Its three years since the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, said good-bye to the world and his millions of fans. But who can ever forget the patented moonwalk, the sparkly jacket and white socks, the honed pre-break dancing moves?
For all those diehard fans of the pop star Big CBS and Spark bring on April 28 & 29, 2012, Saturday and Sunday at 8.00pm, a Michael Jackson’s exclusive concert from 2001. The concert, a tribute to MJ, is a two hour special in honor of Michael Jackson’s thirtieth year as a solo entertainer for his fans.Big CBS Prime and Spark presents the concert that wrapped up just hours before two hijacked jet planes crashed into the Twin Towers of Lower Manhattan’s World Trade Center.
The shows sold out in five hours. Ticket prices were pop’s most expensive ever; the best seats cost $5,000 and included a dinner with Michael Jackson and a signed poster. Jackson reportedly earned $7.5 million for each of the two concerts, which is over $150,000 per minute.
Popular pop acts of the day were by Destiny’s Child, N*Sync, Usher, Myra, Whitney Houston and Shaggy graced the stage to perform some of their own hits along with some of Michael’s. The biggest highlight of the show was young Billy Gilman performing Jackson’s 1972 #1 U.S. hit Ben. Among other performers and guests were Liza Minnelli singing You Are Not Alone; James Ingram with Gloria Estefan singing Jackson’s 1987 ballad, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You (another #1 U.S. hit). Marc Anthony also sang She’s out of My Life.
Playing to a sold-out audience, Destiny’s Child also performed Bootylicious and Shaggy performed It Wasn’t Me – two chart hits personally requested by Michael Jackson himself.
The second hour of the show is by far the best remembered, featuring the exciting reunion of Michael and his brothers Jermaine, Jackie, Randy, Marlon, and Tito for a “greatest hits” medley. As Michael glided and danced his way across the floor, the crowd roared all the louder in appreciation. Immediately afterward, Slash was properly introduced for a rendition of Black or White.
While this two-hour special was to also prepare the world for the release of Michael’s album Invincible, it also showcased the talents of the original Jackson 5 line-up as they performed such hits as ABC and I Want You Back. Perhaps the biggest roar in the audience went up when Michael performed his famous dance moves in his solo acts.
The concert closed out with Michael performing his latest hit from Invincible, You Rock My World with Chris Tucker providing a few un-choreographed dance moves for laughs. Other highlights of the night would include the ‘unification’ of three former child stars of separate generations, Michael, Elizabeth Taylor and Macauley Culkin who sat together in the audience while enjoying the concert.
This spectacular concert showcased both Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 and was widely received by his fans and critics alike with lots of praise and admiration for the man who gave us such timeless hits as Thriller, Beat It and Bad.
