Michael Jackson’s contribution to the pop music is immense and it’s no surprise that his fans named him as “The King of Pop”. He made everyone crazy with not just his songs but also his superb dance moves. He was undoubtedly one of the best and most famous entertainers of the world and is still ruling our hearts even after 9 years of his death. MJ was truly a King and whatever he achieved in life was the result of his hard work, determination and his love for the music. He was a pure and divine soul with a lot of love for kids and animals. What’s more, he was actively involved in charity activities as well.
Here we are going to talk about 15 facts about Michael Jackson which every fan should be aware of:
MJ’s father Joseph Jackson was a very strict and disciplined person and it sounds obvious as he was a former boxer apart from being a guitarist and a steelworker. However, to meet the expenses of his household, he used to work as a crane operator.
Michael Jackson suffered childhood abuse both physical and emotional at the hands of his father but he also gives credit to his father’s discipline for the success that he achieved.
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The King of Pop also loved cartoon shows and his favourite animation character was a wooden puppet whose nose grows whenever he tells a lie or he is in stress. We hope you have recognized the character; yes, it's Pinocchio!
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“Jackson Brothers” was the name of the band which was formed by Michael’s father and brothers. MJ became a part of the band as a backup musician in 1964.
However, it was in 1965 that MJ got the chance to sing as a lead along with his brother Jermaine and the name of the band was then changed to “Jackson 5”.
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Soon the band “Jackson 5” got the chance of winning a major talent show in which MJ performed dance at “Barefootin”, the 1965 hit from Robert Parker. The group travelled the mid-west and performed at various shows. In August 1967, they became the winner of a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater, Harlem.
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Michael Jackson is the most awarded artist of all time and his awards include 23 Guinness World Records, 13 Grammys, 40 Billboard Awards and 26 American Music Awards. No other music artist whether dead or alive has won this many awards.
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MJ loved to have Mexican food; however most of the times, he preferred to have vegetarian and healthy dishes in his meal.
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Marvel Comics filed for bankruptcy in the late 90s. Michael Jackson wanted to buy Marvel Comics so that he can act as Spiderman in the movie but it didn’t happen and Tobey Maguire played the role of Spiderman.
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As per Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson, MJ had a meeting at New York’s World Trade Center on 9/11 but he missed that meeting because he overslept. Surely, the King of Pop had luck by his side on that disastrous day when hundreds lost their lives.
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Pets were an important part of MJ’s life and his pet collection included not just dogs, cats and birds but he also had mice, snakes, Llamas, giraffe and tigers too. However, his favourite pet was a chimpanzee whose name was Bubbles. MJ purchased Bubbles from the primate research facility, Texas, in the early 80s when Bubbles was a baby. For the next two years, MJ and Bubbles were spotted together at almost every event and MJ even taught him his Moonwalk.
However, Bubbles became strong and aggressive with age which made MJ fear about his kids so he gave Bubbles to a sanctuary.
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In the year 2009 after MJ’s death, the Jackson estate earned around $1 billion and this made Guinness Book Of World Records to create a new category Highest-Earning Deceased Artist and Michael Jackson secured the top spot.
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As Michael Jackson was a victim of childhood abuse and he didn’t enjoy his childhood because of his early singing career, he was deeply concerned for the kids who are suffering in the world. To remind people about the suffering kids, MJ used to wear a black armband.
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In 1984 while shooting a commercial for Pepsi, Michael got his hair, scalp and face burnt in a pyrotechnics accident. He suffered second and third-degree burns and after that, he was forced to wear a wig. However, accident was kept a secret for nearly 25 years until US Weekly brought it in public limelight in 2009. Pepsi heavily condemned the act of US Weekly to reveal the secret.
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We have already told you that Michael Jackson is the most awarded artist of all time whether dead or alive and his fans will be happy to know that the record for winning the most number of Grammys in one night is also in MJ’s name. In 1984, Michael Jackson won 8 Grammys in one night. Nobody has surpassed Michael Jackson but Santana tied this record in the year 2000.
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Not everyone is so lucky to get a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame but the King of Pop had two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for himself while the second one for his band “Jackson 5”.
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We all know that MJ was the King of Pop but not many know that he was actually the King of a small kingdom in Africa. In 1992, MJ was officially crowned as the Monarch of Kingdom of Sanwi because the tribal chief of the kingdom was told by the spiritualists that MJ is the descendant of the royal bloodline.
MJ also went ahead with it as he didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the tribe and the people. In 2009 when MJ died, he was given a royal funeral by the tribe and they mourned for him for 2 days.
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So these are some really cool facts about Michael Jackson, aren’t they?