As expected, Michael Jackson is once again the King of the Pop charts.

Based on preliminary sales numbers from Nielsen SoundScan, the top nine positions on Billboard’s Top Pop Catalog Albums chart will house Jackson-related titles when the tally is released in the early morning on Wednesday. Nielsen SoundScan’s sales tracking week ended at the close of business Sunday (June 28) night.

Jackson himself — who died June 25 of cardiac arrest at age 50 — has a record eight out of the top 10, and a Jackson 5 compilation also finds its way into the upper tier.

“Number Ones” will fittingly lead the pack at No. 1 with sales of 108,000 (an increase of 2,340 percent) while “The Essential Michael Jackson” and “Thriller” are in the second and third slots with 102,000 and 101,000, respectively. Last week “Number Ones” was the only Jackson title on the chart, at No. 20 with 4,000 copies; both “Essential” and “Thriller” re-enter the tally this week.

Additionally, his classic 1979 studio set “Off the Wall” re-enters at No. 4 with 33,000 while his 1987 album “Bad” returns at No. 6 with 17,000. At No. 5, the Jackson 5’s “The Ultimate Collection” debuts with 18,000. Jackson’s fourth studio album for Epic Records, 1991’s “Dangerous,” re-enters at No. 7 with 14,000, and his 2001 compilation, “Greatest Hits: HIStory — Volume 1,” returns to the list at No. 8 with 12,000. Finally, Jackson’s 2004 box set, “The Ultimate Collection,” charts its first week on the Pop Catalog chart, arriving at No. 9 with 11,000.

The lone non-Jackson-related set in the top 10 is a reissue of the “Woodstock” movie soundtrack, which bows at No. 10 with 8,000.

CHART FIRSTS

Collectively, Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 this past week. That’s extraordinary, given that his titles sold a combined 10,000 in the week ended June 21. Of the 415,000, 58 percent were digital downloads.

The 415,000 albums sold last week represent nearly 40 percent more than sales of Jackson’s catalog during the entire year up through June 21 (297,000).

On the Top Digital Albums chart, Jackson has a record six out of the top 10 slots, including the top four. “The Essential Michael Jackson” leads the Top Digital Albums list with 80,000 downloads sold, while “Thriller” is No. 2 with 57,000.

With the Black Eyed Peas’ “The E.N.D.” moving back to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 chart with 88,000, this week marks the first time that a catalog album has sold more than the No. 1 current set on the Billboard 200 albums chart. (All three of Jackson’s top sellers on the Pop Catalog chart outsell “The E.N.D.”)

It’s a feat that Jackson himself almost achieved when he reissued “Thriller” in February 2008. The set relaunched with 166,000, re-entering at No. 1 on the Top Pop Catalog chart. That week, Jack Johnson’s “Sleep Through the Static” led the Billboard 200 chart with 180,000 while Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” was at No. 2 with 115,000.

Catalog albums are ineligible to appear on the Billboard 200 albums chart, but they can chart on the all-encompassing Top Comprehensive Albums list. On the latter chart, Jackson’s “Number Ones,” “Essential” and “Thriller” are at Nos. 1-3, followed by the Black Eyed Peas’ “The E.N.D.” at No. 4.

NEW DIGITAL RECORD

Jackson places a record 25 songs on the 75-position Hot Digital Songs chart (21 solo hits and four with his siblings), smashing the mark of 14 charting titles established by David Cook in June 2008. Jackson’s Halloween radio staple, “Thriller,” moves 167,000, which is good for second place on the chart behind the 203,000 shifted by the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.”

“Thriller” was also Jackson’s best digital seller in the week before his death, with 5,000 downloads, which translates to a 3,551 percent jump. Jackson’s total volume of downloads this week — including his tracks with the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons — account for 2.6 million downloads, a remarkable number considering that last week’s cumulative sum was 48,000. Moreover, Jackson becomes the first act to sell more than 1 million song downloads in a week.

Besides “Thriller,” Jackson places five other songs in the top 10 including “Man in the Mirror” (No. 3, 165,000), “Billie Jean” (No. 4, 158,000), “The Way You Make Me Feel” (No. 6, 136,000), “Beat It” (No. 7, 134,000) and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (No. 8, 125,000).

Not surprisingly, each of the Jackson tracks in the top 10 of Hot Digital Songs was among the top 10 most-played Jackson selections on radio after his passing. According to research provided by Nielsen BDS of monitored airplay from more than 1,600 terrestrial and satellite radio stations and cable music channels, “Billie Jean” was the Jackson track with the most spins for the week ended June 28, with 4,540 — 97 percent of which occurred after news of his death became public. The track posted only 318 plays in the previous week.

(source)

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Two of Michael Jackson’s former confidantes, medium Uri Geller and ex-bodyguard Matt Fiddes, say they tried in vain to keep the pop superstar from abusing painkillers and other prescription drugs suspected of leading to his death - but others in the singer’s circle kept the supplies flowing.

“When Michael asked for something, he got it. This was the great tragedy,” Geller said Thursday.

Geller, who said he suffered a terrible falling-out with Jackson several years ago over the issue, said he often had “to shout at Michael, to scream at Michael” as he sought to confiscate the singer’s stocks of medication during his travels in England.

“I tried to drum sense into his brain,” Geller said. “I told him, ‘Michael you’re going to die, Michael you’re going to kill yourself.’ But he just stared at me. Many a time he was in his bed and I stood and shouted at him. He just stared at me.”

Speaking at his home near London, Geller said he slept on floors or sofas in Jackson’s hotel suites in a bid to talk sense into his sometimes-incoherent friend.

“Most of the people around Michael could not say `No!’ to him. He desperately needed someone there all the time who could say `No!’ and mean it, who could warn him of the dangers … and tell him the truth,” Geller said. “The big problem was that many people wanted to help Michael, to save his life, but we could not be there all the time.”

Geller said Jackson relied on medications to help him cope with relentless pressure and media criticism in his later years. “With his sanity buffeted and health wracked by global bullying nonstop, I think it’s actually incredible that Michael held up as well as he did,” he said.

Fiddes, an English karate instructor who worked as a senior bodyguard during Jackson’s travels in Britain for a decade, said the pop idol abused prescription medications, not recreational drugs, and took so much that it could be difficult to wake him for engagements.

“I confiscated packages and Uri did too. I mean, Uri confiscated injection equipment from his room,” Fiddes said in an interview broadcast Thursday by Sky News. “And Uri would scream at Michael, you know, intensely, to stop doing this. But we just were getting pushed out.”

Fiddes recalled one occasion when Jackson planned to visit London Zoo to see the gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates - but was too spaced out to go anywhere.

The bodyguard said he and Geller “were both shaking him trying to wake him up. It was clear that he had taken something that morning and he was hard to wake. We were extremely concerned … We couldn’t get him in a state that would portray him in a good light.”

Fiddes said both he and Geller told others supplying medications to Jackson to stop, but when their efforts “got back to Michael, he would have a screaming fit that we were interfering with his private life. He was in denial.”

However, Geller said he was convinced that “Michael did not want to die.”

“Michael loved life,” he said. “Michael loved his children. They were everything to him.”

Several other Jackson confidantes have expressed concern since his death at the volume and mixture of medications he was taking. Self-help guru Deepak Chopra said he rejected Jackson’s 2005 appeals for painkillers and that their relationship suffered lasting damage because of it.

Geller said he was fearful that Jackson could not have completed his planned 50-concert run in London, which was due to start July 13. Stress over the imminent comeback, as well as drug misuse, combined to kill his friend, he said.

“Whatever the autopsy will come back with, part of what made Michael Jackson’s heart stop involved the stress and the anxiety that, ‘My God, in a few days I have to get on a plane and fly to England.’ But he could have done it,” Geller said.

(source)

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Debbie Rowe wants custody of the two children she had with Michael Jackson.

“I want my children,” Rowe said during a 90-minute phone conversation Thursday morning with NBCLA’s Chuck Henry.

Rowe said she was willing to submit to any testing, including DNA to prove that she is the children’s true biological mother. Rowe also said she would submit to psychological testing.

She also said she would seek a restraining order to keep Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, away from the children.

The agreement does allow for visitation, but Rowe said it’s a very difficult process. She said if she misses a visitation date, it is difficult to reschedule with the Jacksons.

“I am stepping up,” Rowe said. “I have to.”

Rowe said she was still grieving. She said she decided she had to seek custody after Jackson’s death.

“We had an agreement… he didn’t keep his end,” Rowe said, referring to Jackson’s death. “It hasn’t been easy. It’s been painful.”

Jackson, who died at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. Rowe was the mother of the two oldest children.

The youngest was born to a surrogate mother, who has never been identified.

Rowe said she was concerned about splitting up the children. She said she did not expect the court to grant custody of the third child, but added that she would be willing to accept custody.

Rowe, who was married to Jackson in 1996 and filed for divorce three years later, surrendered her parental rights. An appeals court later found that was done in error, and Rowe and Jackson entered an out-of-court settlement in 2006.

In her testimony eight years ago, Rowe said, “I had the children for him. They wouldn’t be on this planet if it wasn’t for my love for him. I did it for him to become a father, not for me to become a mother. You earn the title ‘parent.” I have done absolutely nothing to earn that title.”

Earlier this week, Jackson’s mother was appointed temporary guardian of the children, pending a hearing on Monday. A will signed by Jackson in 2002 and filed with the court Wednesday requests that Katherine Jackson be named guardian of the children, but in the event of her death, he asked that singer Diana Ross be appointed.

The will also specifically leaves Rowe out of any inheritance.

“I have intentionally omitted to provide for my former wife, Deborah Jean Rowe Jackson,” the will states.

Rowe’s attorney, Eric George, told the Los Angeles Times he will be at the custody hearing Monday to represent her.

(source)

• Katherine Jackson Files for Guardianship of Three Kids
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Michael Jackson had a mountain of unreleased recordings in the vault when he died - music that is almost certain to be packaged and repackaged for his fans in the years to come.

The material includes unused tracks from studio sessions of some of Jackson’s best albums, as well as more recently recorded songs made with Senegalese R&B singer and producer Akon and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am.

“There are dozens and dozens of songs that did not end up on his albums,” said Tommy Mottola, who from 1998 to 2003 was chairman and CEO of Sony Music, which owns the distribution rights to Jackson’s music. “People will be hearing a lot of that unreleased material for the first time ever. There’s just some genius and brilliance in there.”

The releases, Mottola said, “could go on for years and years - even more than Elvis.”

Since Jackson’s death Thursday, there has been an enormous, almost unprecedented demand for the King of Pop’s music. Nielsen SoundScan said Wednesday that three of his records - “Number Ones,” “Essential Michael Jackson” and “Thriller - were the best-selling albums of the week, and 2.3 million tracks of his have been downloaded in the U.S. alone.

When a music star of Jackson’s stature dies, labels typically comb through their archives to pull out anything they can release. New compilations of recordings by performers such as Elvis, Tupac and Jeff Buckley are still released nearly every year.

Mottola, who has described himself as the “shepherd and gatekeeper” of Jackson’s catalog and is familiar with it better than anyone, said that for every album Jackson made - including classics like 1979’s “Off the Wall” and 1982’s “Thriller” - he recorded several tracks that didn’t make it onto the records.

(Mottola had only laudatory things to say about Jackson, who criticized Mottola in 2002 as a racist. Among those who defended Mottola at the time was the Rev. Al Sharpton.)

The details of who owns Jackson’s unreleased music and concert footage are not entirely clear. Sony Music declined to comment. A person involved with the label who requested anonymity said no new projects or compilations are being planned yet.

The Jackson family has not publicly discussed plans for Jackson’s catalog. In a 2002 will filed in court Wednesday, the pop star left his entire estate to a family trust, with his mother and his children named as beneficiaries.

Steve Gordon, an entertainment lawyer and author of “The Future of the Music Business,” worked at Sony Music during the 1990s. He said he was at Sony when Jackson’s last contract was negotiated, though he acknowledged it could have recently been updated.

Gordon said Jackson owns some of his master recordings, while others are owned in partnership with Sony. Regardless, he said, Sony retains exclusive distribution rights for anything Jackson produced during the term of their contract.

Gordon said he expects Sony’s Legacy Recordings division to do something similar to what it did with Elvis and create a division purely for Jackson’s catalog.

“They’ve done every kind of configuration to try to squeeze more money out of the catalog with Elvis and they’ll do it with Michael Jackson - be sure of it,” Gordon said. “I imagine that there’s a … load of concert recordings that may or may not have been released.”

Jackson’s last original album was 2001’s “Invincible.” His 2005 child molestation trial and other controversies distracted him from recording, but he was active in recent years.

He died just weeks before he was to perform 50 concerts at London’s O2 arena in what was supposed to be his comeback. He had also begun working on new material.

Two weeks before he died, he wrapped up work on an elaborate production dubbed the “Dome Project,” which could be the final finished video piece overseen by Jackson. Two people with knowledge of the project confirmed its existence Monday to The Associated Press on condition they not be identified because they signed confidentiality agreements.

Four sets were constructed for Jackson’s production, including a cemetery recalling his famous “Thriller” video. Shooting for the project lasted from June 1 to June 9. Now in post-production, the project is expected to be completed next month.

Last year, Jackson released “Thriller 25,” an album marking the 25th anniversary of the album. It included the new song “For All Time,” as well as five remixes that involved will.i.am, Kanye West, Akon and Fergie.

The Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am has said he and Jackson recorded several songs together. He told the BBC on Monday that Jackson had possession of their demos, and that the songs “demanded all the people to the dance floor.”

Akon had hoped to complete an album with Jackson once he finished his London concerts. The singer said they used to meet in Las Vegas whenever they had the time, and would talk on the phone constantly about ideas for the album.

Akon said they never actually completed a song except for “Hold My Hand,” which leaked last year. “All the other songs were just ideas,” Akon said.

He said he will keep the song fragments - a chorus here, a verse there - “locked up in the vault” until the Jackson family decides how to proceed. He said it could be worked into a tribute album.

“It was all positive records - songs to uplift people, songs to make people think about the problems in life,” Akon said. “It was all about bringing people together.”

(source)

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Jermaine Jackson says he would like to see Neverland Ranch as his brother Michael’s final resting place.

In an interview broadcast Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show, Jermaine Jackson also says he wishes he had died instead of his younger brother, and that Michael was “a gift from Allah.”

Says Jermaine: “He went too soon. I don’t know how people are going to take this, but I wish it was me.”

On Wednesday, Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine said a public memorial was in the works but it wouldn’t be held at Neverland.

A person familiar with the situation told the AP that permits for a burial at the sprawling Santa Barbara, Calif., estate could not be arranged in time.

(source)

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When I saw the report on TMZ today saying that Michael Jackson was not the father of his children, it wasn’t exactly the greatest shock ever. Did anyone really think they were his kids or his sperm? Seriously? I don’t know what the big fuss is. What did shock me was that someone did come forward and admit that two of the children were his. According to Arnold Klein, he is not only Debbie Rowe’s former boss but also the father of Michael’s children. Klein always said he would never reveal that he was the parent and that lasted all of about four days after Michael died. From what I understand though, Klein says Debbie Rowe is the mother and that is not true according to the TMZ reports. From what I understand is that no one knows who the father of Blanket is, and only know the name of the mother.

I think over the course of the next few months we will find out some very interesting things about the life of Michael Jackson. Then after about a year there will be a rash of books which will make some truly outrageous claims. Whether they can be believed or not will be an open question. Think about how how many family members who would love to write a book or sell some rights to a movie and make some money. Lots and lots of books will be written.

(source)

• Debbie Rowe: I Want My Children
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Katherine Jackson is a horror story waiting to happen. Earlier today she filed a petition to become the guardian of Michael’s three kids. Not only no, but hell no. This would be the worst possible thing to happen to those three kids. Can you imagine being in a house with Katherine and Joe Jackson? Those kids are already probably messed up. The last thing they need to do is be surrounded by people who I don’t think care one bit about them, but are instead after as much money as they can possibly get.

See, guardians need money to take care of all the little kiddies. With three little kiddies and all the expenses, Katherine and Joe will be living really well off those three kids. The whole process works in a very similar manner to the way Britney’s money is managed by her dad. He gets a fee for doing the work. The thing is that I trust Britney’s dad a whole lot more than I trust Katherine and Joe Jackson.

I don’t care what kind of court supervision there is over them, letting Katherine Jakcson be put in charge of the kids and their money is the worst thing that could happen in this case. She already had her chance with her kids and I think we see how that all turned out. There has to be one normal person in the family. Find that person and give them to that person. Then, if Katherine wants to visit the grand kids she can do that. I bet she won’t though when she realizes she won’t get money for seeing them for a few hours on the weekend.

Right now she has been granted temporary guardianship until August 3rd. Between now and then a court investigator will go look at the Jackson house and interview the kids. The older ones will get a say in what happens to them. Please, oh please do not let this woman get these kids.

(source)

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The wait for an answer on what exactly caused Michael Jackson’s death continues. The Jackson family has asked for another autopsy after the first one came back inconclusive. Did he die of an overdose? Was it prolonged use of prescription medications? Could it have been stress leading to a heart attack? These questions will eventually be answered but there is one individual who might be able to shed light on the situation more immediately. Dr. Conrad Murray, a Los Angeles-based cardiologist, was Jackson’s personal physician and presumably the last person to see him alive. ESSENCE.com sat down with Dr. Carlos S. Ince, Jr., president of the Black Cardiologist Association in Baltimore, to find out what happened during Jackson’s autopsy, what he thinks the pop star may have died from, and what could have been done to save Jackson’s life.

ESSENCE.COM: The cause of death has come back “deferred.” What does that mean and what will happen next?
DR. CARLOS INCE: They did the part of the autopsy that takes really just looks at the tissue itself after taking biopsies of the liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, brain and viles of blood. One of the things I suspect they looked for immediately is if there were changes in the heart muscle to suggest a heart attack. Based on what I’ve heard, I can only surmise that it wasn’t a massive heart attack because that would have been fairly obvious and would have explained what happened. Now, they have to wait for four to six weeks for the toxicology report.

ESSENCE.COM: So what’s the difference between a heart attack and going into cardiac arrest?
DR. CARLOS INCE: There are three major arteries in the heart. If one or more of those vessels becomes occluded where there is a disruption of blood flow to the tissue and the tissue dies, that’s a heart attack. Cardiac arrest is when the heart actually stops beating. You can have a heart attack which causes a cardiac arrest but there are other things that can also cause a cardiac arrest.

(source)

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Katherine Jackson filed a petition Monday asking the court to appoint her as guardian of Michael Jackson’s three children. The petition states the kids have “no relationship with their biological mother,” Debbie Rowe, according to the site.

She is also petitioning to take over the children’s estate. Its value is listed as “unknown” in the filing.

The filings do not state whether Michael left a will.

A hearing has been set for Aug 3.

Michael has two children with ex Rowe –Prince, 12, and Paris, 11. His third child, Prince Michael II, 7, was born to a surrogate (the mother’s identity was never revealed). The court filings Monday list her whereabouts as “unknown.”

It was confirmed last week that the children have been staying with Katherine at the family’s Encino, Calif., estate since their father’s June 25 death.

On Monday’s Today show, the Jacksons’ attorney Londell McMillan said there isn’t “anybody who thinks that there is someone better” than Katherine Jackson to have custody.

Said McMillan, “She is a very loving host of other grandchildren.”

Over the weekend, Katherine was spotted at a Los Angeles Target stocking up on toys, sleeping bags and other supplies.

McMillan added that the family hasn’t heard from Rowe, who gave up her custody rights to the children after she and Jackson divorced in 1999.

In a statement over the weekend, Rowe’s attorney, Marta Almli, said: “Ms. Rowe’s only thoughts at this time have been regarding the devastating loss Michael’s family has suffered. Ms. Rowe requests that Michael’s family, and particularly the children, be spared such harmful, sensationalist speculation and that they be able to say goodbye to their loved one in peace.”

Jackson’s manager, Frank DiLeo, said on ABC’s Good Morning America that the children are doing fine - but grieving.

He said he was the one who told the children their father had died.

“They knew when I came into the room,” he said. “I’m sure they just saw it on my face. They said, ’say it’s not true,’ and I just said, ‘I’m sorry.’”

Rowe isn’t holding up well, either.

“She is inconsolable,” her former attorney Iris Finsilver told Us last week. “She will always love Michael and she always considered him a dear friend.”

(source)

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For decades, he went to extraordinary lengths to shroud his family life in secrecy.

Now with his passing, photographs of the troubled star are emerging online that give a remarkable insight into his world.

These personal photos show a far more normal father and man than any of his bizarre showbusiness appearances of recent years.

In public, he has appeared masked, in a wheelchair or pyjama-clad with dark classes – looking ever more eccentric and grotesque.

If his children were in tow then their faces have always been veiled or covered by strange masks.

But in this personal collection of photographs, which appear to have been taken over the last six years, Jackson seemed happier behind closed doors.

In one shot, the star poses smiling in a red T-shirt decorated with an iconic image of him from the early 1980s.

The picture is not dated but is believed to have been taken five years ago before the star was ravaged by anorexia.

In another collection of images, Jackson sits cuddling his two eldest children Prince Michael Jr, 12 and Paris, 11 in 2003 at a children’s party.

The star looks like any proud father as his little girl, dressed in a Disney-style princess costume dress, sits on his knee.

Draped over his shoulders, eldest son Prince Michael is wearing a skeleton costume and sporting shocking bottle blond hair.

For years, Jackson had dyed the boy’s hair white blond, prompting critics to question whether the star was taking his obsession with being ‘white’ too far by pushing the Aryan look on to his children.

More recent pictures show that the elder children have dark hair but remarkably light skin and blue eyes, which is rare for the offspring of a mixed race relationship.

Their colouring has prompted questions over whether Jackson is actually their father.

In pictures taken from the same party, Jackson and his children are allegedly pictured with the children of close friends Al and Nancy Malnik.

The 76-year-old American millionaire has triplets Jarod, Spencer and Nathan, who are now 11.

Mr Malnik had been friends with the singer for more than ten years and the singer stayed with him at the height of the child abuse scandals.

Jackson is godfather to Spencer, who is understood to be featured in the pictures sitting on the steps of Mr Malnik’s Miami mansion with Paris.

In another set of images taken on the first birthday of the 50-year-old’s youngest child Prince Michael II, he is again seen posing with his brood and Jarod Malnik.

The most recent pictures to emerge were taken just last month showing the star dressed in full 1970s splendour with a sequined suit.

After spending years putting relaxants in his hair to make it appear straighter, he donned an enormous Afro wig to complete the outfit for a friend’s private party.

Mr Malnik and friends were also at the fancy dress bash held in May.

(source)

• Michael Jackson Has Died
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He was the king of popping pills.

Michael Jackson was taking a dangerous cocktail of powerful prescription drugs — including several highly addictive narcotics — in the months before his death from cardiac arrest, sources said yesterday.

In addition to the mind-bending painkiller Demerol that the “King of Pop” took three times a day, he also took 3 milligrams of the overwhelming narcotic Dilaudid as well as Vicodin daily.

To add to the reality-altering effect of Demerol, Jackson also took a drug called Vistaril, which amplifies the narcotics’ effect, experts say.

Rounding out the staggering pharmacopia, Jackson scarfed down the muscle relaxant Soma, antidepressants Zoloft and Paxil, anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the heartburn medication Prilosec on a daily basis, a source close to the Jackson family told the British paper The Sun.

The source said the 5-foot-10 Jackson weighed just 125 pounds when he died at age 50 and was eating just one meal a day.

The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said yesterday an autopsy on Jackson was so far inconclusive, and determining the cause of death would require as many as six more weeks.

But spokesman Craig Harvey said: “There was no indication of any external trauma or any indication of foul play.”

Other sources said the pop icon suffered a heart attack. According to Radar Online, on June 16 Jackson complained to a friend of chest pains. The Web site also said a team of doctors had been treating him for weeks.

But just a day before he died, Jackson was seen joking around during a rehearsal for his scheduled comeback tour in England, Ed Alonzo, a magician who was supposed to perform in the show, told US magazine.

It has been reported that Jackson’s personal doctor injected the him with Demerol shortly before he went into cardiac arrest and died. But the Coroner’s Office said it was too early to tell what kind of drugs Jackson may have had in his system.

“We know he was taking some prescription medications,” Harvey said. “But those tests will take an additional four to six weeks to be completed.”

Los Angeles police have opened a formal investigation into the death and ordered all details of the preliminary tests to be sealed because “they would like that to proceed without any interference.”

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said it was too early to tell if the probe would develop into a criminal or civil case, or no case at all. Cops also are looking to get their hands on Jacko’s medical records.

Sources said detectives had removed “bags of evidence” from Jackson’s home, including numerous pill bottles.

Detectives said they were anxious to speak to Jackson’s personal physician, cardiologist Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with the singer when he collapsed. They had trouble locating him much of yesterday, but investigators had the doctor’s BMW towed from Jackson’s home as evidence.

“We did speak with him briefly yesterday afternoon but we just didn’t speak with him enough,” said LAPD spokesman Richard French. “[His] car was impounded because . . . it could contain medication or evidence.”

Cops were looking to re-interview Murray, who has offices in Houston and Las Vegas and is licensed to practice medicine in California.

Jackson reportedly forced the company that was organizing his upcoming London tour, AEG Live, to hire Murray as his personal physician, despite the company’s objections to the expense.

“He just said, ‘Look, this whole business revolves around me. I’m a machine and we have to keep the machine well-oiled,’ and you don’t argue with the King of Pop,” according to AEG chief Randy Phillips.

Murray, who was given a cash advance for the concert, wrote a letter to his patients at his heavily-indebted Nevada medical practice, Global Cardiovascular Associates, on June 15, telling them he decided to “cease practice of medicine indefinitely” because of a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” TMZ.com reported.

Medical experts said that if one doctor had prescribed all the drugs Jackson was taking, it would amount to a criminal action.

“If one doctor was prescribing all of these he would be in big trouble,” said addiction specialist Dr. Dale Archer Jr.

“The Demerol, Dilaudid, and Vicodin are all narcotic painkillers and there is no reason why you would ever prescribe these three at the same time,” he said.

Jackson family lawyer Brian Oxman said that the Gloved One’s relatives were concerned about his drug use and the crowd of hangers-on that had assembled around him in recent years.

“I have told people in no uncertain terms that if Michael one day woke up and he was dead, I would not be silent. I would not permit this to go unchallenged,” Oxman said.

“I did warn him about the drugs, but I am sorry I didn’t warn him enough.”

He added, “I am going to wait until I get the toxicology report, and if his death has something to do with drugs, I am prepared to name names of doctors who prescribed them.”

But Jackson’s manager, Dr. Tohme Tohme — who does not appear to be a certified medical doctor and insists he did not provide any treatment to Jackson — called Oxman’s objections “garbage.”

“I loved Michael and I was his friend,” he told The Post. “I have never seen him do any drugs.”

He said Jackson had recently undergone a rigorous medical examination by doctors for his epic 50-date farewell tour in London and passed with flying colors.

But a former video producer for Jackson said the star had been battling Demerol addiction for “20-plus years.”

“Everybody around him knew it was only a matter of time before something like that would happen,” producer Marc Schaffel — who is suing Jackson for $3 million — told ABC News.

“I have said before that if he continued using drugs at this rate, he’d be dead by the time he was 50.”

(source)

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Janet Jackson arrived at her brother Michael Jackson’s Holmby Hills estate Saturday, where moving vans arrived earlier in the day.

Janet Jackson, wearing dark glasses, drove up in a Bentley and went directly to the estate. About eight movers had taken dollies and packing equipment through the gates. It wasn’t immediately known what was being taken out.

Most of Michael Jackson’s family members had gathered in their Encino compound, where they are contemplating funeral arrangements and caring for his three children. They are feeling confused, upset and angry by the lack of information about those who were around the pop superstar in his final days, a person close to the family told The Associated Press.

Jackson’s family wants to know more specifics about what role AEG, the concert promoter that was staging his 50-date concert series at London’s 02 Arena, was playing in his life, said the person, who requested anonymity because of the delicate nature of the situation. They also want to know more about the role of his advisers and representatives, who they believe were put in place by the promoter.

AEG spokeswoman Natalie Whorms in London had no comment Saturday.

Jackson never communicated to his family who he had in place to handle his business affairs, the person said, adding that they were told by the singer’s phalanx of advisers that he likely had a will, but it may be many years old. The family is distrustful of what they are being told - but they are determined to find out more, the person said.

“There are decisions going down without the family being in the loop; it’s becoming an issue,” the person said.

Randy Phillips, AEG Live president and chief executive, said earlier Friday that it was Jackson who insisted that Dr. Conrad Murray, a financially troubled cardiologist who was with the entertainer when he collapsed Thursday, be put on the tour payroll.

“As a company, we would have preferred not having a physician on staff full-time because it would have been cheaper without the hotels and travel, but Michael was insistent that he be hired,” Phillips said. “Michael said he had a rapport with him.”

Jackson collapsed Thursday at his rented home in Los Angeles. Police seized Murray’s car in search of evidence, but have insisted that the doctor has been cooperative and do not consider him a criminal suspect.

Records reveal years of financial troubles for Murray, who practices medicine in California, Nevada and Texas; his Nevada medical practice, Global Cardiovascular Associates, was slapped with more than $400,000 in court judgments, and he faces at least two other pending cases and several tax liens.

The person close to the family said that while there were reports that the singer was distant from his family, Jackson spoke with his mother, Katherine, quite regularly and his father, Joe, had seen his son shortly before his death. His other eight siblings, including fellow superstar Janet, may not have talked to him recently but were not estranged.

Much of the family was holed up Friday inside the Jackson family’s Encino compound, including his three children, according to the person, who described them as doing “pretty good.”

“I don’t think it’s fully set in yet,” the person said.

In a statement, Lionel Richie said Jackson was “a world phenomenon. He was very misunderstood, but yet tried to desperately to be a part of this world. We all watched him as he struggled with that balance.”

Bette Midler described Jackson as “a showman without equal.”

“I personally intend to only remember the best of him, his kindness, his charm, his superb musicianship, his magical dancing and his beautiful voice,” she said in a statement.

The pop star left behind three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11; and Prince Michael II, 7. The elder children were born to ex-wife Deborah Rowe, while the youngest is his biological son, born to a surrogate mother.

Rowe and Jackson married in 1996 and divorced in 1999.

No family members were present in the mansion when Jackson died Thursday, the person close to the family said. In the 911 call released by fire officials Friday, an unidentified caller tells a dispatcher that Jackson’s doctor is performing CPR.

Asked by the dispatcher whether anyone saw what happened, the caller answers: “No, just the doctor, sir. The doctor has been the only one there.”

Coroner’s officials said they released Jackson’s body to his family late Friday night. The family is still trying to determine what kind of memorial to have for Jackson and when, and are debating between the idea of having a private ceremony or a grand celebration open to the public, the person close to the family said.

Jackson appeared to have suffered a heart attack, another person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity told the AP on Friday. A heart attack is a blocking of the arteries that deprives the heart of adequate blood and can cause cardiac arrest.

Jackson’s brother Jermaine said Thursday that it was believed the pop singer went into cardiac arrest, an interruption of the normal heartbeat that can be caused by factors other than heart attack.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office, which completed its autopsy Friday, said there were no signs of foul play or trauma, but determining the cause of death will require further tests that will take six to eight weeks.

Phillips said AEG Live held multiple insurance policies covering cancellation of the shows, and that some time in February Jackson submitted to several hours of physicals that the insurance underwriter insisted upon, and that Jackson passed them all.

“We had pretty good coverage, but a lot of it is going to depend on the toxicology results,” he said. “We need to know what the cause of death was.”

(source)

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Following the death of Michael Jackson, footage in the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy Bruno, in which sister Latoya Jackson is mocked, has been cut.

In the scene, LaToya is tricked into doing an interview with the fake Austrian fashion journalist. Bruno then asks to see her phone, finds Michael’s number and starts saying his number in Austrian to his assistant.

Though the scene was featured in a screening Wednesday and at European premieres, it did not appear in the comedy’s Los Angeles screening Thursday, the same day Jackson died.

he scene is not expected to be included in the film’s theatrical release July 10.

At Thursday’s premiere, Jackson’s star on the Walk of Fame also was covered up. (The star is located on the street of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, where the film premiered, and was blocked off early in the day as crews set up for the premiere.)

That didn’t stop fans from expressing their condolences.

Many started playing his music and singing and dancing together nearby.

Mourners for Jackson will be able to access his star today.

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As far back as 2006, members of Michael Jackson’s family were terrified that his escalating dependence on prescription drugs had become a danger to his life – and attempted an intervention in Las Vegas.

“The family believes Michael is addicted,” a family insider said. “There was an intervention in Las Vegas. Janet was on the phone, but Randy, Jackie and Rebbie were there in person,” the source said, referring to several of Michael’s eight siblings.

“Michael got p—ed off. He said he wasn’t on drugs. But they didn’t believe him.”

Jackson suffered cardiac arrest at his rented home in Los Angeles Thursday and was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. PST. His autopsy will be conducted by the Los Angeles County Coroner Friday, although some tests, including a toxicology report, could take days or weeks to complete.

At the time of the Vegas intervention, another source close to the family blamed a Jackson aide for supplying the superstar with drugs from prescriptions acquired from multiple doctors.

“[The aide] has contacts wherever they are,” said the source. In addition to consuming alcohol, Jackson takes “straight morphine, Demerol and opiates like Oxycontin. He also takes Valium and Xanax,” said the insider.

“Michael is a clinically functioning addict and these are the most dangerous,” the source continued. “They stop and start. These are the ones that OD … It could happen any minute.”

After Jackson’s death Thursday, family attorney Brian Oxman, who huddled with the grieving family at the hospital, raised the possibility that the drug abuse remained a critical factor in Jackson’s life. “If you think that the case of Anna Nicole Smith was an abuse, it is nothing in comparison to what we have seen in Michael Jackson’s life,” Oxman told CNN.

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There’s no question that Michael Jackson musical legacy has left the world with a timeless anthology and today’s artist’s with the true embodiment of entertainment, artistry and performance.His friends and admirers speak out about his influence.

“This is such a tragic loss and a terrible day. The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music. He was magic. He was what we all strived to be. He will always be the King of Pop! Life is not about how many breaths you take, but how many moments in life that take your breath away. For anyone who has ever seen, felt or heard his art we are all honored to have been alive in this generation to experience the magic of Michael Jackson. I love you Michael.”–Beyonce

“This loss has deeply saddened me! It is with a heavy heart I composed this statement. May God cover you Michael. We all lift your name up in prayer. I pray for the entire JACKSON family particularly Michael’s mother, children and all his fans that loved him so much. I would not be the artist, performer, and philanthropist I am today without the influence of Michael. I have great admiration and respect for Him and I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to meet and perform with such a great entertainer, who in so many ways, transcended the culture. He broke barriers, he changed radio formats! With music, he made it possible for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to impact the mainstream world. His legacy is unparalleled. Michael Jackson will never be forgotten.”–Usher

“Michael Jackson is the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer. I am devastated by this great loss, and I will continue to be humbled and inspired by his legacy. My prayers are with his family. Michael will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. He’s the greatest… the best ever. No one will ever be better.”–Chris Brown

“I met Michael Jackson at the age of eight — when his father and my new friend, Joe Jackson, first began to bring the Jackson 5 to Chicago, from their home in Gary, Indiana, for concert appearances.

As the word of the Jackson 5’s devastating abilities as concert artists had already begun to spread like an out-of-control forest fire–to the, laser-like, attention of all Chicago area, R&B Music Stars!

The prevailing thought process, among local, R&B stars, with respect to this very young group of entertainers known as the Jackson 5, had become: “If Michael Jackson & his brothers were booked on an, upcoming, Chicagoland show — leave it alone!Don’t book it — Don’t go on that show and get, completely blown away by young Michael and the Jackson 5!

Michael Jackson’s, personal, crescendo of amazing power, as an entertainer — was clear and unmistakable; and has never slowed to this very day!His passing will be grieved far beyond that of any other singer,composer, producer, dancer and choreographer, in the history of the world.

Indeed, in my very firmest, personal, belief there will never, ever be another Michael Jackson.–Don Cornelius, Founder of Soul Train

“Michael Jackson will always be remembered as one of the greatest performers in the history of popular music. As a child of the 80’s, I feel as though his music and his videos have been an inseparable part of my life and that of an entire generation. And the powerful thing about great music is that it will always live on. He was and always will be an icon. My heart goes out to his family, friends and countless fans for their tragic loss.”–John Legend

“The energy of Michael Jackson will live forever thru the thing that he put all of his life energy into, his music. I will do my part to keep the melody alive, to keep the energy forever changing form, but never ever dying! Long live Michael Jackson.”–NeYo”Michael Jackson was my Music God. He made me believe that all things are possible, and through real and positive music, you can live forever! I love Michael Jackson. God Bless him.”--Wyclef Jean

“Michael Jackson was an icon. One of my musical icons. As 1/3 of Destiny’s Child we had the privilege of performing at MSG concert September 10, 2001. It was magical, I have vivid memories of seeing him clapping his hands and singing along. Not a day will pass that I won’t think of him and his legacy. RIP Michael Jackson!”–Michelle Williams

“As the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), we owe a great deal of our existence to the genius of Michael Jackson who will forever be remembered as the greatest entertainer and the most dynamic force in the recording industry that the world has ever seen. This is a tragic loss that will be felt around the globe. I extend my most heartfelt sympathy to the Jackson family and his fans worldwide. He will greatly be missed”–Bob Johnson

“A friend of Michael’s for the last 35 years, I call on people around the world to pray for him and his family in the hour. I have known Michael since we were both teens, worked with him, marched for him, hosted him at our House of Justice headquarters in New York, and we joined together to eulogize our mutual idol, James Brown. I have known him at his high moments and his low moments and I know he would want us to pray for his family.”–Reverend Al Sharpton

“The entire Apollo family is saddened to learn of Michael Jackson’s untimely passing. Michael first performed at the Apollo in 1969 with his brothers when he was only nine years old, winning Amateur Night, and catapulting their career as the Jackson 5. We will always remember Michael in our hearts as a true Apollo legend, known for his professionalism and grace. Our sympathy goes out to his entire family. He will be deeply missed.”– Jonelle Procope, President & CEO of the famed Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc.

To say Michael Jackson was one of the greatest entertainers to ever live is an understatement. From his start as a child star who moved everyone to the true cultural icon he later became his talent immeasurable. I had the chance to interview him on a couple of occasions and while it was clear that their was a childlike nature about this man his genius was just as clear.--Ed Gordon, award-winning journalist

While his life was at times difficult and complicated he was none the less a musical master. In Michael Jackson the world was given a incredible entertainer whose gift will be missed.

“I grew up with Michael Jackson as my idol. It was a Family Affair. We would all sit around the television whenever a new Michael Jackson video would premiere. I know the feeling I had when I saw him do the moonwalk. I can only imagine the feeling they are getting in heaven seeing him walk thru those gates.”–Mr. Bentley

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