We Shall Not Mourn ...

Demoralising news break out every day, headlines catching your attention at the newstand as you walk to the bus interchange. From the US stock markets failing, bad economy, Iran Presidential Election scandal (as claimed by the oppositions and their supporters) to rising cases of Influenza A H1N1 cases worldwide, most noticeably and of concern, those in Singapore (reaching a high of 95 cases in a day, defining the final number at 315, this morning). Each day, new news make it worse, even the sun has stopped shining as brightly ... Oh, that's something to rejoice, my apologies =D.

Today, the world takes a new hit. If you haven't already known, the greatest performer, entertainer, singer and dancer (at least to me) has passed away.

The man?

Michael Jackson.

Certainly those who live through 1958 to 2009, old enough to understand pop music, would have at least heard of his name. I believe even those that are yet to see the world will come to know of him some day, as he has, which seemed so easy, got his name written in the history book of ShowBiz.

Throughout his career, he was defamed not once, not twice, but a few times. I do not know all of them, but of them all, the most infamous being his sex-inclined paedophilic fantasy for young boys. When people talk about paedophiles (for example, Barney the Purple Dinosaur), Michael's name will often appear in their minds, and more often being spoken than not.

Humans like us are always too ready to judge, pointing fingers at one another. We have no absolute clue on whether or not he's guilty, yet a single smudge to his name seems to have it highlighted fully with black ink. What seemed a clean piece of paper was damaged by a single dot on it which people focused on, claiming it 'dirty' and 'cannot be used anymore'.

For a period of time, I myself was disgusted by that fact. After a while, when I heard, by chance, his song 'You Are Not Alone', I was reminded of how I used to watch his Music Video clips, admiring his moves, vocals and charisma. In my mind then, without doubt, I have decided to love him as an entertainer, rather than labelling as the man as the media had.

At 50, he had touched many souls, led the pop culture into a new era and given budding artistes a role model to follow in order to succeed in entertainment. Even at 50, his 'to-be' concerts in Europe are sold out, though fans will have no chance of watching him perform again. He left many with fond memories, vivid images of him performing on his stage and songs that people will never forget ... And they will never forget to pass it on too.

To our dearest Michael Jackson:

Your contribution to the music scene was unmatched, for you alone had made it a thriller. No matter you being black or white, a dangerous or bad person, you've been the smoothest criminal in stealing our hearts and souls. You beat it at the right moment, so invincible, especially when you did those moves to Billie Jean - white gloves, fendora, classy jacket, hips-flipping behind the big white screen and slick moon-walking - we fans never get tired of those. Now that you're gone, watching you 'live' is impossible, yet the memories you've left behind will be deeply etched in our hearts. You've rocked our world bad, but we will never get enough of you. Although physically you've left, do remember that you're not alone, as we will continue your legacy to the next generation, and the next and the next =D.