I also agree that the way Michael’s gentle and giving nature remained inexplicably intact through all he was dragged through is far beyond the capacity for anyone else to fathom, let alone similarly accomplish. I do, however, think he was a deeply insecure person, but on very specific levels. As a performer he was obviously completely confident and knew what he wanted without question, but the psychological damage done from childhood and likely throughout adolescence left scars on a pathological level, that left him running from everyone and no doubt running from himself whenever he wasn’t on a stage or preparing to be. King or no, he was lost, and was smart enough to know it (though it may have helped if he didn’t). And Jeff, I liked your description of his performance as natural joy manifested, since that’s what struck me about him at first sight - this unrestrained joyful spirit like a warm hug through the screen. My brain refuses to reconcile that with the sadness I saw in him, but all I know is that I felt both acutely.

But damn, not he, nor JT, nor Chris Brown or Jay-Z or ANYONE will ever have the kind of success that MJ had. He is known the world over… hell, he’s like Mickey Mouse, you can take his picture to small corners of the world without electricity and they probably would recognize the guy on the cover of Thriller. And the thing is, as much as people say he was insecure, I think that he had a quiet confidence as a performer and was so soft-spoken in interviews and stuff, that THAT is one thing that people miss more than anything… a guy who didn’t go on television proclaiming to be the greatest (Fred Astaire calling to compliment your dancing and making the biggest selling album of all time did that for him), who used his money and power for good, and who, when his job was to entertain, he did it like nobody else ever could or would. I think some of this outpouring of love and admiration for him isn’t just because his life was cut short, it’s because the current climate, where every American Idol wananbe is eager to throw themselves into the media’s headlights, is so bereft of people like MJ at their height. We’re immediately nostalgic for the real thing, not these mediocre copycats.

So yeah, Kanye, you may have been mixing jams in your mom’s apartment or whatever, but Michael came up from more humble beginnings than either you or Hov, or most any other black artist for that matter, save the great jazz musicians and people like Ray Charles. Oh, and he started at the age of FIVE. Top that.

And don’t even get me started on Justin Timberlake. “He was a huge influence on me.” No, he was pretty much the ONLY influence on you, as all that you do is basically cribbed from the Michael Jackson playbook… but you forgot one element - GENIUS. If MJ’s death did anything, it was to make us look around at the pop music landscape and realize how all of it combined doesn’t amount to so much as a pimple on Billie Jean’s ass.

I agree with the others though that ‘Stronger’ was the bigger track.

I probably should’ve said “screen Bergman,” but you get the gist.