More Michael Jackson Tributes

More reactions to the star's death

The death of Michael Jackson has been met with strong reactions from the entertainment world, with a host a star’s paying tribute to the icon.

Michael Jackson first emerged as a child star, an ebullient ten year old in his family’s group. With almost uncontainable energy Michael Jackson became an almost immediate global icon, whose career was thrown into overdrive by the birth of the music video.

One of the first to fully embrace the video revolution, Michael Jackson’s early promos revolutionised the industry. Becoming an enormous global star, Jackson went on to rank with the likes of The Beatles and Elvis Presley as a cultural figure.

As a result Michael Jackson’s death has left the entertainment industry profoundly shocked. Already the likes of Blur and Calvin Harris have paid tribute to the star, with more statements flooding in.

Britney Spears joined the chorus of stars paying tribute to Michael Jackson. Spears career would be unthinkable without the breakthroughs of Jackson, who pioneered extensive use of the music video.

Spears simply states that “he was a wonderful man and he will be greatly missed” in a posting on her Twitter page.

It is often forgotten that Michael Jackson was amongst the foremost of the first wave of black artists to gain acceptance on MTV. Together with the likes of Prince, the singer stormed charts across the world taking a slick pop mixture of black styles well and truly into the mainstream.

Rapper Ludacris wrote “If it were not for Michael Jackson I would not be where or who I am today. His music and legacy will live on forever. Prayers to the family.”

Meanwhile singer John Mayer stated simply that “I hope he is memoralised as the ’83 moonwalking, MTV owning, mesmerizing, unstoppable, invincible Michael Jackson.”

Meanwhile producer Boom Bip told NME that “he went through a brilliant song writing phase in the ’80s which was very inspiring to me as a child. ‘Human Nature’ is still one of my all-time favourite songs.”

More tributes are reaching us, with updates expected soon.

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