Since the release of MTVs Michael Jackson commercial and announcement of a pending performance from his little sister Janet, the anticipation of a set where she and others paid homage to him has grew by the hour and minute up until a collective body of dancers hit the stage.

Needless to say, they did not dissapoint, moving with pinpoint precision and in usison with MJ via a projector that kept them honest.

Janet topped the tribute off with a dazzling performance of “Scream” – a historic video she and MJ pulled off together in 1995.

How I marveled at the television… It was a breakout performance – if that made any sense – for a young man who had come full circle. He’d gone from childhood sensation to “one to watch” as the charismatic front man of the adult version of the Jackson 5. He’d overcome Papa Joe and all that came with the move from Gary to LA… from small town hero to national icon, he did it and shone bright as a million light bulbs.

On this particular night, he went from “coming into his own” to raising the bar until he was on another planet. I’d seen the videos, which were great, but to see him moonwalk onstage for what seemed a mile – in a matter of 7 seconds – was amazing! I thought he was going to fall off the other end and then suddenly, he stopped, turned and spun for what seemed 720 degrees or more. He then promptly topped it off with the ‘toe lift whatchamacallit,’ basically paralyzing me ’cause I knew there was no way I was doing that in my mama’s kitchen.

I remember the time my stepfather told me he was ‘a natural’…

I don’t know how true it was and never thought of investigating whether or not Mike’s dancing abilities were learned, but he always seemed to move with a lot more fluidity than his backup dancers. Jerry (RIP) continued to tell me that all the other dancers had formal training and that blew my mind all over again.

I remember the time I saw the video debut of “Thriller”…

We were in the living room, my best friend Franco (RIP), his cousin Mila and I. We’d been counting down the days to the video, as it was being promoted around the clock. I think I had already seen the making of “Thriller,” so I was pretty much prepared. I don’t think they were though… (continue reading…)