Michael Jackson
As fans rushed to makeshift memorials at his star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, the UCLA Medical Center where he died and the Apollo Theater in New York, sales of Jackson's music began to surge. Just one day after his death, Jackson's albums held seven of the Top 10 spots on iTunes. Three days later, his songs jumped 1,735 percent in overall radio airplay over the previous week. Three Jackson albums topped 100,000 in sales when Billboard's sales figures were released the following week. — Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music.
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On July 7th, 2009, the Jackson family and the star's fans celebrated his life and career together at a massive public memorial at Los Angeles' Staples Center. Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Mariah Carey, John Mayer and more stars performed in Jacksons' honor, along with up-and-coming artists who suddenly found themselves thrust into the spotlight, like Jackson backup singer Judith Hill, who sang a touching version of "Heal the World."
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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As developments in the investigation into Jackson's death began pointing to the singer's use of a sedative called Propofol, interest in the tragic event that sparked Jackson's dependence on prescription drugs — the fire on the set of his 1984 Pepsi commercial shoot — hit new highs. Grisly footage from the blaze hit the web on July 15th, 2009.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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Speculation over the number of unreleased songs Jackson left behind ramped up after the leak of a track called "A Place With No Name" that borrowed heavily from America's "A Horse With No Name" leaked in late July 2009.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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Rolling Stone went inside Jackson's final days with our July 22nd, 2009 cover story examining how the singer had totally devoted himself to a comeback tour in an attempt to repair his relationship with the public. "He was so brilliant on stage," tour director Kenny Ortega told Claire Hoffman. "I had goose bumps."
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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On July 30th, 2009, a judge awarded custody of Michael's three children to his mother, Katherine, who was named as guardian in the King of Pop's 2002 will. The next person named in the will for the task: Diana Ross.
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Michael Jackson's unexpected death was officially ruled a homicide on August 28th, 2009. The coroner declared "acute Propofol intoxication" was responsible for the singer's death and "Benzodiazepine effect" was named as a contributing factor.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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Michael Jackson would have turned 51 on August 29th, 2009, and his birthday was marked in his absence by fans at worldwide celebrations. One of the most noteworthy tributes took place in Mexico City, where a reported 12,397 — and countless more spectators — gathered to break the world record for the most people to partake in the famed "Thriller" dance at the same time.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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After massive public tributes, Michael Jackson was quietly buried in a small ceremony at Glendale, California's Forest Lawn Cemetery on September 3rd, 2009. Elizabeth Taylor, Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Jackson's ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley and Macaulay Culkin attended the ceremony; Michael's five brothers Tito, Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie all served as pallbearers.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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Madonna kicked off a night of Jackson memorials at MTV's Video Music Awards on September 13th, 2009 with a special speech in which she recalled the moment she learned of his death: "All I could think about in that moment was I had abandoned him. That we had abandoned him. That we had let this magnificent creature who had once set the world on fire slip through the cracks. Most of us had turned our backs on him. … There will never be anyone like him again. He was a king."
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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Janet Jackson also performed a special dance tribute to her brother featuring many of the choreographers he'd worked closely with during his career. "This Is It," the previously unheard Jackson song unearthed to accompany the concert documentary of the same name, premiered online on October 12th, 2009. The song turned out to be a track Jackson and Paul Anka co-wrote in 1983.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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This Is It, the film documenting rehearsals for Jackson's planned run of 50 comeback shows at London's O2 arena, premiered at early screenings on October 28th, 2010 to positive reviews. After five days in theaters, the movie grossed more than $101 million worldwide, making Sony's $60 million investment in the concert rehearsal footage profitable after only one week.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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Although his catalog albums had dominated the top of the comprehensive album sales chart in the weeks following his death, Jackson hadn't been able to top the Billboard 200 due to the fact that those releases weren't new — but that changed on November 4th, 2009, when the soundtrack to This Is It cruised to Number One with 373,000 copies sold.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, an A&E reality show, began its six-episode run on December 13th, 2009. The series was originally planned as a one-hour special tied to the Jackson 5's 40th anniversary, but additional footage was commissioned after the King of Pop's death.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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Jackson was remembered again — this time in 3-D — at the January 31st, 2010 Grammy Awards, where his children took the stage to give brief speeches about his memory and Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Smokey Robinson teamed up for performance of Jackson's "Earth Song."
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music.
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Jackson's full autopsy report was finally released on February 10th, 2010, revealing that Jackson had at least 10 noticeable scars on his body at the time of his death, as well as tattoos on his forehead, eyebrows and lips and a bandage on the tip of his nose. The coroner also noted that Jackson's skin showed signs of Vitiligo, the pigment disorder Jackson said explained the whiter appearance of his skin.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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In March 2010, the Jackson Estate stuck a giant $250 million deal with Sony that is set to include reissues of the King of Pop's albums, new greatest hits collections and possibly a Cirque du Soleil show based on Jackson's music.
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In June 2010, another piece of the Sony deal puzzle fell into place with news that UbiSoft is developing a singing and dancing Michael Jackson video game in time for the 2010 holiday season. Featuring chart-topping singles including "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," the title promises high-flying performances that reflect Jackson's extravagant stage shows and music videos.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music. -
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Although Jackson was reportedly $500 million in debt at the time of his death, his estate's finances one year later are markedly improved. Thanks to renewed interest in the King of Pop's music and This Is It, the estate grossed $1 billion in the 12 months following his death, Billboard reported in June 2010.
• Remembering Michael Jackson: Look back at his life and career in photos, tributes and music.