25 Things Music Lost Since Michael Jackson Died

Happy Birthday, MJ.

Celebrities, 2016, Jamila Mustafa, BET Breaks, Michael Jackson

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Long Live the King - The name speaks for itself. Michael Joseph Jackson. The undisputed King of Pop. The man who would forever change music and shift our cultural landscape with eternal classics like “Thriller,” “Billie Jean” and “Scream.” Michael taught us how to Moonwalk, although we could never quite get the steps down like him. He defined the boundaries of music videos (the “Remember the Time” visual still sends shivers). If you were born anytime between 1975 and 2002, there’s a very good chance that at some point you wanted to be just like Mike. Who didn’t?MJ’s music is the soundtrack for our lives and the blueprint for a generation of R&B and pop stars to follow. With a career spanning four decades, the iconic singer was preparing for a big comeback before he tragically died on June 25, 2009, after suffering cardiac arrest following drug intoxication. The loss was felt a...

This Is It - In 2009, Michael Jackson planned a triumphant return with his This Is It concert series. The 50-show residency at O2 Arena in London would be his first major stint since the HIStory World Tour and was slated to be his last tour. Every show was sold out and ticket sale records were smashed. Sadly, Michael died weeks before the first curtain call.(Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

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This Is It - In 2009, Michael Jackson planned a triumphant return with his This Is It concert series. The 50-show residency at O2 Arena in London would be his first major stint since the HIStory World Tour and was slated to be his last tour. Every show was sold out and ticket sale records were smashed. Sadly, Michael died weeks before the first curtain call.(Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Never Neverland - Neverland Ranch was the strange and whimsical place where Michael Jackson rested his head. Named after Peter Pan’s fantasy island where no one ever grows up, the property included the singer’s home, amusement park, statutes of children and a petting zoo. Since Michael’s death, the ranch has fell into disrepair and in 2015, it was reported that Neverland would be up for sale to new owners for $100 million. (Photo: MichaelJacksonVevo via Youtube)

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Never Neverland - Neverland Ranch was the strange and whimsical place where Michael Jackson rested his head. Named after Peter Pan’s fantasy island where no one ever grows up, the property included the singer’s home, amusement park, statutes of children and a petting zoo. Since Michael’s death, the ranch has fell into disrepair and in 2015, it was reported that Neverland would be up for sale to new owners for $100 million. (Photo: MichaelJacksonVevo via Youtube)

Scream 2 - In 1995, the Jacksons made us want to scream. Michael and his famous sister Janet joined super forces to create one of the biggest pop collaborations. Janet is planning her return to music this year — the 20th anniversary of “Scream” — and nothing would have been more fitting than a sequel.(Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

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Scream 2 - In 1995, the Jacksons made us want to scream. Michael and his famous sister Janet joined super forces to create one of the biggest pop collaborations. Janet is planning her return to music this year — the 20th anniversary of “Scream” — and nothing would have been more fitting than a sequel.(Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Music Videos - Video killed the radio star but Michael Jackson gave music videos life. The superstar broke barriers for Black artists by getting “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” on MTV. Later, he broke records (and budgets) with epic visuals like his spooky “Thriller” and celebrity-studded “Remember the Time.” No other artist can touch the King of Music Videos’ throne.(Photo: Epic Records)

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Music Videos - Video killed the radio star but Michael Jackson gave music videos life. The superstar broke barriers for Black artists by getting “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” on MTV. Later, he broke records (and budgets) with epic visuals like his spooky “Thriller” and celebrity-studded “Remember the Time.” No other artist can touch the King of Music Videos’ throne.(Photo: Epic Records)

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Blood on the Dance Floor - Michael Jackson’s dance moves proved that his feet worked in ways that normal folks just don’t. Whether he was doing his signature Moonwalk, dizzily spinning or leaning forward 45 degrees, Michael’s body defied the laws of physics.(Photo: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect/Getty Images)

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Blood on the Dance Floor - Michael Jackson’s dance moves proved that his feet worked in ways that normal folks just don’t. Whether he was doing his signature Moonwalk, dizzily spinning or leaning forward 45 degrees, Michael’s body defied the laws of physics.(Photo: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect/Getty Images)

#MichaelJackson - The superstar died before Black Twitter, sliding into DMs and trending topics ruled our lives. What would Michael Jackson tweet? Would he follow Janet, Jermaine, Lisa Marie Presley? Send subliminal shots at rivals and up-and-comers? Prince stalled the Internet by tweeting a selfie, imagine what 140 characters from MJ could do.(Photo: Fin Costello/Redferns)

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#MichaelJackson - The superstar died before Black Twitter, sliding into DMs and trending topics ruled our lives. What would Michael Jackson tweet? Would he follow Janet, Jermaine, Lisa Marie Presley? Send subliminal shots at rivals and up-and-comers? Prince stalled the Internet by tweeting a selfie, imagine what 140 characters from MJ could do.(Photo: Fin Costello/Redferns)

The Truth Is Out There - So much of Michael Jackson’s private life was left just that — private — at the time of his death. Fans were left wondering about his romantic liaisons, the identity of his baby mama and more. It’s the stuff that VH1 movies are made of, but we may never know the whole, true story.(Photo: Peter Still/Redferns)

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The Truth Is Out There - So much of Michael Jackson’s private life was left just that — private — at the time of his death. Fans were left wondering about his romantic liaisons, the identity of his baby mama and more. It’s the stuff that VH1 movies are made of, but we may never know the whole, true story.(Photo: Peter Still/Redferns)

Red Carpet Baes - Michael Jackson’s history of red carpet arm candy reads like a who’s who of Hollywood. Whether he was showing off actress Brooke Shields, icon Liz Taylor or Bubbles his pet chimp, he put all the other celebrity couples to shame. Who would Michael have brought to the BET Awards? We can only guess.(Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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Red Carpet Baes - Michael Jackson’s history of red carpet arm candy reads like a who’s who of Hollywood. Whether he was showing off actress Brooke Shields, icon Liz Taylor or Bubbles his pet chimp, he put all the other celebrity couples to shame. Who would Michael have brought to the BET Awards? We can only guess.(Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Keeping Up With the Jacksons - The Jacksons are the family we wanted to keep up with. A rags-to-riches tale featuring an eccentric superstar dad, a blended family (including a mysterious baby mama) and countless celebrity cameos; the Jacksons were primed for reality television. Kim Kardashian even went to prom with TJ Jackson, son of Tito, so you know the crossover episode of Kendall and Kylie at Neverland would’ve been amazing.(Photo: Frank Barratt/Getty Images)

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Keeping Up With the Jacksons - The Jacksons are the family we wanted to keep up with. A rags-to-riches tale featuring an eccentric superstar dad, a blended family (including a mysterious baby mama) and countless celebrity cameos; the Jacksons were primed for reality television. Kim Kardashian even went to prom with TJ Jackson, son of Tito, so you know the crossover episode of Kendall and Kylie at Neverland would’ve been amazing.(Photo: Frank Barratt/Getty Images)

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The Wedding - We got the Royal Wedding and Kim Kardashian’s wedding (twice) but we wanted our Michael Jackson wedding moment. Both of Michael’s marriages were done on the down low — before gossip blogs and social media—so as fans, we never had the chance to see Michael in his full wedding splendor. Would Bubbles have been there? Would Elizabeth Taylor have officiated? So many questions.(Photo: Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images)

MJ on Fleek - Like everything else in his life, Michael’s wardrobe was always over the top. A red jacket with the zippers or a diamond-studded single glove were light work for the star. In a time when everyone wants to be a fashionista, we wished we could see Michael’s style slay these young’uns.(Photo: Epic Records)

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MJ on Fleek - Like everything else in his life, Michael’s wardrobe was always over the top. A red jacket with the zippers or a diamond-studded single glove were light work for the star. In a time when everyone wants to be a fashionista, we wished we could see Michael’s style slay these young’uns.(Photo: Epic Records)

I Made You, Why Would I Play You? - Michael Jackson has birthed a generation of R&B and pop stars. Everyone from Chris Brown and The Weeknd to Robin Thicke and Justin Bieber owes him a check. After his supposed retirement following This Is It, we wonder how would the icon have handled his role as a pop OG?(Photo: Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)

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I Made You, Why Would I Play You? - Michael Jackson has birthed a generation of R&B and pop stars. Everyone from Chris Brown and The Weeknd to Robin Thicke and Justin Bieber owes him a check. After his supposed retirement following This Is It, we wonder how would the icon have handled his role as a pop OG?(Photo: Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)

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Response to Wade Robson - Wade Robson was a child dancer and later, choreographer for acts like *NSYNC and Britney Spears. Word on the streets, he was the dude creeping with Brit while she was with Justin. In 2005, Wade testified on behalf of Michael during his child molestation trial, but in 2013, he claimed MJ molested him as a child. “It was not the plan for this info to be made public, but now that it has, I am sharing it because it is important for these 'uncomfortable' topics to be talked about... Silence perpetuates abuse,” claimed Wade.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

New Collaborations - Michael Jackson was selective when it came to collaborations but there were rumors that he wanted to collaborate with younger artists like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber on his last go-around. Since his death, all that’s left is hearsay and unfinished vocal tracks.(Photo: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect/Getty Images)

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New Collaborations - Michael Jackson was selective when it came to collaborations but there were rumors that he wanted to collaborate with younger artists like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber on his last go-around. Since his death, all that’s left is hearsay and unfinished vocal tracks.(Photo: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect/Getty Images)

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Kanye West and Michael Jackson - Michael Jackson didn’t work with a lot of rappers (shoutout to Biggie, Jay Z, Ice Cube and... Shaq) yet Kanye West claims to be his modern-day incarnation. While ’Ye supplied some production on the remix of “Billie Jean” for the 25th anniversary of Thriller back in 2009 (and R.I.P.’d him on his own hit, “All of the Lights”) an inevitable collaboration between the musical geniuses would’ve been, well, genius.(Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)

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Kanye West and Michael Jackson - Michael Jackson didn’t work with a lot of rappers (shoutout to Biggie, Jay Z, Ice Cube and... Shaq) yet Kanye West claims to be his modern-day incarnation. While ’Ye supplied some production on the remix of “Billie Jean” for the 25th anniversary of Thriller back in 2009 (and R.I.P.’d him on his own hit, “All of the Lights”) an inevitable collaboration between the musical geniuses would’ve been, well, genius.(Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)

Circus Circus - Michael Jackson’s life, in many ways, was like a real-life circus. In 2013, Cirque du Soleil brought the singer back to life as a hologram for its Michael Jackson ONE cirque show in Las Vegas. Holograms are cool but we’d much have preferred seeing the real man play ringleader.(Photo: Getty Images)

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Circus Circus - Michael Jackson’s life, in many ways, was like a real-life circus. In 2013, Cirque du Soleil brought the singer back to life as a hologram for its Michael Jackson ONE cirque show in Las Vegas. Holograms are cool but we’d much have preferred seeing the real man play ringleader.(Photo: Getty Images)

Underneath the Blanket - Fans have always been fascinated by Michael Jackson’s children and after his infamous baby dangling incident in 2002, Prince Michael Jackson II or “Blanket” has been the center of attention. Since MJ’s death, Blanket and his sibs have kept a pretty low profile and left fans wanting more. This year, Blanket changed his name to “Bigi” (after years of reported bullying) and it barely made a blip on our radars.(Photo by Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)

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Underneath the Blanket - Fans have always been fascinated by Michael Jackson’s children and after his infamous baby dangling incident in 2002, Prince Michael Jackson II or “Blanket” has been the center of attention. Since MJ’s death, Blanket and his sibs have kept a pretty low profile and left fans wanting more. This year, Blanket changed his name to “Bigi” (after years of reported bullying) and it barely made a blip on our radars.(Photo by Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)

Thriller 4.0 - Take it back one more time. When artists want to re-release an album or song, they repackage it and give it a new name, like Trey Songz’s Trigga Reloaded or Nicki Minaj’s Roman Reloaded. Michael Jackson’s Thriller is the best-selling album of all time (29 times platinum domestically) and has been re-issued twice. As we approach the 35th anniversary of the release shortly, why not throw another one? Re-re-reloaded.(Photo: MichaelJacksonVevo via Youtube)

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Thriller 4.0 - Take it back one more time. When artists want to re-release an album or song, they repackage it and give it a new name, like Trey Songz’s Trigga Reloaded or Nicki Minaj’s Roman Reloaded. Michael Jackson’s Thriller is the best-selling album of all time (29 times platinum domestically) and has been re-issued twice. As we approach the 35th anniversary of the release shortly, why not throw another one? Re-re-reloaded.(Photo: MichaelJacksonVevo via Youtube)

Weird Al Remixes - You’re nobody until Weird Al Yankovic remixes your songs. Al’s take on “Beat It” (“Eat It”) and “Bad” (“Fat”) are classics in their own right. No more original music from Michael means no more awesome Weird Al parodies.(Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)

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Weird Al Remixes - You’re nobody until Weird Al Yankovic remixes your songs. Al’s take on “Beat It” (“Eat It”) and “Bad” (“Fat”) are classics in their own right. No more original music from Michael means no more awesome Weird Al parodies.(Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: George Rose/Getty Images

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Pop Domination - Michael Jackson isn’t a pop singer or even a pop star; he’s the undisputed King of Pop. He made pop music that was in reality, world music, transcending race, gender and geographic lines. Whether he was talking about controversy in “Scream” or having a Maury moment in “Billie Jean,” artists just don’t make songs like his anymore.(Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)

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Pop Domination - Michael Jackson isn’t a pop singer or even a pop star; he’s the undisputed King of Pop. He made pop music that was in reality, world music, transcending race, gender and geographic lines. Whether he was talking about controversy in “Scream” or having a Maury moment in “Billie Jean,” artists just don’t make songs like his anymore.(Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)

will.i.am-Not - Two posthumous albums dropped after Michael’s death, one which included the track “Love Never Felt So Good” with Justin Timberlake. One person less than thrilled about these afterlife releases is will.i.am. In 2010, the producer said it was “disrespectful” to release music without the superstar’s consent and that he would never let his collabo with Michael see the light of day. "I knew this man…and he was very critical about every single detail. He stood in the studio himself, mastering and mixing everything. How can you release a record without that Michael Jackson? It's not Michael Jackson… It disgusts me."(Photo: Jean-Marc Giboux/Liaison)

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will.i.am-Not - Two posthumous albums dropped after Michael’s death, one which included the track “Love Never Felt So Good” with Justin Timberlake. One person less than thrilled about these afterlife releases is will.i.am. In 2010, the producer said it was “disrespectful” to release music without the superstar’s consent and that he would never let his collabo with Michael see the light of day. "I knew this man…and he was very critical about every single detail. He stood in the studio himself, mastering and mixing everything. How can you release a record without that Michael Jackson? It's not Michael Jackson… It disgusts me."(Photo: Jean-Marc Giboux/Liaison)

Action Jackson - Artists nowadays are brands. Whether they’re designing a clothing line or plugging upscale headphones, this is the era of the perpetual side-hustle. Michael Jackson was always a singer and save for some acting or the one-off soda endorsement, singing was his bread and butter. How would he have fared shilling Moscato or promoting himself as a brand? Would you buy what Mike’s selling?(Photo: KMazur/WireImage)

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Action Jackson - Artists nowadays are brands. Whether they’re designing a clothing line or plugging upscale headphones, this is the era of the perpetual side-hustle. Michael Jackson was always a singer and save for some acting or the one-off soda endorsement, singing was his bread and butter. How would he have fared shilling Moscato or promoting himself as a brand? Would you buy what Mike’s selling?(Photo: KMazur/WireImage)

We Are the World - In 1985, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote “We Are the World.” Produced by Quincy Jones, the charity single was recorded by a supergroup of celebrities for African relief. Given the state of the world — both home and abroad — we could use another song to band celebrities and fans together for a good cause.(Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)

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We Are the World - In 1985, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote “We Are the World.” Produced by Quincy Jones, the charity single was recorded by a supergroup of celebrities for African relief. Given the state of the world — both home and abroad — we could use another song to band celebrities and fans together for a good cause.(Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)

Say Word? - Michael Jackson had a love-hate (mostly, hate) relationship with the media. Given his eccentric behavior and public scandals, Mike’s time in front of the camera were usually awkward and cringe-inducing, like 2003’s Living With Michael Jackson. Media has gotten far more sensational, with paparazzi, click-baiting and trolling, and you have to wonder how Michael would have survived (or not).(Photo: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect/Getty Images)

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Say Word? - Michael Jackson had a love-hate (mostly, hate) relationship with the media. Given his eccentric behavior and public scandals, Mike’s time in front of the camera were usually awkward and cringe-inducing, like 2003’s Living With Michael Jackson. Media has gotten far more sensational, with paparazzi, click-baiting and trolling, and you have to wonder how Michael would have survived (or not).(Photo: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect/Getty Images)

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Michael Jackson Icon - Singer, dancer, cultural icon. With a career spanning four decades, 13 Grammy Awards, some 400 million records sold worldwide and multiple Guinness World Record nods, Michael Jackson is in a class all by himself. We watched him as an adorable kid in the Jackson 5 grow into a man making timeless hits and later, he became a myth bigger-than-life. No other singer in our time — or likely any time — will change the game like he did. The biggest thing music lost when Michael Jackson died was Michael Jackson himself.(Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)