The last time Michael Jackson was in the Philippines was in December of 1996. It was a two-day concert that was part of a historic world tour. It was the third and last world concert tour of Michael Jackson as a solo artist. That was almost 13 years ago. He was only 37 years old then. He might not had been in the apex of his career that year but he was still well-enthroned as the undisputed King of Pop Music.
Although the issues of child sexual abuse were already hounding him in 1996, these issues were not enough to discourage some 50,000 Filipinos to attend his concert. In spite of the dizzying prices of the concert tickets, many Filipino fans waited for more than 8 hours at the entrance of the Asianworld concert site in Parañaque just to make sure that they would have the best vantage view to watch the performance. The social elites, celebrities such as Garry Valenciano (a Michael Jackson imitator), politicians, and ordinary Filipinos were among the audience.
After 13 years, 13 Grammy Awards, and more than 750 million albums sold, Michael Jackson now entered the pantheon of celebrity gods and goddesses. He will be forever immortalized as a cultural icon of his era and one of the greatest music performers of the 20th century.
The Filipinos are one with the world in mourning the loss of a great man. In spite of his eccentricities and controversial lifestyle, Michael Jackson was a consummate genius in his own right.
Michael died on Thursday at around 2126 GMT (5:26 a.m, Friday, Philippine time). It was presumed that he suffered from cardiac arrest.
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