I normally don't watch the Grammies. At least, that's been the case for the last twenty-five years. But, I watched it last Sunday night because I knew that there was going to be a tribute segment to Michael Jackson. The Grammies was held at Staple Stadium in Los Angeles, California, where Michael Jackson was last rehearsing before he died on June 25, 2009. As those nominated for Best Pop Male Vocalist, Song of the Year, Album of the year, etc. came up to receive their awards, I thought of the many categories Michael Jackson was nominated for and the many times he kept appearing up on stage all in one Grammies ceremony. Yes, I saw some promising musicians, like Taylor Swift and Beyonce, that I normally don't listen to, but I found myself caught up with emotion inwardly as I watched and reflected back to the Grammies in 1984. When Taylor Swift came up to receive her Album of the Year award, my mind flashbacked to when Michael Jackson got the same award in 1984 for his album, Thriller. I wanted to cry. Though Taylor Swift is not the greatest singer in my opinion, I'm still happy that she got some awards, especially in lieu of what rap singer, Kanye West, did to her. In September, or October, of last year, I believe that MTV was holding their awards. (I don't watch that channel anymore.) Taylor got some kind of award. When she stepped up to receive it, Kanye West grabbed the microphone, saying that Beyonce should've gotten the award instead. Though he was saying what many were thinking or chatting about on the Internet, it still didn't give Kanye the right to steal the limelight from Taylor Swift, especially being that she's a new upstart of eighteen years old who wrote all of her songs. In the tribute segment to Michael Jackson, Usher, Smokey Robinson, Celine Dion and Beyonce sang along to Earth Song with scenes from the movie, This Is It, on a video screen behind them. The scenes were that of the forest and various kinds of environmental destruction by mankind as shown in the movie when Michael was actually performing Earth Song in the movie. Celine Dion and Beyonce were the only ones who could reach Michael's high notes. Usher did what he could in his range with improvisations, but Smokey Robinson sounded like a dog trying to howl. While I was amazed with Celine Dion and Beyonce's part because of how beautifully their voices blended in with Michael's or highlighted his voice, I couldn't help but start laughing when Usher and Smokey Robinson sang their parts. I, probably, shouldn't have laughed, but I couldn't help myself. After that performance, Lionel Richie appeared onstage to present the Lifetime Achievement award to Michael Jackson, which was given to Michael's children. I imagine that Blanket was there, but Prince and Paris were the two who were up onstage. Blanket is only seven or eight years old, and to expect him to be able to sit still for three hours is a lot for that age. Anyway, Prince spoke first with his well-rehearsed lines, thanking everyone for supporting his father and how much his father loved his fans. Of course, Prince started tearing up, and, thus, forgot the remaining rehearsed lines. So, he concluded with thanking everyone. Then, Paris stepped up. I'm not sure whether she meant to say it the way she did, but her words shyly came out saying that her dad was going to perform at the Grammies but couldn't because he couldn't perform last year. Either way, all she could do was thank the audience, as she, too, was starting to tear up. Of course, the audience gave them a standing ovation not only because of their courage to talk to the public, but also because of all that they've been through over the last seven months. Like Prince and Paris, I, too, started to tear up. My mind flashbacked to the memorial service, which was held there at Staple Stadium. The last time Paris was up on that stage was at the conclusion of the service, when she attempted to tell everyone that Michael was the best daddy she'd ever had and then started to cry. When Paris attempted to give her speech that day, the audience applauded her for her courage. Once again, when I saw the children this time at the Grammies, I wanted to hug them, and I, especially, wanted to hold Paris and rock her in my arms. For them to reappear at Staple Stadium and for me to see them seven months later was like Deja Vou; thus, making Michael Jackson's death seem like yesterday all over again. Of course, I cried my eyes out later that Sunday night while Micaiah held me. I feel the pain they're still feeling even after seven months not only because of Michael Jackson's death, but because of the children's great loss of their father, who they loved dearly.
I finally bought the movie, This Is It, last Monday and watched it last night with Micaiah. As most people likely know, the movie is made-up of the rehearsal sessions for the This Is It tour that was to take place in England. Of course, the dancing and the choreography were great, but I felt that there was more to the movie than that. As one who watches movies to be entertained as well as to learn something or examine critically, I look beyond the superficial. Then, I think about what I saw and heard while sleeping, or trying to sleep, before putting my thoughts on paper. Most of us have heard Michael Jackson singing lead with the Jackson Five in such songs as The Love You Save and I'll Be There. Back then, he was a kid with a very high voice. The above two songs were included among the list of songs he was going to sing on the This Is It tour. Though he no longer had that high kid's voice to sing it as was done forty years ago, it still sounded beautiful and more mature. I loved how mature-sounding it was that I wished there was an audio file of it to put on CD so that I didn't have to pull out the movie just to hear him sing those two songs. The other part I liked was when they were rehearsing for the performance of Smooth Criminal. There was some point at the beginning of the song in which Michael was supposed to turn a certain way in his dance move, but his back was to the electronic billboard that displayed the song title. The director of the session asked Michael how he would know when to turn since he wasn't facing the billboard. Michael replied that he would go by feel and timing, which is how blind people like me function on a daily basis. Though Michael was a perfectionist, he was very patient with the dancers and musicians as everyone worked together to get things to sound and look satisfactory. Unlike most perfectionists I've personally met, Michael openly admitted when he made a mistake. I cannot remember what song they were practicing, but he thought that there were two verses when there was only one. He apologized to the band and then everyone backtracked to work on the song as if nothing happened. However, there were two things that caused me concern if the tour had actually started. The first was his voice, one comment he made here and there throughout a few of the rehearsal sessions was that he had to save his voice. Unlike when he was younger and could sing for hours on end without a break, he wasn't able to do that now. The second was his stamina and physical ability to be precise at all times. A couple times that he was dancing, one of his feet slightly dragged as he was shifting from one foot to the other or turning. Unless you look closely, you wouldn't notice that. Then, there was a dance move in which he quickly shifted from a standing position to a lying down position on the stage with his feet up in the air. Not only was he breathing heavy as he tried to catch his breath and got back up, but he was overheating. The director noticed that he was getting dehydrated and needed to get something to drink. The two months of rehearsing before his death were draining Michael Jackson mentally and physically. He knew, like most people who followed Michael Jackson over the years or watched the movie as critically as John and I did, that a fifty-date tour was impossible for him to meet. He would've been hoarse by the time one performance was over and, probably, would've still been somewhat hoarse the next day for the next performance. He was also suffering from chronic back pain, which greatly limits one's endurance. In turn, the person is often breathing heavily to catch their breath as they seek to regain their composure to continue on. Speaking from personal experience of currently suffering from chronic back pain, even with painkillers, the physical stamina needed for the subsequent performances wouldn't have been there as it was in the first performance. Twelve to twenty-four hours is not enough time to recuperate, but the scheduled performances were one day after another. As one gets older, their voice is not as crisp, nor can they sing as long as when they were younger. Their physical ability to dance the way they did when they were younger is not there anymore because the body is not as elastic as it used to be. Michael Jackson was fifty years old, not twenty-five or thirty-five years old. So, to expect him to fulfill a fifty-date tour was like expecting someone to literally jump over the moon. Yet, he was forced to do the This Is It tour so that he could pay his debts off. Yes, it was sad the tour never took place for Prince and Paris to attend and see what their daddy did for a living. It was also sad that all the hard work the musicians and dancers put in during the rehearsals was as if it was all for nothing. But, based on the two things that concerned me, his voice and physical stamina to withstand the harsh and demanding schedule would have, probably, done more irreparable harm to his body. Michael Jackson fulfilled his two greatest desires, that being never to grow old and never to be forgotten. He has, in deed, created his own history and left a legacy to his children and his fans.
Makedah bat Leah
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