Remembering Michael Jackson: The King of Pop and style

On Michael Jackson's birth anniversary (August 29), we pay tribute to MJ by remembering some of his most iconic music videos and his eccentric, yet fabulous, style statements. Pics/AFP and mid-day archives

Updated On: 2019-08-29 08:41 AM IST

Remembering Michael Jackson: The King of Pop and style

Merging filmmaking and music for the first time, Michael Jackson's Thriller was voted as the most influential pop music video of all time.

Beat It is noted for its mass choreography, a Michael Jackson trademark. The video received numerous awards.

Billie Jean was the first video by a black artist to be aired by a music channel, as the executives felt black music wasn't 'rock' enough.

Bad was directed by Martin Scorsese and the plot and video of the background was strongly influenced by West Side Story.

Remember The Time is one of the few videos in which Michael Jackson is seen kissing. Later, in 1993 on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Iman (the queen in the video) remarked that Jackson was a very, very good kisser.

The King of Pop will also be remembered as THE entertainer of all time, but his enigma wouldn't have been half as omnipresent without his calculated-made-to-seem-casual sense of style.

The King of Pop juxtaposed military austerity with cheeky S&M when he combined jackets with lapels and epaulettes with leather bondage and belts with rivets.

Michael Jackson revisited the retro mobster look of his Smooth Criminal video in the hit song You Rock My World for his album Invincible. The video features Hollywood legend Marlon Brando and stars Chris Tucker and Michael Madsen.

Only Michael Jackson could carry off a beaded jacket with a sequinned glove, teamed with US police uniform trousers and a badge for a buckle. Incidentally, this glove is worn by Jackson during his 1984-85 Victory tour, and again when he picked up eight Grammys for his album Thriller, fetched a lot of moolah in an online auction.

Jerry curls peeking from underneath the fedora hat, kohl-lined eyes resting behind mirrored aviator sunglasses, a smack of lip gloss and some rouge will eternally define Michael Jackson's personality.

The track Smooth Criminal ushered in an androgynous Michael Jackson, with women co-dancers dressed in spiffy suits and skinny ties (seen in the background). Want to know the mystery behind his moves in the iconic video? In 1992, Michael Jackson along with Michael L Bush and Dennis Tompkins patented the shoe that allows the wearer to lean 45 degrees forward beyond the centre of gravity.

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