Michael Jackson’s Last Rehearsal Video at Staples Center
AEG Live, the promoter of Michael Jackson’s upcoming comeback tour, releases a video via CNN that shows the King of Pop doing a last rehearsal at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, June 23. In the footage, the 50-year-old singer was seen energetically singing and practicing his dance moves along with some dancers.
Jackson was actually scheduled to perform a duet alongside his first son, Prince Michael Jackson Jr., during the concert, which was initially planned to be kicked off next month. “He was planning on doing a short duet with his son, Prince. He knew his kids would enjoy it,” Stuart Backerman, Jackson’s former publicist tells Us Magazine.
Michael Jackson passed away on Thursday, June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest. Previously, it was reported that his funeral will be held at L.A.’s Staples Center on Tuesday, July 7. AEG Live allegedly will use the venue and the next-door building, Nokia Theatre, as well as the surrounding plaza. Furthermore, insiders told The Hollywood Reporter that AEG is going to put gigantic screens outside the venues for those who can’t get inside.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller more popular after his Death
Michael Jackson’s online popularity continues to soar: we reported previously that 2.6 million Michael Jackson songs were downloaded this week; Nielsen SoundScan says that no artist has ever sold more than 1 million downloads in a single week.
But Jackson is dominating in online video, too. Visible Measures, which goes beyond YouTube (YouTube) views and instead aggregates views from 150+ video sites, reports today that videos of Thriller have been viewed almost 28 million times since Thursday. The count includes tributes to the original, like the prison inmates’ performance below.
What’s more, the viewership has been accelerating, with 8.5 million total views this weekend and more than 19 million additional views on Monday and Tuesday. Jackson, it seems, is getting more popular by the day.
Michael Jackson’s Autopsy
The Los Angeles County Coroner has started the autopsy on Michael Jackson.
Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran is performing the autopsy. The Dr. was a star witness in the O.J. Simpson case.
UPDATE: We’re told some members of the Jackson family are headed to the coroner’s office.
