Michael Jackson, 50, worldwide sensation and venerated artist of the century passed away on the afternoon of June 25, 2009 of a drug overdose. He died in his home alone until he was found by his physician. 

The day before he and his crew were rehearsing for his upcoming comeback with a series of shows at London‘s massive 02 Arena in July. But he was unable to wake up the next day.

Many deduce his death to be homicide, blaming his physician Conrad Murray for prescribing a large amount of sedatives. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served 2 years.

 Michael was born on August 29, 1958  as the seventh child to Joe Walter, who later on became his manager, and Katherine Jackson in Gary, Indiana.

 Michael first found fame in the band he was in with his brothers [Jackson 5]. He later on pursued a solo career and in 1979 with the birth of his album 'Off the Wall' was his catapult to superstar status. His fame was nothing less than sublime, with a loyal fanbase worldwide that surpassed all barriers (age, race, gender, language, etc) despite his contreversial status. Among all his iconic works, one that is remembered by a majoirty of the population is his 'Moonwalk'.

Three hours after his death was publically announced the news spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash: Google had blocked  searches related to Michael Jackson for 30 minutes, twitter reported a crash, as did wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation reported nearly a million visitors to Jackson's biography within one hour, probably the most visitors in a one-hour period to any article in Wikipedia's history up to that point.

Public reaction ranged from fans outpouring grief all around the world and holding their own memorial gatherings to many finding the media coverage excessive.  Hugo Chávez, the President of Venezuela, called the pop star's death some "lamentable news", but criticized CNN for covering the death more heavily than the Honduran coup d'état. 

The news of passing especially hit heavy for family members. In particular Janet Jackson, his bestfriend and rival. The two were inseperable during their childhood days and despite the rift that was caused during 'Scream' era, she remained fiercely protective of her brother. Since Michael’s tragic passing, Janet has continued to honour her brother by performing 'Scream, alone during a tribute at the MTV Video Music Awards 2009, and performed it on her own tours, too.

Janet celebrated what would have been Michael’s 60th birthday in 2018 with a homage to one of his most famous music videos, much to the delight of fans. She released a remake of his 1991 promo for Remember the Time, on social media. In the updated version, Janet takes the throne to judge dancers whose moves are inspired inspired by her late brother.

Most recently, in 2020, Janet shared a birthday message to Michael on her Instagram account. “I miss u big bro”, she posted alongside a kiss emoji.

 Even today Michael Jackson is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century and one of the most successful and influential entertainers; his music and groundbreaking creativity changed the very infrastructure of the way music is produced and promoted.

Although he is no longer with us, he still and shall continue to live through us through his music and the whole music industry.

But as he said "Let us dream of tomorrow where we can truly love from the soul, and know love as the ultimate truth at the heart of all creation".

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