TORONTO — Thursday marked the sixth anniversary of the shocking death of Michael Jackson at age 50.
The self-proclaimed King of Pop was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. Pacific time on June 25, 2009 after being rushed to hospital from his rented Los Angeles home after suffering cardiac arrest.
Jackson’s physician Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 and sentenced to four years in prison (though he was released after serving only two years).
In the six years since his death, Jackson has remained in the spotlight thanks to the film This is It and the Cirque du Soleil production Michael Jackson: The Immortal World.
In 2014, Jackson was heard in “Love Never Felt So Good,” a song crafted using vocals he recorded in 1983. The song, co-written by Ottawa’s Paul Anka, was also released as a duet with Justin Timberlake.
According to Nielsen, Jackson has posthumously sold more than 13 million albums — roughly the same number he sold between 1996 and 2008.
He has more than 75 million “likes” on Facebook and more than 1.8 million followers on Twitter.
Last year, Forbes ranked Jackson the top-earning dead celebrity. Estimates of his earnings in the last six years range from $700 million to $2 billion.
In Virginia, someone snapped a photo of the night sky apparently showing a Jackson-like figure “moonwalking” in the clouds.
To mark the anniversary of Jackson’s death, vocal group Pentatonix put together this medley of Michael Jackson hits. In less than six minutes they go through 25 songs from 1969 to 1995.
Sony Music India released this video featuring students from the KM Music Conservatory in Chennai performing their unique version of Michael Jackson’s “Xscape”.
Twitter was active Thursday with memories and tributes to the King of Pop. Here is a sample:
Comments