My first Christmas carol for 2009

It was actually last Saturday night, 28 June. I did not recognize it at first. I only realized it was a Christmas carol because I caught myself singing it = )

"Do you hear what I hear?"

How time really flies? Half of the year is over. And I am nearing another birthday = )

This year, as someone who has first hand knowledge of what it is to perform in front of a paying audience, I was saddened when Francis M moved on. And now, Michael Jackson.

Here's the thing I am the type of a person who really appreciate Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and the Beatles. I have, at least, two albums of these artists in my laptop's playlist. I guess, I am one of those who can appreciate the artist and the genius no matter what era they belong in.

But Michael was different.

I have danced to his songs on our street and on school programs when I was a little boy. Billie Jean, Beat it and Thriller was common staple for 5-8 year olds.

I did not know Michael as a genius, first, like I did with Frank, Elvis and the Beatles. I danced to his music first. And who could forget the MTV of Billie Jean with that floor lighting up as he step on them. How about the precisely choreographed fight scene of Beat it and of course the red jacket and the zombies of Thriller.

I only arrived at the conclusion that he was a genius because he won so many Grammys. Then, I found out that he was this boy who sang Ben = )

So much has been said about Michael Jackson, Jacko to the British, but one thing is certain. He is a genius. An icon. The ultimate performer. After him, everybody is a copycat. A far second. It was the same for the acts that followed Frank, Elvis and The Beatles.

Michael Jackson has to surface and bring the music to a different place. Neyo, Justin Timberlake, Usher and Chris Brown, watch their MTVs and their live performances and then see the live performance of Michael on youtube and you will see that these contemporary artists ripped a page off from Michael Jackson's book.

The sad tale of Michael Jackson is that "Michael Jackson the artist" grew so fast that the "Michael Jackson the human being" had to play catch up and we termed this act of catching up as eccentricities and sold billion worth of stories. True or not, it does not matter now. He is gone.

I will be playing his songs tonight in my room and I will be transported back to my childhood, a time when Michael Jackson was this man who glides on the stage, moonwalking...

How time really flies?

"Do you hear what I hear?"