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Can we all admit that we abandoned Michael Jackson before his sudden death two weeks ago?
He announced his comeback tour in March, and it was barely covered in the U.S. media. Americans overlooked him so much in the last decade that he had to go to Europe to try to regain the spotlight.

He flew to London to announce his “This Is It” tour.

Did you catch that?
Michael Jackson had to leave his country to make a comeback because his countrymen abused and abandoned him after continual changes to his face and skin and two separate child molestation charges.
Americans had turned their attention to younger and fresher talent, such as Britney Spears, Usher, Beyonce, Kanye West and Justin Timberlake who all admit to being inspired by Michael Jackson.


The King of Pop’s style is evident in their style and performances even if they hadn’t admitted it.
MJ paved the way for all of these artists and many more, including Rihanna, Ne-yo and Chris Brown, when he blazed a trail with Thriller, the world’s top selling record, that begin a revolution of short-film music videos and singers leading group dance routines.

Even NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said the singing, dancing MJ inspired him to a higher level of play and enabled him to have crossover appeal among basketball fans of all races.
But where were all of these celebrities when Michael’s Neverland Ranch faced foreclosure and while he was on trial for being accused of molesting a cancer-stricken teenager, which ended with the pop star being found not guilty on all 15 charges?
Usher felt so guilty that he could barely contain his tears while singing MJ’s “Gone Too Soon” at the public memorial to the pop icon last Tuesday at L.A.’s Staples Center.
I must admit that Michael Jackson was an afterthought for me, too even though he was my first crush and I watched all of his videos and bought all of his CDs, except the latest “Blood on the Dance Floor” and “Invincible”.
When my 15-year-old son brought along MJ’s “No.1s” CD for a road trip to Miami, a week before the King of Pop’s death, I moaned and groaned and so we listened to Katy Perry instead. Katy Perry is talented and original, but she can’t touch Michael Jackson. Too bad I didn’t realize that when he was still living.
Like most fans who learned of the pop icon’s death, I jumped back on MJ’s bandwagon and didn’t hesitate to insert Michael’s “No.1s” into my car stereo on the night he died, and of course I’ve written nearly two dozen articles about how inspirational MJ was.
I’m not alone. Most of us forgot about Michael, and now that he’s dead, we’re all rushing to get a piece of his greatness.
But it’s too little, too late, and all we have left are our memories and his classic hit songs that now have shot back up to the top of the record sales charts now that the King of Pop is dead.

By Teneshia LaFaye

Keep Michael Jackson’s memory alive. Buy a limited edition I Was There, King of Pop Commemorative Journal featuring many of these stories to remember the positive side of Michael Jackson’s life. The journal went on sale at the pop icon’s public memorial in L.A., and a limited supply is left over. Don’t let this moment pass you by. Get the journal while supplies last as a keepsake for MJ’s passing with spaces for your personal experience and pictures.

To receive your copy, please send $8 per copy in cash or money order to King of Pop Journal, 3832-10 Baymeadows Rd., Suite 205, Jacksonville, FL 32217 and make sure your name and address is on the envelope.

Or you can buy now for $7.35:

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