 run being offered by concert promoter AEG Live. To date, AEG boss Randy Phillips said that nearly 50 percent of the one million fans who've responded to the company's ticket refund offer have opted to receive the Jackson-approved commemorative ticket instead of their money back.
MTV's live coverage of the Michael Jackson public memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles will begin on Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT.
For complete coverage of the life, career and passing of the legendary entertainer, visit "Michael Jackson Remembered."
Share your Michael Jackson memories by uploading video and comments to Your.MTV.com or joining the discussion below.
Views 8,121
ShareThis
As the world gathered to mourn and pay tribute to Michael Jackson on Tuesday (July 7), fans were given one more chance to grab a piece of the singer's legacy.
Just a week before Jackson was slated to kick off his 50-date This Is It concert series at the O2 Arena in London, the merchandise that would have accompanied his attempted return to form went up for sale online.
For sale are dozens of items, including shirts, hats, belt buckles, tote bags and mugs that were reportedly selected and personally approved by Jackson. The T-shirts bear classic images of Jackson in his heyday: posing in his signature black suit, white glove and black fedora; balancing on his toes in front of the moon; looking serious as a pre-teen; and showing off his glittery fashions in later years. There are also official This Is It shirts, featuring Jackson dancing in front of a microphone. The hat styles include a trucker cap with a spray painted "Who's Bad" insignia and a Ed Hardy-style cap with roses flanked by the words "This Is It" and "King of Pop" on the brim. Among the eight belt buckles are images from throughout Jackson's solo career, from the Off the Wall cover shot to a Thriller montage, the Bad cover and a commemorative O2 edition.
And, for just $20, you can now own your very own black Michael Jackson King of Pop socks, which come with Jackson's initials next to his famous self-appointed royal title. The concert merch is sure to join other items marking Jackson's final bow, such as the hard-to-get tickets for Tuesday's Staples Center memorial, bootleg items being hawked by street vendors and the keepsake tickets for the O2 run being offered by concert promoter AEG Live. To date, AEG boss Randy Phillips said that nearly 50 percent of the one million fans who've responded to the company's ticket refund offer have opted to receive the Jackson-approved commemorative ticket instead of their money back.
MTV's live coverage of the Michael Jackson public memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles will begin on Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT.
For complete coverage of the life, career and passing of the legendary entertainer, visit "Michael Jackson Remembered."
Share your Michael Jackson memories by uploading video and comments to Your.MTV.com or joining the discussion below.
Remembering Michael Jackson: The service is a thriller
In the days after his death, Michael Jackson's mother reportedly worried that if her son's funeral was too long delayed, his soul might wander the earth. In a more secular sense, that is exactly what has been happening. Remembering Jackson -- debating his legacy, listening to his music, trying to make sense of his life -- has become the world's favorite activity. The shape of Jackson's shadow grows only more complicated as these thoughts and memories accrue.
Tuesday's public memorial at Staples Center could have performed the function such events often do, channeling all the different stories into one narrative, helping make the emotions that Jackson's death has generated feel neater and easier to digest.
Instead, the service (or was it a concert? Or a political event?) operated on several levels at once. Yet its two hours of music and eulogies made for many poignant and even wrenching moments, its incongruities adding up to the only reasonable response to an artistic giant whose meanings were always multiple and often contradictory.
Focus for a minute on just one musical offering: the rendition of "Smile" by Michael Jackson's eldest brother, Jermaine. Following a bravely personal remembrance by Brooke Shields, Michael's friend and fellow former child star, Jermaine took the stage wearing one silver glove and a red rose to sing this simple tune, which was co-written by Charlie Chaplin and served as the theme for his much-beloved film "Modern Times."
Where to start in interpreting what happened in the four or so minutes while Jermaine Jackson sang?
There was the personal pathos of the older brother, whose own youthful success was so dramatically eclipsed by his sibling's, and who in recent days has told the media that he wishes he had died instead of Michael, singing in a voice eerily reminiscent of the one now lost. Jermaine nearly broke down near the end, right after the line, "What's the use in crying"; the fans' applause lifted him back up.
Then there was the song itself, a gentle admonition to cancel negative emotions behind a careful mask -- a particularly loaded message in light of the history of African American music, with its roots in the tangled history of blackface minstrelsy. Michael Jackson was hardly the first black pop star to deploy an often unreadable smile: one thinks of Louis Armstrong, and of that earlier crossover star, Nat King Cole, who similarly broke down barriers but was sometimes criticized for being too assimilationist.
Jermaine Jackson held his arms outstretched for much of the song, his gesture mirroring an image of Michael on the screens above him. It seemed like he was bearing a burden as well as celebrating a triumph. None of the memorial's other musical performances were as rich in subtext as this one, but each was its own kind of maze that the singers had to negotiate.
Mariah Carey and her frequent duet partner, Trey Lorenz, were the first to try, giving a gentle spin to "I'll Be There," which was a hit for her as well as for the Jackson 5. Lorenz nearly toppled the song by coming on too strong, but Carey steered it back toward a tender reading, perfect for raising the much longed-for spirit of the young Michael, full of promise and innocence.
Gospel reminder
Backed by the Andrae Crouch Singers -- another resonant choice to perform, since Crouch is one of gospel's most famous "crossover" modernizers -- Lionel Richie sang "Jesus Is Love" with his finger pointed skyward and as much grit as he could muster in his voice. This was one of many times that the memorial went back to church, reminding the fans in attendance that this was a service, not simply a concert.
The gospel elements also reinforced the connection between Jackson's career and the civil rights movement made in speeches by several political leaders, including two of Martin Luther King Jr.'s children, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
"He outsang the cynics, he outdanced his doubters, he outperformed the pessimists," said Sharpton of Jackson, making a strong contribution to the fascinating process of Jackson's posthumous rehabilitation as an African American hero.
One would have expected Jennifer Hudson's role in the memorial to also serve this purpose.
After all, the mighty-voiced ingenue has been christened the New Aretha Franklin by many, a singer with enough gravity and guts to serve history's needs.
Singing "Will You Be There," Jackson's most gospel-inspired song, in an angelic white dress, Hudson fulfilled that position. But again, it got complicated. Surrounded by the dancers who would have appeared onstage with Jackson during his comeback "This Is It" tour, she kept her composure while enduring some serious showbiz choreography. The image reminded those present that Jackson was a Hollywood child, as well as an inner-city baby -- and that Oscar winner and former "American Idol" contestant Hudson is also a product of those twin legacies.
The night's other younger performers had to finesse their roles in reinterpreting Jackson's meanings, and their own in relationship to him. John Mayer was tasteful performing an instrumental version of "Human Nature," and though he didn't seem as connected to the event as some of the participants, his presence made sense in light of Jackson's well-known love of rock guitar.
Usher, a direct inheritor of Jackson's style, made the risky decision to croon the melancholy "Gone Too Soon" while nearly touching Jackson's golden coffin, but this assertion of closeness seemed justified when he choked up late in the song and was almost immediately enveloped in hugs by the Jackson family.
Twelve-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi was also in a tricky spot. The "Britain's Got Talent" finalist wailed his way through the Jackson 5 song "Who's Loving You," right after the song's writer, Smokey Robinson, had spoken about his astonishment at the child Michael Jackson's skill with such "adult" compositions.
Jafargholi had spunk but not a lot of nuance. (He shouldn't have to worry too much about the media anointing him the next Michael.) Kenny Ortega, the director of Jackson's ill-fated comeback, explained after the boy sang that Jackson had been a fan, and that's why he was there.
Really, though, what made more sense than featuring a child performer? As much as we are now mulling the intricacies of Jackson's relationship to race and to the history of entertainment, we must also consider his status as an avatar of childhood.
The memorial's final number, a group sing of "We Are the World" and "Heal the World" that included, among many performers, both the Andrae & Sandra Crouch Youth Choir and Jackson's own three children, placed Jackson's belief in the symbolic power of the child front and center.
As much as viewers were touched by the impromptu speech from Jackson's daughter, Paris, at the memorial's end -- her declaration that "Daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine" was heart-crushingly direct and true. It's worth remembering that the child was a primary subject of Jackson's art too, and that we have only begun to absorb the complexities of that matter.
Wonder shines
Memorials often raise such knotty issues. Even ordinary souls, and certainly not ones as huge as Michael Jackson's, cannot be contained within one set of remembrances. Yet simpler moments can also be profound, and this event had at least one.
Playing piano and singing a medley of two songs that seemed to speak directly about Jackson's sudden death -- "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" and "They Won't Go When I Go," a song about finding relief in heaven -- Wonder found the musical route into unadorned mourning. The Staples Center crowd stayed quiet, taking it in.
Like Shields' tear-inducing talk, Wonder's performance wasn't addressed to an icon, or a set of half-formed meanings. It was a message to a man, from a friend. And in that moment, the man's loss was felt.
--Ann Powers
Tuesday's public memorial at Staples Center could have performed the function such events often do, channeling all the different stories into one narrative, helping make the emotions that Jackson's death has generated feel neater and easier to digest.
Instead, the service (or was it a concert? Or a political event?) operated on several levels at once. Yet its two hours of music and eulogies made for many poignant and even wrenching moments, its incongruities adding up to the only reasonable response to an artistic giant whose meanings were always multiple and often contradictory.
Focus for a minute on just one musical offering: the rendition of "Smile" by Michael Jackson's eldest brother, Jermaine. Following a bravely personal remembrance by Brooke Shields, Michael's friend and fellow former child star, Jermaine took the stage wearing one silver glove and a red rose to sing this simple tune, which was co-written by Charlie Chaplin and served as the theme for his much-beloved film "Modern Times."
Where to start in interpreting what happened in the four or so minutes while Jermaine Jackson sang?
There was the personal pathos of the older brother, whose own youthful success was so dramatically eclipsed by his sibling's, and who in recent days has told the media that he wishes he had died instead of Michael, singing in a voice eerily reminiscent of the one now lost. Jermaine nearly broke down near the end, right after the line, "What's the use in crying"; the fans' applause lifted him back up.
Then there was the song itself, a gentle admonition to cancel negative emotions behind a careful mask -- a particularly loaded message in light of the history of African American music, with its roots in the tangled history of blackface minstrelsy. Michael Jackson was hardly the first black pop star to deploy an often unreadable smile: one thinks of Louis Armstrong, and of that earlier crossover star, Nat King Cole, who similarly broke down barriers but was sometimes criticized for being too assimilationist.
Jermaine Jackson held his arms outstretched for much of the song, his gesture mirroring an image of Michael on the screens above him. It seemed like he was bearing a burden as well as celebrating a triumph. None of the memorial's other musical performances were as rich in subtext as this one, but each was its own kind of maze that the singers had to negotiate.
Mariah Carey and her frequent duet partner, Trey Lorenz, were the first to try, giving a gentle spin to "I'll Be There," which was a hit for her as well as for the Jackson 5. Lorenz nearly toppled the song by coming on too strong, but Carey steered it back toward a tender reading, perfect for raising the much longed-for spirit of the young Michael, full of promise and innocence.
Gospel reminder
Backed by the Andrae Crouch Singers -- another resonant choice to perform, since Crouch is one of gospel's most famous "crossover" modernizers -- Lionel Richie sang "Jesus Is Love" with his finger pointed skyward and as much grit as he could muster in his voice. This was one of many times that the memorial went back to church, reminding the fans in attendance that this was a service, not simply a concert.
The gospel elements also reinforced the connection between Jackson's career and the civil rights movement made in speeches by several political leaders, including two of Martin Luther King Jr.'s children, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
"He outsang the cynics, he outdanced his doubters, he outperformed the pessimists," said Sharpton of Jackson, making a strong contribution to the fascinating process of Jackson's posthumous rehabilitation as an African American hero.
One would have expected Jennifer Hudson's role in the memorial to also serve this purpose.
After all, the mighty-voiced ingenue has been christened the New Aretha Franklin by many, a singer with enough gravity and guts to serve history's needs.
Singing "Will You Be There," Jackson's most gospel-inspired song, in an angelic white dress, Hudson fulfilled that position. But again, it got complicated. Surrounded by the dancers who would have appeared onstage with Jackson during his comeback "This Is It" tour, she kept her composure while enduring some serious showbiz choreography. The image reminded those present that Jackson was a Hollywood child, as well as an inner-city baby -- and that Oscar winner and former "American Idol" contestant Hudson is also a product of those twin legacies.
The night's other younger performers had to finesse their roles in reinterpreting Jackson's meanings, and their own in relationship to him. John Mayer was tasteful performing an instrumental version of "Human Nature," and though he didn't seem as connected to the event as some of the participants, his presence made sense in light of Jackson's well-known love of rock guitar.
Usher, a direct inheritor of Jackson's style, made the risky decision to croon the melancholy "Gone Too Soon" while nearly touching Jackson's golden coffin, but this assertion of closeness seemed justified when he choked up late in the song and was almost immediately enveloped in hugs by the Jackson family.
Twelve-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi was also in a tricky spot. The "Britain's Got Talent" finalist wailed his way through the Jackson 5 song "Who's Loving You," right after the song's writer, Smokey Robinson, had spoken about his astonishment at the child Michael Jackson's skill with such "adult" compositions.
Jafargholi had spunk but not a lot of nuance. (He shouldn't have to worry too much about the media anointing him the next Michael.) Kenny Ortega, the director of Jackson's ill-fated comeback, explained after the boy sang that Jackson had been a fan, and that's why he was there.
Really, though, what made more sense than featuring a child performer? As much as we are now mulling the intricacies of Jackson's relationship to race and to the history of entertainment, we must also consider his status as an avatar of childhood.
The memorial's final number, a group sing of "We Are the World" and "Heal the World" that included, among many performers, both the Andrae & Sandra Crouch Youth Choir and Jackson's own three children, placed Jackson's belief in the symbolic power of the child front and center.
As much as viewers were touched by the impromptu speech from Jackson's daughter, Paris, at the memorial's end -- her declaration that "Daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine" was heart-crushingly direct and true. It's worth remembering that the child was a primary subject of Jackson's art too, and that we have only begun to absorb the complexities of that matter.
Wonder shines
Memorials often raise such knotty issues. Even ordinary souls, and certainly not ones as huge as Michael Jackson's, cannot be contained within one set of remembrances. Yet simpler moments can also be profound, and this event had at least one.
Playing piano and singing a medley of two songs that seemed to speak directly about Jackson's sudden death -- "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" and "They Won't Go When I Go," a song about finding relief in heaven -- Wonder found the musical route into unadorned mourning. The Staples Center crowd stayed quiet, taking it in.
Like Shields' tear-inducing talk, Wonder's performance wasn't addressed to an icon, or a set of half-formed meanings. It was a message to a man, from a friend. And in that moment, the man's loss was felt.
--Ann Powers
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