The King is dead. Long live the King!

For twelve days the world has been obsessed with Michael Jackson. From the moment that news of his untimely death on June 25th was released until yesterday evening, every other news story was shifted to "the back burner." At first I was not that interested in the incessant rehashing of the details of his life, which had been under the magnifier of public attention for more than forty years.

At some point I succumbed to the international curiosity about the musical genius of the proclaimed "King of Pop." No one can deny the unparalleled compositions and choreography that were born inside his imagination to explode onto the stage. No one can deny that he was fragile, both physically and emotionally, after more than four decades of hard work on stage and in the studio that resulted in hit record after hit record. No one can deny that his emotions were frozen at a young age that made him identify children as his peers. No one can deny that he loved his children, a love that was equally returned by Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

Whether he died of a drug overdose remains to be clarified by the results of toxicology tests which are still pending. Whether his actions should be described as pedophilia was never decided by the courts. Whether his musical genius was developed at the cost of his personal psyche is something that I can only guess at. What is certain is that I don't need answers to these questions in order to admire the incredible talents that Michael Jackson displayed during his lifetime.

Michael Jackson died too soon. It is impossible to know whether more magical genius would have transformed into lyrics or melodies or choreography during his planned fifty concert tour. What is certain is that the world is a better place because his music touched generations of listeners around the world. From "We Are the World" to "Man in the Mirror" or "Thriller" his music touched numerous hearts. For that I am grateful and wish that his troubled spirit can now rest in peace.