With one gloved hand in his pocket, sunglasses on, and most of his original facial features intact, Michael Jackson, in the "We Are the World" video, was the ultimate picture of the pretty young thing. Beautiful inside and out.
Though I still kept a little room in my heart for Simon LeBon, most of the organ was property of Michael. Michael, who pranced so adorably through the woods in "Thriller," warning of "something evil lurking in the dark." Michael, whose ironed-on image I proudly carried on my red polyester purse. I gazed dreamily at the classic poster of him in the butter-yellow tux, lounging seductively, his Jheri Kurl framed in a halo of light.
Can you remember the time?
Flash to the mid-'90s. The Jheri Kurl halo had dimmed significantly. Sadly, he'd racked up enough marks against him to make even the most ardent former fan say hasta la vista, Jacko. The man in the mirror had become a scary-looking whitish woman.
His superhuman talents, naturally silky movements, endlessly expressive voice, unique innocence and blind drive had always suggested that he was of another world. And now we had proof. Fine, he's an alien.
An alien I can deal with. An arrogant alien is something else entirely. His ego seemed to explode. His representation of himself as a monument on "HIStory" and the cutesy cameos in his videos were irritating, not to mention the weird tales of hyperbaric chambers and monkey love, mind-boggling marriages and child molestation charges.
Sure his music was still good. But the Jacko express had all but derailed. On the threshold of becoming a pathetic pop culture punch line, and fed up with the paparazzi, he retreated from the music scene.
Now he's back, with Invincible, trying to find a place in a world that he helped to create.
"He was clearly the first mega-star of the video age," says Rick Krim, executive vice president of talent and music programming for VH1. The music station is airing a Michael Jackson Marathon, featuring classic Jackson moments, and a made-for-TV Jackson miniseries. "We're trying to educate," Krim says. "There was some reintroducing to do." Ratings spike any time Jackson-related programming runs, he adds.
Maybe the crash course will help him scare up some fans. He's got a tricky task to perform: satisfying former fans while also trying to ingratiate himself to Generation J-Lo. But since I still believe there's a heart beating somewhere underneath all that pain and plastic, I want Michael to know why some former fans may be wary of his return.
