Michael Jackson, the invincible and unbreakable King of Pop had certain defining moments in his whole career. Be it a commercial, an interview, or a music video, the world was crazy for him and curious about him. His innovative moves and passionate music influenced many people who are now known to us as today’s sensational celebrities including Beyoncé́, Justin Bieber, Usher, and Justin Timberlake, just to name a few.
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He was a beast on stage and an angel in person; this fact about him was reflected in each stage performance. Clips from his on-stage magic are still shared and trending on the internet during his birthday and death anniversary days. No one can deny that Jackson’s energy was incredible and not only did his dance moves but also his facial expressions result in many fainting among the audience.
Among many of his iconic performances, we have gathered 5 of those that changed MJ’s life forever and helped him become what he is today.
5. Grammy Awards Performance (1988)
This one is another electrifying performance he gave while wearing that signature outfit of “The way you make me feel.” Also seeing him live singing “Man in the Mirror” made every eye teary. Fans believed that his performance overshadowed the Grammys and nominees, winners of that evening. Although MJ didn’t win a single Grammy that night, but his breathtaking performance got a standing ovation, and was the next day a big headline for every tv news and paper, and considered one of the most significant live performances in Grammy award ceremony history. MJ looked passionate and emotional throughout his almost 10 min act that boosted grammy show ratings that night.
4. MTV Video Music Awards Performance (1995)
Glad, people saw the legend recreating magic with his own songs on stage in the 1990s as well. Eyes didn’t believe what they saw and ears denied that it was not a human’s voice but of an angel. Jackson was on fire while performing and his short hair made him look quite different and adorable as compared to his Bad and Dangerous era looks. He showed that his energy was the same as in the 70s, 80s, and 90s with more style and grace. His robotic moves, smooth moonwalk, and being accompanied by Slash added more drama to the performance. His dance choreography of Dangerous is considered one of the iconic performances today.
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3. Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Celebration Performance (2001)
Held in Madison Square Garden, New York, the concert tickets sold out within 2 hours. Despite being quite expensive, nothing could stop the fans from seeing their idol after years, performing live alongside their other favorite celebrities including Usher, Chris Tucker, and Britney Spears, just to name a few. Not only this, but his 5 brothers performed and refreshed the childhood and teenage memories of the Boomers II and Gen X. He later performed in the American Bandstand 50th celebration (2002) and the BET awards (2003) as well but the 30th-anniversary one was his last official concert. It helped MJ’s final album sales, also he made over $14 million from two-day performances.
2. National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl Half-Time Performance (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBkNQZ-6QHg&t=19s
The philanthropic nature of Jackson made him donate much of his earnings i.e. $100,000 to his “Heal the World” foundation, which he received for the half-time performance in 1993. The event was watched by around 133.4 million viewers which made tv history of the most watched show in America. It remains the greatest live performance in the Super Bowl’s history as of today. Similar to the outfit worn by Jackson, Beyoncé́ paid homage to the King of Pop in her Super Bowl performance with an alike costume.
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1. Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever Performance (1983)
The 24-year-old Michael participated in the event and gave a striking gig of his childhood songs of The Jackson 5 era but the major moment during that occasion was when he moonwalked first-time ever and left the audience with their mouths wide open out of surprise. The viral signature dance move and electrifying performance led to the increase in his then-newly released Thriller album. Although Jackson later revealed that he was not satisfied with that performance, it was actually a phenomenal masterpiece to everyone that watched it.